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Original poster

Spice Vaping

34 replies

WherewereyouB · 05/11/2023 18:41

My 15 yr old DS has revealed that he and his friends were all addicted to vaping synthetic weed (also known as Spice). He says he has given up, although one hasn't and seems very addicted. He was smoking every night before bed he says, for several months and even had some inside his super strict school. His grades plummeted, but I had no clue why. He tells me this is just 'normal year 10, everyone does it'. I had talked loads about the dangers of THC from at least year 9, as well as other drugs, and thought I was pretty much on top of it. But we had absolutely no idea he was vaping it as it is odourless. Other mums totally horrified as well. We can't go to school and tell them about what we know, as we risk any of them getting expelled, but where to go for support? Do parents realise how widespread and dangerous this is? If my DS is right, its everywhere and could even be your child too.

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Meltinthemiddle · 05/11/2023 19:30

Drugs are rife everywhere and so easily available. I've just discovered Telegram app (similar to WhatsApp) if you search people nearby or search something like party supplies drug dealers will pop up even with how far they are located from you. They even do giveaways for likes and shares 😔

Original poster
WherewereyouB · 05/11/2023 21:29

Wow. There is a special place in hell for vaping though.

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Flufferblub · 05/11/2023 22:30

Just found a vape in my ds' room this evening. His younger sibling even got hold of it and tried it. He says that he was repairing it for a friend. Going to search his room tomorrow. I don't even know what to do. I don't know where to start.

Original poster
WherewereyouB · 05/11/2023 22:46

according to my son, if it’s got a removable pod and that’s a neon colour, then that’s synthetic THC, which is spice. It’s cheaper to buy spice than the weaker non chemical thc which is brown.

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Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 01:41

Found this in my D's vape tonight. Noticed he was unusually spaced out and tired recently, no motivation and eating loads. God knows how I am going to deal with it. He looks a mess and is so angry I took his stuff away. Would never have suspected if it wasn't for this thread.

KievLoverTwo · 28/12/2023 02:34

This is absolutely horrifying. It is an abysmal drug when taken straight.

Spice is very prolific in Manchester. I would suggest finding a Manchester parent support group, and if you don't live there, find an online one.

Original poster
WherewereyouB · 28/12/2023 08:44

I’m so sorry @Meltinthemiddle. Talk to him, I’m sure you know that of course. We had to all come together as a group of mums and sons to get my DS’s son through this. His mum and dad were in bits but they kept going, searching him, his room and getting rid of any money he had on his phone or any access to. There was a lot of denying, by the boy, but he could see that it was something that everyone hated, including him in fact. He’s so much happier now he’s rid of it. He’s normal and sociable and chatty, but it was very tough. Of course the school knew nothing.

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handmademitlove · 28/12/2023 08:55

We had a student collapse at school after vaping synthetic spice in the toilets. The first aider had to perform CPR. It was very traumatic for everyone. That experience seems to be not uncommon sadly, as we discovered afterwards when trying to figure out what happened.

All our students have assemblies on this specifically as the risks are huge and they simply don't understand it.

Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 09:35

Is spice and THC the same? This is all new stuff to me and all these terms. He has so much vape juice in his room. I have idea what is what and what to look for unless I try it. He is on a comedown and my god he so angry that I have taken his stuff off him. He is making horrible threats 😢

Original poster
WherewereyouB · 28/12/2023 12:05

@Meltinthemiddle I’m so sorry. Is he admitting it’s spice? My guess is it is. He’s a victim of a vile industry getting kids hooked at an early age. My DS said it takes some doing dealing with the comedown as you feel awful. I’m not sure if this helps, but think of him as a victim, and tell him you want him back? I know how horrible teenagers can be.

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Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 12:44

He said it's THC is that the same as spice? There doesn't seem to alot of info on it. He went mental earlier as I've took all his vape juice of him as have no idea what is juice and what is this drug! I have had to buy a vape juice from the shop as he was going mad.so guessing nicotine withdrawal hasn't helped.

