** UK medics seeing huge surge in calls for Spice overdoses
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** UK paramedics are apparently dealing with a significant surge in calls for Spice overdoses. That is the word from The Guardian (September 20) which said some EMS services have seen such help hails jump six times to that of last year’s stats. The South Western Ambulance Service, for example, attended 157 synthetic cannabinoid calls between August 2016-July 2017. The following year the number was 960. In West Midlands, the EMS drug calls went from 2,890 in the first seven months of 2017 to 3,233 during the same period this year. According to the newspaper, the problem is particularly rampant in the homeless community. The surge comes one year after new laws were enacted upgrading Spice to a class B drug. Possession of a class B could result in five years in jail. Black Mamba is another drug fueling the epidemic. National Police Chief Council spokesman Simon Bray said the drugs, which are also widespread in prisons, are something all emergency agencies need to tackle.
