A desperate mother has gone to extreme lengths to save her son— who is currently sleeping rough on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD—from the clutches of drug addiction.
In an exclusive report in the Herald Sun, Leanne Thompson explained that she frequently flies from her home in Brisbane to Melbourne to spend time with her son. Daniel is addicted to synthetic marijuana and ice.
Leanne revealed she had slept next to Daniel to protect him, and stood over him for up to 6 1/12 hours at a time.
“The first time I saw him sleeping on the footpath was gut-wrenching and I will forever be haunted by that image — it doesn’t leave my mind,” she told the Herald Sun.
“To see my son mumbling to himself, stumbling and wobbling around all over the place and menacing members of the public, it’s just terrible … We are so helpless to do anything.”
Growing up, Daniel had been a passionate sports fan, had graduated year 12, and went on to study horticulture at TAFE, The Herald Sun reports.
But after moving to Melbourne to live with friends and jeopardising his landscaping job due to partying, he eventually lost his job.
Speaking to 3AW‘s Tony Jones, Leanne called on the Victorian government to crack down on synthetic marijuana.
“The government’s allowing it [synthetic marijuana] but the government’s doing nothing to clean up the absolute human misery and tragic consequences of this pretty much legal substance or drug,” she said.
The mother explained that she would put her son into an involuntary treatment program if it was available in Victoria.
“That’s where we need the involuntary program that people that are no longer capable of making that decision… they need to be put into an involuntarily program,” Leanne said.
“I don’t feel that he feels he has a problem and I think he just sees us as authority figures, which, you know, we’re just loving parents that want to make sure he’s OK.”
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