Court of Appeal: Drug-Free Zone: Court of Appeal Confirms that Voluntary Intoxication is not Relevant in Cases of Diminished Responsibility R v Kay [2017] EWCA Crim 647

Robert Kay (K) was a paranoid schizophrenic (although his condition was not formally diagnosed until after his arrest). He had long-standing mental health problems and had been in 'contact with mental health services' over the years but had not 'responded meaningfully to any of the many offers of help made to him' (at [4]). He was also a habitual drug user, having started glue-sniffing at 13, drinking alcohol at 15 and taking drugs at 18. His usual drug was heroin but he also regularly injected amphetamine. K, who was 48 on the day of the killing, had therefore been using drugs for his entire adult life, over 30 years. He knew that drug use (particularly amphetamines) triggered and exacerbated his symptoms (such as hallucinations and hearing voices), and he recognised this by abstaining from taking amphetamines 'on a number of occasions and for substantial periods' over the years because of their 'markedly deleterious effect on his behaviour' (at [5]).