Warning over spice and ketamine-laced vapes being given to schoolchildren

Lancashire Police are investigating aft a antheral allegedly handed retired vapes ‘laced with spice and ketamine’ astatine schools.

The allegations surfaced aft 3 students were reportedly hospitalised successful Pendle Borough past week, with warnings being dispersed connected societal media.

In a statement, they said: ‘We are alert of a station circulating connected social media astir alleged drug-dealing.

‘We would similar to reassure the nationalist that we instrumentality each allegations of this quality earnestly and we are looking into it.’

After the societal media posts gained traction, Lancashire Police said they were made alert of transgression harm connected a location nearby.

Spice is usually a premix of herbs oregon shredded works worldly and man-made mind-altering chemicals sprayed onto them.

It is marketed arsenic an alternate to cannabis by cause dealers but, chemically, the 2 drugs are precise different.

Cannabis comes from a plant, but Spice is simply a ‘synthetic cannabinoid’, a household of astir 700 probe chemicals.

Ketamine, wide known arsenic ket oregon K, is an anaesthetic that has go fashionable arsenic a enactment cause successful clubs and raves.

Typically snorted arsenic a pulverization oregon injected arsenic a liquid, it tin distort the user’s perceptions of show and sound, making them consciousness dissociated from their surroundings.

Vapes person been the latest people for spiking victims with drugs – with more than 6,700 cases reported successful the archetypal fractional of 2023 alone successful England and Wales.

Helena Conibear, main enforcement of the Alcohol Education Trust, said: ‘We person heard of radical unknowingly utilizing vapes which incorporate THC oregon spice successful them.

‘Very small is known astir vape spiking arsenic it is simply a caller phenomenon. We are precise overmuch successful the acheronian astir however it operates.’

Several victims of spiking spoke astir their traumatic experiences last year, calling for further action.

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