Dealers are concentrating on children with vapes laced with lethal zombie drug Spice

A Daily Star investigation found crooks are cutting corners to meet growing demand for super strength weed by using cheaper and more dangerous synthetic cannabis

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Dealers are targeting kids with vapes laced with deadly zombie drug Spice, a Daily Star investigation has uncovered.

Criminals are cutting corners to meet growing demand for super-strength weed by using cheaper – but more dangerous – synthetic cannabis. And they’re marketing the dodgy products as high potency cannabis oil vapes on Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok for as little as £10.

But health experts are concerned over a rise in psychosis cases and hospital admissions for heart problems, seizures and vomiting.

And schools are warning pupils to be aware of vapes spiked with lab-made Spice, which has been linked to scores of deaths in prison and amongst the homeless.

One in six vapes tested across 38 English schools contained Spice, and just one per cent contained THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, during tests by Bath University.

The Daily Star Sunday spoke to a dealer in Leeds who told how he started using synthetic cannabis in vapes because he wasn’t making any money.

He said: “The market has become so saturated you can’t make a profit by just selling THC liquid vapes.

“I pay £3,500 a kilo but that goes nowhere now. So you have to lace it with synthetic cannabis, which is cheaper to buy. Everyone’s at it.

“It’s the only way you can make any proper dough.”

“And because it’s liquid in the vape, you just dissolve it in and no one’s any the wiser.

“Then you just get some decent packaging, which you can buy online with all the in- demand brands, and put it up on Insta or do what I do and sell it on Telegram or the dark web.”

We found scores of websites and encrypted messaging services selling THC vapes and pens, often targeting younger users with brands like Packman, Alien and Big Chief, with flavours like Bubblegum Gelato, Purple Gruntz and Sour Pineapple.

One website sells up to 50 pens at £20 a pen, promising ‘discreet delivery’ and ‘premium product selection.’

But an increasing number of dealers are offering what looks like the real deal but is instead a toxic product containing more Spice than THC.

In October last year, police in Greater Manchester raided an illicit vape factory, seizing 25 litres of liquid suspected to contain Spice for bulk supply.

They moved after intel pointed to the supply of THC e-cigarettes and vapes across Greater Manchester to underage children who’d become unwell from their effects.

Drug testing site Wedinos found 41% of vape liquids submitted as THC contained synthetic cannabinoids.

But the drug is “incredibly” strong and addictive, said Prof Chris Pudney, who led the Bath University study.

“For a young person that puts them in a very risky position of being coerced, or abused, or being drawn into further criminality through use of a drug like this.”

In November, three young people were hospitalised after consuming suspected Spice-laced vapes being sold to teenagers in Staffordshire.

Health experts say synthetic cannabis can cause crippling stomach pain and vomiting and teachers are alert pupils to the dangers.

Ben Davis, Headteacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford, invited Professor Pudney to test a batch of confiscated vapes at the school.

He said “We’ve had specific instances of young people under the influence of spice. I recall one young man describing how his hands felt like cartoon hands. He couldn’t control them and they felt like they didn’t belong to him. We’ve also witnessed two children collapsing.

“Dealing with the aftermath is challenging, especially when you have to explain to the child’s family that something potentially life-threatening happened while they were in our care. It’s equally distressing for their friends who witnessed the collapse and for the staff involved—it’s their worst fear realised.”

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