Urgent warning over vapes laced with deadly ‘zombie drug' – as children rushed to hospital
Wiltshire cops say tainted vapes flogged on Snapchat are flooding schools, leaving kids suffering seizures and terrifying personality changes.
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"I'd urge parents to have conversations with your child about the dangers and risks as well as what happens if they do use a vape which is contaminated with something," PCSO Jon Akehurst, said in a statement.
"Make it clear that if you do take these things, it has an impact on your life.
Spice is a nickname given to synthetic cannabinoids - lab-made drugs that were originally designed to mimic the effects of cannabis.
However, it is usually much stronger than cannabis, causing terrifying side effects like seizures, heart attacks, and breathing trouble.
Victims also suffer dizziness, vomiting, racing hearts, sweating, panic attacks, and paranoia.
streets littered with near-unconscious addicts.
Now they're using new gadgets in schools to sniff out the dodgy vapes and keep children safe.
It comes as the ban on single-use vapes has come into effect, part of a tough crackdown designed to stop kids from getting hooked and reduce waste.
The force is working with Bath University, Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council to test any suspected contaminated vapes to mitigate any further risks to students.
Officers are urging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of using contaminated vapes after the discovery.
"If you are concerned about your child, there are people that can help and support you," Jon added.
"Unfortunately, with spice there can be many different reactions.
"We've seen vomiting and behaviour changes, and we've had an incident where there were concerns that a child was having a fit.
"The reactions can be very, very broad. Behaviour changes seem to be the biggest concern for schools, with students being fine before lunch, but after lunch they are elevated in aggression, say,"
A shocking study last year found that one in six vapes confiscated from school children in England was found to be laced with the 'zombie drug' spice.
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Meanwhile, Public Health Wales reported testing 196 vape e-liquid samples, finding over a third contained synthetic cannabinoids.
In March, The Sun joined Greater Manchester Police on an armed raid to expose armed gangs selling kids vapes laced with the deadly drug.
Professor Chris Pudney, an expert in biotechnology from the University of Bath, conducted tests using the world's first portable device that instantly detects synthetic drugs.
Working with concerned schools and police forces, he tested 596 confiscated vapes and discovered Spice at 28 out of 38 (74 per cent) of schools across London, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.
What is Spice?
The synthetic cannabinoids collectively known as Spice are made up of a range of amphetamines and other laboratory-created chemicals that vary wildly from batch to batch.
Users smoke, drink or eat Spice, often in tea.
Before the ban on psychoactive substances in 2016, it was being sold either over the counter or online under a variety of brand names such as Annihilation and GoCaine.
It is highly addictive with withdrawal symptoms said to be worse than coming off crack or heroin.
Users can suffer vomiting, seizures, terrifying hallucinations and severe psychotic episodes after consuming the drug, according to the NHS.
Other side effects can be severe and unpredictable.
They include inability to move, dizziness, and breathing difficulties.
Chest pain and heart palpitations are common. Extreme anxiety, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts may occur.
Psychosis and stomach problems like vomiting or diarrhea can happen. In some cases, acute kidney injury is reported.
Spice appears particularly rife in Birmingham and Manchester, where a number of users have been hospitalised after taking the drug.
The substance is sometimes dubbed the "zombie drug" because of the effect it can have on users, who are often seen staggering around.
An ex-spice addict has described the sensation to Metro, saying: 'You just feel brain dead half the time. They say people look like zombies, and that's how it feels."
The substance was declared unfit for human consumption by the very person who invented it.
Organic chemist John Huffmann accidentally created it in 2006 when searching for a new way of developing anti-inflammatory medication.
Two years later the substance began surfacing on websites, usually advertised as a form of incense or plant fertiliser.
The drug has been described as similar to cannabis but others have cited effects more like powerful hallucinogenics such as LSD.
An even more dangerous crystal form emerged in 2017, believed to be around 20 times more potent than the "usual" strain.
About one in six (16.6 per cent) of the vapes contained Spice, while roughly one in 100 (1.17 per cent) contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis.
'Some have come quite close to death'
Earlier this year, pupils from Unity City Academy in Middlesbrough were hospitalised after using contaminated vapes.
Meanwhile, a teenage girl from Teesside nearly died at school after trying a vape laced with the deadly spice drug.
Back in 2019, nine teens collapsed after unknowingly vaping synthetic cannabinoids.
And in March, two schoolboys in Dalkeith, Scotland were rushed to hospital after taking just one puff of a suspected spice-laced vape.
Dan Griffiths, 40, from South Shields, has seen first-hand the damage spice vapes can cause after his 14-year-old son Ash smoked one earlier this month, and collapsed.
'Ash had no idea what was in it,' Dan revealed. 'After a couple of puffs, he collapsed, and his friends were standing there laughing at his reaction.
'Thankfully, a passing nurse saw it and called an ambulance.
'Since then, he's had six seizures, and we're constantly in and out of the hospital. It's changed his life forever.'
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Professor Pudney said: "Teenagers think they are purchasing vapes or vape fluid containing THC or nicotine when, in fact, they are laced with Spice.
"We know children can have cardiac arrests when they smoke Spice, and I believe some have come quite close to death.
"Headteachers are telling me pupils are collapsing in the halls and ending up with long stays in intensive care.
"This is not just a niche, one-off occurrence that happens in a school far away from you, this is something common.
"As we go into the school holidays, if we can have an open dialogue and talk with children about the risks they face, then they've got a chance of making a different choice."
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