A “very anti-drugs” teenage law student died after taking ketamine at a party, an inquest heard.
Megan Pollitt, who was studying law at Cardiff University, died just weeks after moving flat because she was concerned about people taking drugs in her halls of residence.
The 18-year-old died at University Hospital of Wales in November 2020 after going into cardiac arrest in her room at Talybont student accommodation.
An inquest into her death at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court on Tuesday recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
Megan - who had Type One diabetes - sustained a fatal brain injury after drinking heavily and taking ketamine.
Her mum Kelly said she "always got on well in school" while living at home in Rugby, Warwickshire.
She enjoyed sixth form and was active in extracurricular clubs and a school prefect, Wales Online reports.
Kelly said her daughter "got on okay with most housemates" at Talybont, but said she had "an issue with some taking drugs, mainly cocaine and ketamine".
“Meg didn’t like this and told me about it,” she added. “We went to get her and brought her home. She spoke to the university and said she didn’t feel safe so the university offered her a different room in Talybont Court.”
The teenager moved into her new accommodation on November 6 and seemed to like her new flatmates, said her mother.
“Meg never had any issues with alcohol and was just a normal teenager,” she added. “I think she started drinking more at uni but I think this was a normal amount for a student.
“We were not aware of Meg taking drugs. She was always very anti-drugs even in the weeks up to her death when she moved flat because of it.
"She spoke about people using something called ‘rhino ket’ and seemed genuinely surprised people were taking it.”
Mrs Pollitt said she last spoke to her daughter on November 13 – the day of the party where she sustained the fatal brain injury.
She said: “I spoke to her on FaceTime in the afternoon. We talked through general things like where she was doing her food shopping, what she was having for dinner.
"She said she was having a house party that night or the following night. She seemed fit and healthy.”
Police found texts between Miss Pollitt and her friend Elise Roberts suggesting the law student had taken ketamine on a previous occasion, November 7 – the day after moving into her new flat.
She told Miss Roberts she had taken the Class B drug with her flatmates Joseph Morgan and Barzy Aziz.
In a statement, Miss Roberts said her friend “seemed happy” after moving to the new accommodation.
Miss Pollitt messaged her on November 8: “Update on how uni is going, I got free ket last night... My second night in my new flat and I take ket... We only took it in Joe’s room so it was a calm environment to do it in.”
Miss Pollitt later messaged Miss Roberts: “I’m going to get a drug addiction just because I’m attention-deprived.”
Miss Roberts said she believed her friend was joking but added: “I wasn’t happy with her taking ketamine – it worried me.”
Emergency services were called to Talybont shortly after midnight on November 14 following a report that Miss Pollitt had gone into cardiac arrest. Police had also attended the halls because of a report of a party breaching Covid rules.
After Miss Pollitt was admitted to hospital, swelling in her brain caused brain stem death and she was confirmed dead on November 16.
She was Covid-positive at the time, which prevented organ donation.
In her statement mum Kelly said family members were able to spend some time with her daughter in hospital before she died.
“We are taking it day by day but obviously it is hard,” she said. “We are still trying to understand what happened in the week she moved into the new flat.
“It was suggested she hadn’t been taking care of her diabetes well but I find this hard to understand... There are a lot of unanswered questions about what happened during that night.”
Megan is survived by her parents Kelly and Chris and her sister Jenna.
In a tribute shortly after her death the family said she was “full of dreams and aspirations” with a “beautiful bright smile and positive energy.”
They added: “Meg dedicated her time to everyone around her and was always there for others. We will miss her beautiful bright smile and positive energy that would lift the spirits of anyone.”
