Warning as zombie drug ‘spice’ hits the streets of Scotland
POLICE have warned that the deadly ‘zombie drug’ spice has hit Scotland’s streets.
It follows disturbing online images apparently showing a user of the synthetic cannabis stumbling along a street in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.
Charities that work with addicts and the homeless say they have ‘real concerns’ about the ‘growing use’ of spice, which police say is being offered for sale north of the Border.
There are fears Scots towns and cities could experience similar problems to the north of England, where the highly addictive substance has caused a wave of crime and casualties. Users – likened to the ‘walking dead’ – have collapsed or been left trembling in a catatonic state.
In one recent weekend in Manchester police recorded 58 spice-linked incidents.
Detective Inspector Ian Spence, of Police Scotland’s Crime Campus, warned that there were ‘no borders’ for the drug.
‘Small amounts of synthetic cannabinoids have been recovered in Scotland within the last months,’ he said. ‘We will continue to gather as much intelligence as we can.
‘There are no borders, the internet is open and if there is a demand for this product then generally it creates a supply.’
Spice was among the legal highs banned in 2016. But this has not stopped users obtaining it and becoming addicted. Online footage from Manchester has shown users slumped over bins and benches. It is manufactured to act like the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis but is ten times more potent and addictive. Users suffer severe psychotic episodes and terrifying hallucinations.
Also known as K2 and Black Mamba, it can be sprayed onto plant material and smoked or ‘vaped’ as a liquid in e-cigarettes.
Charity Turning Point Scotland, which supports the homeless and people with addiction, said yesterday more people using their facilities are taking spice. Director of operations Wendy Spencer said: ‘We have real concerns about the growing use of synthetic cannabinoids in Glasgow, which can cause serious physical and psychological harm to people.’
The physical problems included ‘increased heart rate, seizure activity, breathlessness and vomiting’, while psychological effects included ‘paranoia and a disassociation from reality rarely experienced with other substances’.
She added: ‘Rough sleepers and the homeless community are particularly at risk. We have concerns these vulnerable groups are being deliberately targeted.’
The use of legal highs was banned last year after they were linked to more than 100 deaths, as well as a rise in violent assaults in prisons across Britain.
Two people died in suspected spice-related incidents – in Somerset and HMP Forest Bank in Salford, Greater Manchester – in one day last week.
Police Scotland confirmed a ‘small number of cases allegedly linked to synthetic cannabis’ are currently under investigation.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We take the risks posed by psychoactive drugs very seriously.’
‘Deliberately targeted’