By Eric King-
A homeless drug dealer who believed he was selling a synthetic form of marijuana was actually selling marshmallow leaves sprayed with WD-40.
Zachary Gaffey, 27, thought he was dealing Spice, when he was actually dealing in marshmallow leaves sprayed with the lubricant WD-40, which smells and looks like spice. He has now been jailed for attempting to sell Spice, along with Aidan Kay, 25, who had been helping him. Spice has destroyed hundreds of youths in Manchester, leaving many in hospital as a result.
Gaffey had no stable residence and is believed to have been sofa surfing a lot of the time and also staying on the streets many other times. Gaffey, who was previously jailed for more than five years for robbing a shop with an air pistol, later told the police he was a Spice user, and had been addicted since 2012.
The judge described the scourge of Spice in Manchester as a “plague.”
During sentencing, Judge Timothy Smith said: “That drug has caused mayhem in the city centre
“It has been described during the course of this hearing as a scourge on this city, an epidemic.
“Its impact on the local community cannot be overemphasised.
“It is quite simply a plague on this city.”