A new and deadly Spice trade
A recently invented drug has been linked to hundreds of deaths and overdoses
What exactly is Spice?
It’s the most notorious instance of a revolution in the drugs trade occasioned by the internet: underground chemists have rifled through openly available scientific journals to find legal equivalents of popular drugs (such as the ecstasy-like mephedrone); online firms have made such products easy to buy. Spice is actually a catch-all term for synthetic cannabinoids, a class of man-made chemicals that mimic the effect of the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Originally marketed as “legal highs”, or “herbal incense”, they come in many guises: Black Mamba, K2, Clockwork Orange, Pandora’s Box, Annihilation. But Spice was the first well-known brand name.
Why have such drugs become so popular?
Because they are both powerful and cheap. Addicts in Wrexham say they can buy Black Mamba for £5 a gram, cheaper than heroin, crack or even a packet of cigarettes. “The chemistry to make these things is very simple and very old,” says one chemist. “You only have three [easily available] starting materials and only two steps. In a few days, you could make 25g, which could be enough to make havoc.” Spice is generally manufactured by chemical companies in Asia, particularly China, then shipped to the West in bulk, and prepared for sale here. And though it is usually sold as a herb resembling marijuana, this is a marketing gimmick. Synthetic cannabinoids are manufactured as a powder, then dissolved in a solvent such as acetone and sprayed onto plant matter, such as sage or damiana leaves (or packaged as a liquid).
Why is Spice now in the news?
Last year the HM Prisons Inspectorate reported that “new psychoactive substances”, particularly Spice, were having “a dramatic and destabilising effect on many of our prisons”. The drugs are especially popular in jails because they’re cheap, don’t reek (unlike marijuana), and are undetectable in traditional drug tests. Spice is also popular among homeless drug users. Earlier this month a series of photos of Wrexham Bus Station were published online by a local bus driver, showing users – many apparently using synthetic cannabinoids – staggering around like the “walking dead”, or collapsed on the pavement. The drugs have been linked to many deaths – 58 in English and Welsh prisons between 2013 and early 2016 (39 of which were suicides) – and to hundreds of overdoses in this country and abroad. At HMP Altcourse in Merseyside, prisoners have reportedly nicknamed ambulances “mambulances” because they’re often being called for inmates who have collapsed after using Black Mamba.
What effects do the drugs have?
In small doses, users report effects similar to those of marijuana: elevated mood, relaxation and altered perception. The problem is that synthetic cannabinoids affect the brain much more powerfully and unpredictably than cannabis. In higher doses, they regularly produce psychotic effects – extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia, suicidal thoughts and hallucinations – along with strong physical reactions, ranging from rapid heart rate and vomiting to seizures, acute kidney failure and death by heart attack. Extremely unpleasant reactions are common. “I smoked Spice about two years ago and it was one of the worst experiences of my life,” said DJ Wub Wub in The Sun. “It made me insanely dizzy and nauseated. I could barely speak or move, and when I did, I felt like I was on the worst rollercoaster ever.”
Where did Spice originate?
In the late 1980s, scientists discovered that the THC in cannabis affects humans by stimulating those receptors in the brain and nervous system that process sensation, appetite, mood and memory. These are known as the cannabinoid receptors. Once this had been established, chemists researching new medicines were able to synthesise compounds specifically to target these receptors, and went on to create them in their hundreds (see box). And just as drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy) had before, these gradually seeped out of the lab and onto the street.
Why are these drugs so powerful?
Synthetic cannabinoids are intrinsically potent. The THC in natural cannabis is only a “partial agonist”, explains Oliver Sutcliffe, a lecturer in psychopharmaceutical chemistry at Manchester Metropolitan University; it only partially reacts with the body’s cannabinoid receptors. By contrast, most synthetic cannabinoids are “full agonists”, which means they are able “to completely saturate and activate all of the body’s cannabinoid receptors at a lower dose”. Hence the violent reactions. In addition, the range of cannabinoids used, and the back-room nature of the manufacturing process, means the dosage can vary wildly and dangerously. “With Spice, sometimes even just a toke can be too much, if you’ve loaded a joint up with it and hit it hard,” one drugs expert told Vice.com.
Is Spice legal?
No. Its use in large quantities was first noted by the British authorities a decade ago, and the main synthetic cannabinoid, JWH-018, was made illegal in 2010. Spice is now banned in most Western nations. However, the wide range of cannabinoids available has for years made such drugs very difficult for legislators to tackle. Manufacturers simply tweaked the formula, to produce substances with a chemical make-up slightly altered from the most recently banned version. However, the Psychoactive Substances Act, which came into force last year, has changed all that: instead of trying to specify all banned drugs, it places a blanket ban on all psychoactive substances except for alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and medical products. So the era of the “legal high” is now over.