above: 10 April 2017
That's Manchester .
| 'This hurts my heart' - Manchester people react to the city centre Spice epidemic We've had an unprecedented response to our expose of the drug's use ‘This hurts my heart’, writes one reader. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it in my life’, says another, a mum who took her two children to play in Piccadilly Gardens as they waited for the shops to open on Sunday morning.  In an unprecedented response, our readers spoke of their sadness at pictures of users swaying uncontrollably among shoppers, slumped unconscious in phone boxes and passed out on the streets. Many said government funding cuts have decimated charities and care for the most vulnerable. Others questioned what they, and we as a society, could do to help.  The situation was also likened by our readers to the widespread use of the drug phencyclidine, also known as PCP, in the United States in the 1980s, in Washington DC in particular. Also known as ‘angel dust’ and developed as an anaesthetic, the hallucinogenic drug is notorious for causing violent and bizarre behaviour. Cheap and readily available, its use caused widespread public panic.  Anthony Johnson, writing in response to our article on Facebook said the homeless of Manchester city centre have been ‘completely abandoned’ and described the Spice epidemic as a ‘symptom of neglect’. And Steph Jones urged the authorities to ‘look to the real problem, which is homelessness in the city’. “Standing and judging the ‘zombies’ from our warm and cosy homes will do nothing to provide support,” she wrote. Rachael Stoker painted a bleak picture. She said on Facebook: “I was there with my children aged 8 on Friday. As we walked across Piccadilly Gardens back to the station we saw three people fitting, foaming at the mouth, stiff eyes rolling. It was absolutely awful, I’ve never seen it so bad. We won’t be returning anytime soon.”  "There are just fewer services and less people and money to help with it now compared to the last couple of decades so it’s just more apparent, but it’s always been a huge part of our city.” Dan Edwards said life on the streets ‘must be horrific beyond imagination’ and called on the public to understand and empathise with the reasons people turn to the drug to escape reality. Some posters urged the public to volunteer with charities to help ease the situation.  Martin R Lyons, in one of more than 700 comments on our article, added: “The solution is we all need to help each other. “These people are no less part of society than we are yet people will turn their nose up and walk past. It’s a true reflection of what society is these days. No one helps each other.” source: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/spice-piccadilly-gardens-manchester-response-12872340?ptnr_rid=514850&icid=EM_MEN_Nletter_DailyNews_News_largeteaser_Text_Story1 see more: The pale, wasted figures caught in a Spice nightmare that's turning Piccadilly Gardens into hell on earth http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/spice-nightmare-manchester-city-centre-12870520?ptnr_rid=514850&icid=EM_MEN_Nletter_DailyNews_News_largeteaser_Text_Story2 |
Designer drug called Spice which is nearly impossible to detect is killing scores of prisoners as it sweeps jails
- Drug is being smuggled into prisons in letters, newspapers and magazines
- Can then be rolled into a cigarette and smoked to achieve a high
- The odourless, colourless substance is almost impossible to detect
- It has been blamed for a 40 per cent rise in attacks on prison staff
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3806038/Designer-drug-called-Spice-nearly-impossible-detect-killing-scores-prisoners-sweeps-jails.html#ixzz4dteM0lPC
