Met warns of spiking trend involving spice-laced vapes

Vapes laced with spice are being used to spike people in what police warned is a "very dangerous new threat".

- TARA COBHAM

The Metropolitan Police issued its fresh warning over the devices at an event about tackling spiking this month as reports increased by 13 per cent in 2023 and the number of allegations made in the year hit 1,383.

As vapes surge in popularity, the force revealed it is increasingly common across devices that contain chemicals other than nicotine, including THC, the psychoactive found in cannabis, and spice, the street name for the class of drugs known as synthetic cannabinoids.

The latter are substances made in labs designed to mimic the effects of cannabis, which can cause chest pains, seizures, extreme anxiety and suicidal thoughts. They have been widely consumed in UK prisons for more than a decade, while The Independent revealed earlier this year that schoolchildren were being offered vapes spiked with spice that were being distributed via Snapchat.

Speaking to reporters at Scotland Yard, Met forensic consultant and national lead for Operation Lester Dean Ames warned: "Many of you are aware of the rise of vapes. They are very much a new threat. They should contain nicotine but they do contain THC and more recently we've seen vapes that contain what is colloquially known as spice. People could be offered a vape not knowing what they're about to inhale. Vapes are very dangerous."