Aristocrat left ‘delusional’ by mind-altering drug, court told

A WEALTHY aristocrat who had used hallucinogenic drugs lacks the mental capacity to instruct lawyers in his divorce settlement, a judge has ruled.

Mr Justice Moor has decided that staff at the office of the Official Solicitor, which offers help to people with mental health issues who are involved in litigation, should instruct lawyers on the man’s behalf.

He made the ruling at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court, in London, on Monday.

Lawyers representing the man’s wife had asked for a mental capacity ruling after a number of concerns were raised about his behaviour.

Mr Justice Moor said there was evidence that the man had used a hallucinogenic plant from South America called ayahuasca, or yage, which contains the drug dimethyltryptamine.

The court heard the man had become delusional and paranoid and suffered a mental breakdown. A friend said the man was “completely unstable” and told how he had seen him set fire to £5,000 in cash.

Mr Justice Moor was told that the man, who is in his 40s and cannot be identified, received around £80,000 a month from a trust. Judges have heard that his family had “great wealth”.

The judge said the man, who was not at the hearing, and his wife had been married for more than a decade. He is scheduled to make decisions about how much the woman should receive following the breakdown of the relationship after a trial in February.

Ayahuasca is an integral part of some tribal societies and its status has been recognised by the government of Peru.