End the zombie plague
Police stretched to limit as ‘walking dead’ Spice addicts take over our city centres
ZOMBIE BRITAIN Daily Mail, March 7
THESE disturbing scenes on our streets lay bare the human toll of the new drug epidemic sweeping the country.
As addicts of the synthetic cannabis drug Spice stumble around cities across the UK, police warn they don’t have enough money or manpower to tackle the fast growing problem.
In Manchester, officers had to ban comatose users from the city centre after receiving 58 calls related to the drug in just three days.
With the addictive properties of heroin and crack, and costing just £5 a bag, the drug has an estimated 95 per cent of the city’s young homeless people hooked.
It has left a raft of addicts suffering severe psychotic episodes, hallucinations, vomiting and even seizures.
Chief Superintendent Wasim Chaudhry, from Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘Those who take Spice are often left incapacitated or seriously ill and need the help of our partners in the NHS and ambulance service.
‘They can also become aggressive and become a danger to themselves and others. The truth is, tackling the issues caused by Spice is putting pressure on public services and is taking up a lot of our resources, particularly in the city centre.’
Manchester city council says it is setting aside £1million to tackle the problem and get people off the streets. But Councillor Nigel Murphy, lead member for community safety, said: ‘The Government have a role to play in addressing this problem by ensuring that our police force and other services have adequate resources.’
Similar scenes have been plaguing the streets of Cardiff, Derby and Blackpool since the Daily Mail highlighted ‘ Zombie Britain’ last month.
A single Spice joint is akin to smoking up to 100 containing normal cannabis – and addiction can take hold after just three days.
Ministers outlawed possession of the Class B drug last year, but there is confusion amongst police over whether those caught with it can be arrested.
Officers also say the drug has become more potent as supply has shifted from shops to streets.
On Friday night police in Manchester issued a temporary dispersal order resulting in eight arrests after users collapsed and needed treatment from paradmedics.
Days earlier, a photographer took a series of disturbing images highlighting the scale of the city’s Spice epidemic. He said: ‘It’s dystopian, like a horror movie. It’s no longer the kind of place you go to – it’s the kind of place you get out of.’ Businesses in the city centre claim trade is being damaged by customers having to dodge the zombie-like addicts slumped on the streets and benches.
They claim the authorities are not doing enough to tackle the problem, with staff at a hairdresser saying they have resorted to locking customers in for their own safety.
Sam Priestner, who works at a flower stall, said: ‘It’s been like six months of hell.’ It is a similar story in Blackpool. ‘People are coming in on this stuff and it completely changes them,’ said Mark Butcher who runs a soup kitchen in the town.
Home Office figures show that 244,000 people in England and Wales took Spice and variants, last year, with two-thirds under 24.
A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The Government has been clear about the dangers that are posed by these types of drugs. The Home Office has taken action to make them illegal and to try and stop their spread.’