Dead student took legal party drug

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Cheerleader Hester Stewart, 21, consumed Gamma-butyrolactane (GBL) with on-off boyfriend Anthony Morrison after returning to his shared house on April 6 following an American football awards ceremony.

Mr Morrison said that he woke in bed beside Ms Stewart, a University of Sussex student studying molecular medicine, in his room in Brighton, East Sussex, to find her dead.

GBL is banned in several countries, including the United States and Sweden, but is not outlawed in Britain and is available in some health food shops and over the internet.

The inquest was told that although the level of GBL consumed by Ms Stewart was low and would have led to full recovery in some people, its combination with alcohol proved fatal.

Brighton and Hove Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said she was satisfied that Ms Stewart took GBL knowingly and that "on the balance of probabilities" she took it willingly.

Sitting at Brighton County Court, she said: "Whenever drugs such as GBL are used recreationally people need to understand the use of them is very much a question of playing Russian Roulette.

"In other words, it may be possible to survive recreational drugs over a period of time and then for no apparent reason the use of such drugs will result in death."

Outside court, holding a bottle of GBL, Ms Stewart's father Dr Alan Stewart said there was now some closure to the case but he issued a stern warning to anyone who uses, trades or profits from the drug.

He said: "Society has the right to question the motives of any person who posseses, trades or profits in this. To any such person, I beg you, tip it away now or you will find yourself in a coroner's court, in a criminal court or in a coffin."