4 ms·

So right. By desperately hanging on to criminalization of pot, politicians have created a much worse situation. My question is, is spice an issue in the places

So right. By desperately hanging on to criminalization of pot, politicians have created a much worse situation. My question is, is spice an issue in the places where pot is legal?

cf498 8y ago
You can witness the same in Russia with opiates and their desomorphine / crocodile consumption.
- hguhghuff 8y ago
  I don’t think people last long on crocodile do they?
  - cf498 8y ago
    No they dont. I was referring to your comment about creating a worse situation.
  - etatoby 8y ago
    Maybe they won't last long on Spice either. Maybe that's the entire point, the UK Government's "final solution" to the "homeless problem." I hope I'm wrong and it's just the free market taking advantage of the weakest. Somehow that's preferable to a concerted effort to get rid of the unfit.
    - flycaliguy 8y ago
      If you are going to peddle a conspiracy, I suggest pointing the finger at China for this one.
- aasasd 8y ago
  Out of the loop here, what happened? Afaik krokodil was around for ages.
RealDinosaur 8y ago
I moved from Manchester (in the Article) to Holland a year ago. Maybe my comment might be insightful. No it's not a problem here... Illegal drugs are still a thing, but anything that was in Manchester an 'ex-legal high' tends to be sold at SmartShops which have a brick-and-mortar presence. I have never seen anyone who was obviously a spice-head. I've seen some homeless people here (much less than in Manchester), but they actually mainly just chat (in English) to me and ask for help rather than pure begging. Holland actively helps homeless people which is less than I can say for the UK. I've been asked for help about 4 times in 1 year in the Netherlands. I got asked once a day in Manchester. In London, I got asked 4 times a day! The spice epidemic in Manchester, isn't purely a result of drug law. The current UK government has no compassion for the homeless or unemployed. If you force people into vulnerable situations, then they are going to be taken advantage of. # Another story about why spice is popular... About 6 years ago, the place in the article (Piccadilly Gardens), had sellers trading weed. It was terrible stuff, both low quantity, and low value, but it was clearly labeled with a green cannabis leaf. It was relatively harmless. If you asked anyone 'where could i get some', it was the first answer. About 4 years ago, they increased police presence in Piccadilly Gardens due to complaints about 'the smell'. Local newspapers wrote about it, and the end result were, several of the dealers were arrested. These were dealers that had been operating for years, and were the closest thing to a 'go-to' place there was in the city center. 4 years ago, ex-legal highs were not yet outlawed. It's not hard to imagine what happened with the vacuum. For me, weed is not longer exciting. It is a take it or leave it thing now, and I am much more concerned with my relationship with alcohol... but yeah... Spice is a problem because weed is a 'class B drug' now.
- rocgf 8y ago
  I currently live in Manchester and your comment is insightful, thanks. As far as I have read in other articles, spice is also way cheaper than weed, maybe this has been a contributing factor as well. The sight of comatose homeless people in Manchester's city center is part of the scenery and extremely sad. Also, Piccadilly Gardens is still 'the place' where drugs are sold, at least as far as I know. I got asked more than once if I 'want anything' by shady-looking individuals. The smell is still there, both in Piccadilly and, generally, in Manchester. As a personal anecdote, excluding the areas right next to coffeeshops, you can smell weed more often in Manchester than in Amsterdam.
aphextron 8y ago
>My question is, is spice an issue in the places where pot is legal? It’s basically unheard of in California since you can just walk into a store and buy weed. It’s still a problem in the midwest though.
- fragmede 8y ago
  It depends on if you believe the news/plice does extensive critical research on the street names of drugs. Eg, this was due to "bath salts" https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/10/22/vallejo-men-in-naked-drug-fueled-rampage-identified/ https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/10/22/vallejo-men-in-...

So right. By desperately hanging on to criminalization of pot, politicians have created a much worse situation. My question is, is spice an issue in the places where pot is legal?

cf498 8y ago

You can witness the same in Russia with opiates and their desomorphine / crocodile consumption.

hguhghuff 8y ago
I don’t think people last long on crocodile do they?
- cf498 8y ago
  No they dont. I was referring to your comment about creating a worse situation.
- etatoby 8y ago
  Maybe they won't last long on Spice either. Maybe that's the entire point, the UK Government's "final solution" to the "homeless problem." I hope I'm wrong and it's just the free market taking advantage of the weakest. Somehow that's preferable to a concerted effort to get rid of the unfit.
  - flycaliguy 8y ago
    If you are going to peddle a conspiracy, I suggest pointing the finger at China for this one.
aasasd 8y ago
Out of the loop here, what happened? Afaik krokodil was around for ages.

RealDinosaur 8y ago

I moved from Manchester (in the Article) to Holland a year ago. Maybe my comment might be insightful. No it's not a problem here... Illegal drugs are still a thing, but anything that was in Manchester an 'ex-legal high' tends to be sold at SmartShops which have a brick-and-mortar presence. I have never seen anyone who was obviously a spice-head. I've seen some homeless people here (much less than in Manchester), but they actually mainly just chat (in English) to me and ask for help rather than pure begging. Holland actively helps homeless people which is less than I can say for the UK. I've been asked for help about 4 times in 1 year in the Netherlands. I got asked once a day in Manchester. In London, I got asked 4 times a day! The spice epidemic in Manchester, isn't purely a result of drug law. The current UK government has no compassion for the homeless or unemployed. If you force people into vulnerable situations, then they are going to be taken advantage of. # Another story about why spice is popular... About 6 years ago, the place in the article (Piccadilly Gardens), had sellers trading weed. It was terrible stuff, both low quantity, and low value, but it was clearly labeled with a green cannabis leaf. It was relatively harmless. If you asked anyone 'where could i get some', it was the first answer. About 4 years ago, they increased police presence in Piccadilly Gardens due to complaints about 'the smell'. Local newspapers wrote about it, and the end result were, several of the dealers were arrested. These were dealers that had been operating for years, and were the closest thing to a 'go-to' place there was in the city center. 4 years ago, ex-legal highs were not yet outlawed. It's not hard to imagine what happened with the vacuum. For me, weed is not longer exciting. It is a take it or leave it thing now, and I am much more concerned with my relationship with alcohol... but yeah... Spice is a problem because weed is a 'class B drug' now.

rocgf 8y ago
I currently live in Manchester and your comment is insightful, thanks. As far as I have read in other articles, spice is also way cheaper than weed, maybe this has been a contributing factor as well. The sight of comatose homeless people in Manchester's city center is part of the scenery and extremely sad. Also, Piccadilly Gardens is still 'the place' where drugs are sold, at least as far as I know. I got asked more than once if I 'want anything' by shady-looking individuals. The smell is still there, both in Piccadilly and, generally, in Manchester. As a personal anecdote, excluding the areas right next to coffeeshops, you can smell weed more often in Manchester than in Amsterdam.

aphextron 8y ago

>My question is, is spice an issue in the places where pot is legal? It’s basically unheard of in California since you can just walk into a store and buy weed. It’s still a problem in the midwest though.

fragmede 8y ago
It depends on if you believe the news/plice does extensive critical research on the street names of drugs. Eg, this was due to "bath salts" https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/10/22/vallejo-men-in-naked-drug-fueled-rampage-identified/ https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/10/22/vallejo-men-in-...