The drug known as spice first shot to national attention in the spring of 2017. Uploaded videos showed people on the ground in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester or frozen like statues. However, the debilitating impact of the drug was first reported in 2015 when five students from Lancaster University were treated at a hospital after they took the drug. As of 2025, spice continues to be a significant problem, with new and alarming forms of consumption emerging.
A Call For Stricter Controls
In 2018, Lincolnshire’s Police Commissioner Marc Jones began a vital campaign. He urged the Home Office to make spice a class A drug, which would mean treating spice dealers like those who sell heroin. Jones warned that spice was the biggest threat to public health he had seen in ten years.
The Growing Crisis
Spice has caused deaths across the UK. Its use keeps rising in our towns, cities, and villages, causing harm to more people each year.
The Current Picture in 2025
The spice problem has changed in worrying ways. The drug now turns up in vaping products, which brings new risks. Recently in London, five teenagers were hospitalised after using vapes containing spice. Many bad vapes claim to contain THC or cannabis, but really have spice inside.
Young people often use vapes, which makes it easier for dealers to fool them. While many see regular spice as a street drug to avoid, vapes look safe and normal. This tricks people into taking spice when they would never choose to do so.
In Lancaster and Morecambe, several teenagers needed hospital treatment after using contaminated vapes. These vapes held harmful drugs like amphetamines and THC. Many young people buy these dangerous vapes through social media.
When spice is in vapes, it’s extra risky because you can’t see or smell it. People might use a vape without knowing it has spice, which can cause bad health problems.
Spotting the Warning Signs
You’ve probably heard people talk about synthetic cannabis, but spice isn’t anything like natural marijuana. If someone you know starts acting oddly – maybe they’re switching rapidly between stillness and aggression, or they’re experiencing severe confusion – these could be telltale signs of spice use. Unlike the drowsiness from cannabis, spice often triggers alarming behavioral changes. Picture a light switch being flicked on and off: that’s how quickly spice can alter someone’s state of mind. What’s particularly troubling is how these symptoms can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, varying wildly between users.
Who Uses Spice?
Spice affects people all over the UK but causes the most harm in poorer areas. People who have lost their homes, jobs, or who face other troubles in life often turn to spice.
Young people used to stay away from spice, seeing it as a “dirty” street drug. But now that it’s in vapes, more young people might take it without knowing.
Problem Areas in the UK
Many UK cities face big troubles with spice, such as Blackpool, Bristol, Belfast, Wrexham, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Hull and Birmingham. In 2018, people started calling Doncaster “spice-caster” because of its drug problems. By 2020, Newcastle became known as the country’s “drug death capital”, with spice playing a major part.
Why It’s Hard to Count Users
Getting real numbers about spice use isn’t easy. Many users, like people in prison, don’t show up in health records. Spice belongs to a group called new psychoactive substances (NPS). In 2017, these drugs killed 61 people, down from 123 deaths in 2016. But these numbers might not tell the whole story.
Testing For Spice
Drug tests can find spice in your system. Many workplaces now check for it using 10 Panel drug tests and workplace drug testing kits. Failing a drug test at work can badly affect your job and future work chances.
Looking Ahead
Spice remains a serious worry across the UK, and spice-laced vapes make the problem worse. If you think someone is selling spice or tainted vapes, tell the police. If you need help with spice use, you can get free support from the NHS and drug help charities.
Photo by Anthony Cunningham for Zoom Testing
Zoom Testing is a leading UK drug testing company and a supplier of Drug Test Kits.
This post was originally published in 2018. It was last updated in January 2025.
