By Gavin Mackintosh-
Drug dealers on the Isle of Man have been mixing so-called legal high with Cannabis sold to cannabis users, in what has been referred to as ”lethal poisoning” by local residents.
The banned substance, once legal in the U.K has lethal ingredients in it normally used for killing sharks and known to have killed unsuspecting users who had smoked only a few drags of it.
In a bid to raise the strength of the cannabis they sell, dealers have been mixing Cannabis with a measured dose of legal high, with the hope that recreational smokers will not detect it, but rather consider the cannabis potent and return for more as regular customers.
The news came to the attention of the eye of media.com, as we visited the area to research a separate story. Three people- two males and a female were seen comforting a man who was acting hysterical and panicky after smoking a spliff of what he believed to be cannabis.
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The man in his thirties had just walked out of a bar to light his spliff, but five minutes later was heard saying ”mate this stuff is strong. Mate this is lethal, I feel like i’m losing it. I’m not joking, I am losing it”, he said. He was immediately told to compose himself and not give in to fear, but he begged for water which was immediately given to him. He needed to bottles of water to regain some composure, but had to be looked after for about ten mins before regained full consciousness again.
I was at the scene by pure co- incidence, but prevented from taking a picture or filming anything. This would have been a classic visual to witness, but unfortunately we had to forgo it. Immediately , an inquiry seemed to be launched by those present as to where he bought the doggy gear, and it became apparent he had purchased it from a random guy he met in the area.
”I thought I was dying, the man who after initially telling me his name, insisted he was not mentioned by name in our article, told the eye of media.com. I have done legal high once before and feared for my life then, this wasn’t as bad, but wasn’t far off”. ”What a mad trip” that was, he said.
Meanwhile, some of the locals stated that it is known that some dealers in the area have been mixing legal high with cannabis when selling to users in the area.
MIXING
Michael Cain, 24, from the Isle of Man, told the eye of media.com ”There are quite a few dealers around here mixing that sxxx with weed. They don’t put a copious amount because they don’t want people collapsing, they want them back. So they sprinkle a bit of it in the weed they sell in a way that makes it indistinguishable from the rest of the weed, since most of what they see and smell in the bag is weed they recognize. It is still pxxx taking though” , he said.
STRENGTHS AND FLAVOURS
”They know legal highs come in different strengths and flavours , such as ‘train wreck’, black mamba(named after a deadly snake, one of the most venomous one’s) etc. Legal highs are synthetic version of the man-made version of cannabis- designed to be up to ten times stronger than any cannabis. They are nowhere near as safe as the natural cannabis found on our streets today.- which is already quite potent these days due to genetic modification of cannabis”
This man made synthetic version are made in a lab and transferred into a herb of some kind, so that they can be smoked and sometimes sold as a potpourri- a herbal air freshener, often left in a bowl to as a scent to freshen the home. However, since the blanket ban last May, it has been banned under the substance misuse act. Parents in the Isle of man have been told to warn their teenage children to beware of the danger of buying cannabis because of the dangers of unknowingly consuming legal high with it.
People from the Isle of Man have been warned they will face a lengthy prison sentence if they flout new rules concerning so-called ‘legal highs’.
Treasury in the area have made a legal order banning the import, export and production of all psychoactive substances that are subject to blanket prohibition in the United Kingdom.
The act comes into force this Thursday, also covers the possession of the substances with intent to supply.
The police and customs officers now have powers to enforce the prohibitions and hand out penalties for contravening them. However, there are still some who are crazy enough to prefer the harmful buzz generated by legal highs.
Strangely enough, after the lad recovered from what was a frightening experience, he returned to the pub on the isle of man where he had a meal to strengthen his immune system. He then said ” I think it is because I had a full spliff of it, maybe if I had just three pulls, I will be fine. This kind of spliff should probably be shared by three or four people, with each person taking just about three drags of it”, the man said.
He was immediately advised to throw the rest of the weed bag away, but he refused saying, ”I a’int got a tenner to waste mate, money doesn’t grow on trees”. What a plunker! If he is not careful, he won’t live long enough to see another tree or spend any money for that matter.