ANNIHILATION
Name of even deadlier strain of zombie drug Spice plaguing our cities
COLLAPSED on the pavement, these men seem lost in a world of misery in a city where a super-strong form of Spice has taken hold.
The zombie drug – formerly a legal high – has this year swept through Britain’s homeless population, leaving users comatose.
But a deadly new version, nicknamed Annihilation, is thought to be laced with heroin – and is leaving addicts sprawled by shops and bars in Manchester.
The area around the city’s Piccadilly Gardens was this year the scene of horrifying images showing users of the synthetic cannabis substitute collapsed.
Similar scenes have been reported in other towns and cities including Birmingham, Cambridge and Wrexham.
Efforts by police to round up suspected dealers saw Manchester’s problems become less obvious for a few months, but these images suggest it is back.
Outside a branch of Boots, men were seen face-down on the pavement, seemingly oblivious to passing shoppers and the bitter winter temperatures.
Near a brasserie, two men lay passed-out on either side of the road – one having a fit, the other unconscious. A nearby restaurant owner called the police.
A homeless woman called Louise, 40, said: ‘It’s bad … people are standing in the middle of the street, talking to themselves. It’s like they can’t move.’
The term Annihilation was first used when Spice was a legal high. Another homeless person said it is now ‘five times stronger’.
Julie Boyle, of homeless charity Lifeshare, said: ‘ There appears to be a new strain of Spice being smoked in the city centre and it’s been rumoured it contains heroin.
‘We had people who were catatonic earlier this year but it seems to be coming back … people can’t talk, can’t move.’
Doctors warn Spice is crippling health services, with users increasingly admitted to hospital with hallucinations, seizures and schizophrenia symptoms.
They believe the drug, which costs as little as £5 for a day’s supply, is more powerful than heroin and crack cocaine.
Manchester council said it was working ‘determinedly’ with police and charities to tackle the problem, but ‘while there are vulnerable people with substance misuse issues and evil dealers willing to prey on them … it is going to be very difficult.’