Vapes laced with spice are causing problems in schools, part of a multi-million-pound trade. Pupils are collapsing in classrooms after smoking contaminated vapes, with children as young as 12 falling into comas. Research indicates up to a quarter of vapes confiscated in secondary schools in parts of England are laced with spice.
The study found hundreds of online accounts advertising 'THC' vape liquid, but testing revealed about 70% of these accounts on TikTok were selling spice instead. Spice dealers targeting youngsters are operating on social media, with up to £20 million worth of the drug advertised for sale in the UK online. 8 million worth of spice in a single post.
Spice is the nickname for a group of lab-made drugs that mimic the effects of cannabis but are cheaper and more harmful, causing heart attacks, seizures, and hallucinations, often with fatal consequences. For dealers, spice is more profitable because it is cheaper to make and far more addictive. The vapes are sweet-flavored to target children and are harder to keep out of schools than cannabis or cigarettes.
Evidence grows that drug-laced 'zombie' vapes are already being sold on the black market in Britain. These vapes often contain the powerful anaesthetic etomidate, synthetic cannabis (spice), or the horse tranquiliser ketamine. A random sample of 100 seized vapes found that a third contained etomidate.
In 2024, five teenagers in London were hospitalised after ingesting vapour from pens containing spice. Children as young as 11 are making up to £400 a day dealing spice in school playgrounds after buying contaminated vapes over the internet and selling them on. Both THC and spice are illegal to possess, supply, or produce in the UK.
The worrying trend has prompted the UK government to look at whether current laws on controlled substances are tough enough to ban drug-laced vapes.