Warning after Peterborough pupils collapse from taking ‘zombie drug’ spice

Cambridgeshire police said a “small group of students” from Thomas Deacon Academy inhaled the banned substance which can be up to 200 times the strength of normal cannabis.

Officers have now issued a warning to every secondary school in Peterborough which has been sent to parents. It informs them that there were “several reported incidents of students ‘collapsing’ and requiring medical attention” after taking the Class B substance.

A police spokeswoman told the Peterborough Telegraph: “An investigation into how the students came to be in possession of the substance is ongoing.”

Spice is a synthetic cannaboid with mind-altering chemicals which can be vaped or smoked.

Known as ‘fake weed’, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said the health effects can be “unpredictable and dangerous”.

The PT received a copy of the police warning earlier this week after being informed it had been sent to parents of Thomas Deacon pupils.

In response, the academy in Queens Gardens said: “The letter was sent out by the principal as part of a coordinated approach across the city through the Peterborough Partnership of Secondary Schools (PPSS) group as advised by Cambridgeshire police.

“Therefore, all secondary schools in Peterborough should have sent the same letter out to parents.”

The statement did not reference the fact it was pupils from the academy who had taken the banned substance.

A police spokeswoman has since told the PT: “On February 3 we were made aware of a small group of students at Thomas Deacon Academy having inhaled a substance now known to be a strong form of synthetic cannabis, commonly known as spice. It is believed this was inhaled via an electronic vape.

“An investigation into how the students came to be in possession of the substance is ongoing.”

Contacted for further comment, Rick Carroll, principal of Thomas Deacon Academy, said: “The academy has an extremely robust drugs policy and we work closely with partner agencies to educate young people about the consequences and risks of drug use and misuse.

“We are aware that a very small number of our students had involvement with an illegal substance and also of a similar incident involving another school. We dealt with the situation swiftly and are in regular contact with Peterborough police.

“To reinforce our policy on drug use and misuse, we will be running additional student sessions and assemblies after half term.”

Spice came to prominence after being smuggled into prisons, but the ‘legal high’ was banned outright in 2016.

It was described as the “most severe public health issue we have faced in decades” by Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones back in 2018.

Mr Jones was campaigning at the time to see spice be reclassified as a Class A drug in the same category as heroin and cocaine.

The police warning sent out to Peterborough parents stated: “Any students experiencing any concerning symptoms must be referred for immediate medical attention.

“We strongly request that any consumed or inhaled substance (i.e. vapes or liquid containers) are seized for further analysis and investigation.”