A British policeman sparked an ‘international response’ after he smoked cannabis on a trip to the Netherlands and suffered ‘paranoia’, a misconduct panel has heard.
PC Jack Waeghemacker drove to Holland to smoke a joint to relax, but experienced the strange feelings after just three puffs, it was told.
The officer started to believe his ex-wife was going to kill him.
Panicking, he called his colleague at Hampshire Constabulary – resulting in a huge international response involving Dutch police, the French Embassy and even Interpol.
He is now accused of committing gross misconduct by taking an illegal substance.
At a Hampshire misconduct hearing, he faces allegations of ‘discreditable conduct’ for taking the Class B drug in the country that has famously relaxed laws around marijuana.
The panel heard PC Waeghemacker had been through a divorce in 2023 and lost both his parents, who lived in France, in January 2025.
In April that year, he drove to France to sort their belongings, but decided to book an Airbnb in the Dutch city of Tilburg for one night in order to smoke cannabis.
A miscondcut hearing for PC Jack Waeghemacker was hedl at Hampshire Fire & Rescue & Police Headquarters (file image)
Stephen Morley, representing Hampshire Constabulary, told the hearing that PC Waeghemacker ‘had only three puffs before he realised he was having a bad reaction’.
‘He believed his ex-wife was planning to kill him. He called a friend in the UK.
‘This then starts an international police response.’
In a police interview, PC Waeghemacker said he was ‘really sorry’.
But Mark Aldred, defending, said there was no evidence the drug was illegal in Tilburg at the time.
The hearing continues.