- Bethany Burnett was just 16 when she became hooked on class B drug
- Addiction funded by Jobseeker’s Allowance and mother’s child benefits
- Was taken to hospital last week and is now taking medictation to help
- She has now spoken out to warn youngsters of dangers of cannabis
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Benefits: Bethany Burnett (left), 19, and her mother Marie, 35, have blown £30,000 on cannabis
A shameless mother and daughter today admitted to blowing £30,000 of their benefits on the teenager’s £30-a-day cannabis habit.
Bethany Burnett was just 16 when she became hooked on the class B drug – and it has all been funded by her mother Marie’s child benefits and her own Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Just two weeks ago Bethany, of Grangetown, North Yorkshire, who is now 19, was taken to hospital after smoking cannabis through a bong and collapsing when her heart rate raced.
She has now been referred to a psychiatrist and is taking medication to help beat the addiction.
Today she spoke out to warn other youngsters of the dangers of cannabis, saying: ‘I would have done anything to get my hands on cannabis.
‘Waking up in the morning it was the first thing I thought about. I was desperate for cash to buy drugs. I’d use my JSA to buy cannabis every week.
‘As well as asking my grandmother and great-grandmother for money to splash out on the drug, I would trash my mum’s house if she didn’t give me £10 a day from her benefits to buy cannabis.’
Bethany’s started smoking the drug aged 16 in an attempt to fit in with her peers at school. But her addiction went out of control and she would smoke cannabis constantly throughout the day.
At her worst she was spending £30 a day on the habit, funded by the £57.35 a week she received in JSA. And her mother would dip into her £115 child benefits, £34 child tax credits and £40 a week housing benefits.
Initially Mrs Burnett, 35, thought the money was being used to pay electricity bills but she soon realised around £70 a week of her cash was partially funding her daughter’s habit.
Mrs Burnett, who has two other children and lives in a £40,000 semi-detached house, said: ‘I was really strapped for cash because I was on benefits myself and Natasha kept asking me for money to buy food or to pay her house bills.
High cost: Bethany was spending £30 a day on the habit, funded by the £57.35 a week she received in JSA. And her mother would dip into her £115 child benefits, £34 child tax credits and £40 a week housing benefits
‘I knew she was smoking weed but at first I didn’t twig that she was using my benefits money to buy it. But when she started becoming addicted I had my suspicions.
‘She was really paranoid and dropped so much weight. I tried to put my foot down and stop giving her cash handouts but if I didn’t give her the cash she would go crazy.’
Addiction: Two weeks ago Bethany was taken to hospital in Middlesborough after smoking cannabis
Bethany’s habit soon took its toll and she began suffering from anxiety attacks so severe she dropped out of college and refused to leave the house because she thought she was being watched.
Her weight also plummeted from 13st to just 8st in a matter of months. Just two weeks ago Mrs Burnett found her daughter unconscious after overdosing on cannabis.
Bethany was rushed to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough where she had an anxiety attack and a mental breakdown.
After staying in hospital overnight, she was released and is now seeing a psychiatrist as well as taking diazepam to control her anxiety. She will now have to take anti-depressants for the rest of her life.
Bethany, who now lives with her partner Paul Rowbotham, 30, said: ‘I wish I’d never wasted all my money on the drugs. I would get up and raid the house for my mum’s benefits money just to buy my next joint. I stopped eating and was sick and crying all of the time. It was ruining my life.’
Bethany’s shocking tale comes just days after it was revealed that a record number of under-18s are now being treated for cannabis addiction.
According to the latest figures by Public Health England, more than 13,500 youngsters under the age of 18 were sent for medical treatment last year for cannabis related issues.
Just last month, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed a report which suggests governments should consider the legalisation of cannabis – which is the most widely used illegal drug in Britain.
Bethany added: ‘Cannabis should never be made legal – it is addictive and it nearly killed me. People see it has a soft drug, but young teens need to be aware that it can take over your life.’
‘As well as asking my grandmother and great-grandmother for money to splash out on the drug, I would trash my mum’s house if she didn’t give me £10 a day from her benefits to buy cannabis’
Bethany Burnett
Cannabis is a class B drug, meaning it is illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Addiction to drugs and alcohol is one of the root causes of poverty and welfare dependency and we’re targeting addicts with support much earlier to get them clean, off benefits and into work.
‘Employment is one of the best ways of creating a stable life for individuals and their families and reforms such as Universal Credit will ensure that people are always better off in work than they would be written off to a life on benefits.
‘Our reforms are making a big difference here and almost 6,000 households who had their benefits capped have now found jobs.’
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Mother and daughter blew £30k of benefits on teens cannabis habit
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