An Edinburgh student was found dead on his sofa after suffering a long battle with drugs.
Callum Brown, 24, was tragically found by his girlfriend at his flat in London, before paramedics pronounced him dead a short time later.
A theoretical physics student at Edinburgh University, an inquest into Callum's death found he had been going through a long-standing problem with drugs including heroin.
On October 19, 2021, Callum was found to have of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine and alcohol in his system, when he was found face down on his couch.
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Discovered by his girlfriend at the home in Canary Wharf, she had attempted CPR to revive him for around 20 minutes, but it had been too late.
A keen boxer, Callum was heard to have been taking heroin since 2018, with the student telling doctors at the time that he had been "hearing voices" while in Edinburgh.
The voices were either "complimentary or derogatory", according to psychiatrist Dr Denise Culshaw.
However, despite presenting symptoms of psychosis, doctors concluded it was "unlikely he was suffering a psychotic illness" and he was discharged.
Going on to become a financial sales consultant, , Coroner Mary Hassel concluded it was the heroin that caused positional asphyxiation which led to Callum's death at his Discovery Dock flat, East London.
His heartbroken father Alistair, from Glasgow, asked the coroner if his son's phone had been used to track the drug dealers as Calum's siblings and partner wept towards the conclusion of the hearing, reports My London.
Coroner Hassle explained even though police were given access to his phone "huge backlogs" meant no guarantee of arrests, adding dealers are elusive.
Callum's death came after just one appointment with a new psychotherapist in London who told him to seek a psychiatric diagnosis before returning for more therapy.
Alistair had referred his son because he was concerned about his mental health.
The court heard how "sadly he never returned to his second session".
However, Calum's hallucinations led to at least one intervention by the NHS crisis team in Scotland.
During a breakdown in December 2018 he told medics he felt "socially isolated his whole life" and revealed he planned to buy drugs on the dark web.
He also told them he had "gone off on one" at the gym because he felt "superior to most men" and did not want to back down. They discharged him with benzodiazepines to help him sleep, which he also abused.
Pathologist Dr Alan Bates gave a statement that outlined how heroin's depressant effects leave the user unable to move to a safe sleeping position, causing them to "die painlessly in their sleep" as they cannot breathe.
Coroner Hassell concluded: "Calum had a long-time problem with drugs. He was on and off and at the time of his death he was taking drugs again.
"He took heroin, he fell asleep face down and then as a consequence he developed positional asphyxiation and then he died.
"It would not have been painful, he would not have been aware of it."
