(NewsReady.com) – The CDC found 2.1 million American school students vaped in 2023. The United Kingdom is also grappling with an explosion of vape usage. Experts across the Atlantic Ocean have called it an “epidemic.” New research has found many vape pens are spiked with a drug.
Researchers at the University of Bath tested 596 vapes that were confiscated at 38 schools in South Yorkshire, the West Midlands, London, and Greater Manchester. Tests revealed the drug spice, a synthetic cannabinoid, that is often referred to as the “zombie drug,” was found in one in six vapes. Almost 100 of the devices contained the dangerous substance.
Researchers believe the vape pens might have been advertised as having cannabis oil in them. The drug can lead to psychotic episodes, heart attacks, and seizures. Spice was far more prevalent in vape pens than marijuana, which was only found in one in 100 units. One of them even tested positive for traces of heroin.
The researchers learned that spice was generally added to refillable vapes, not disposable ones. Chris Pudney, a professor at the University of Bath who developed a device to instantly detect synthetic drugs like spice, told The Guardian that he was “shocked” that spice was found in so many of the vapes. He said it was “almost unbelievable,” saying he thought the numbers would be 10 times lower.
Pudney also said that the tests weren’t “just a niche, one-off occurrence” happening at schools far away, he stressed that it’s very common. Teens are buying vapes that are laced with spice and can cause “cardiac arrests.” He said some kids have come very “close to death,” and teachers have reported seeing kids “collapsing in the halls” and landing in the ICU.
In the US, officials have banned flavored vapes, which are often marketed to kids. They’re still widely available, though, and thousands of unauthorized vapes have poured into the country.
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