IHS · 28/12/2023 12:48

Spice is the synthetic form of THC. THC occurs naturally in cannabis.

ChimpyChops · 28/12/2023 12:57

We have had this issue with our 16 year old. THC and Spice in vapes, shared amongst friends. My husband took 3 puffs of it to see what it was and was so high, I had to send him to bed. He says it is completely normal now and easily available through Telegram.

He has also tried Ketamine and MDMA.

We have support in place as we see it as a slippery slope. I expected him coming home drunk etc but not this.

Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 13:37

So how do you tell the difference between spice and THC? How do I know what it is 😢. I puffed it and my heart my racing and I felt a bit spaced but it wasn't a nice high.can I ask what support you have in place? We are really struggling.

Silverbirchtwo · 28/12/2023 13:43

Can you let the school know anonymously? So that no one gets immediately into trouble, but the school know what is going on and can take steps to try to get on top of it. Leaving the school in the dark is not helping the situation for the pupils.

Original poster
WherewereyouB · 28/12/2023 16:24

I’m not sure the school can help as it’s illegal. Maybe see your GP with him? You can get in touch with your local council and find out whether they have any support? It’s an awful situation, this is why it needs highlighting. It’s highly likely to be Spice, but it doesn’t matter, it’s synthetic THC, same thing and dangerous.

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Original poster
WherewereyouB · 28/12/2023 16:26

Also, ALL the shops (independents) are selling vapes to kids, with fake ID. This needs to stop too.

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WhatsInStoreFor2024 · 28/12/2023 17:12

I'm quite shocked by this

I deal with spice and vape issues daily at work.... with grown men. (Prison) Not kids

Get them off it. It has permanent effects. I've seen the destruction

It's paper form too, a tiny piece in a vape is enough, it's not just liquid form

Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 20:23

It's hard when you don't know what you are looking for and there is no support 😔

HappyKatieA · 28/12/2023 22:06

I really worry about this with my youngest. I found a refillable vape in his room in the summer, told him I'd taken some puffs and felt ill. I could see he felt awful about it, then for some time we kept him in, limited money, really tracked his movements. We went on holiday where he did not have access to anything.
I know a number of his friends are smoking weed, their parents tell me.
He has an older brother who looks out for it too, although unfortunately, he does smoke weed at times (not in / near the house).
We talk about things openly, but he hides things, doesn't like to talk.
I think he did try it, he has seemed much better since the summer; I'll never say never.
My husband and I both work in education with teens, but find other people's kids talk far more openly to us than he does.
We're hoping that keeping the conversation going, letting him know that whilst we do have strict rules, teens make mistakes and we're here to support will be what gets us through. I hope that's enough.

ChimpyChops · 28/12/2023 23:44

Meltinthemiddle · 28/12/2023 13:37

So how do you tell the difference between spice and THC? How do I know what it is 😢. I puffed it and my heart my racing and I felt a bit spaced but it wasn't a nice high.can I ask what support you have in place? We are really struggling.

Here, the dealers are adding spice to the THC liquid as far as I have heard, I don't know how to tell the difference, sorry x

We contacted the local drug and alcohol addiction centre's under 18 service and we got a support worker for him to speak to. I also contacted his college.

The other week, he was bought home in an ambulance after drinking too much and passing out on the bus. That was the night everything changed, it erupted, I'd had enough and he was angry with everyone. He left at midnight and we had to get the police out to look for him - he had got one of those rental bikes and gone to a friend's on the other side of the city so the police spoke to him there. They referred to social services who rang us that week - no concerns about home life, just his risky behaviour when out. They are referring him on to a social worker.

He has turned a corner, I believe so anyway. A lot has come out about his mental health so we have requested a GP appointment and we are going in next week to see them.

Brynandwin · 29/12/2023 00:05

This is a horrifying situation and one which is a massive problem in our area. Children, unable to get served for vapes in normal shops , contacting men in cars on snapchat to buy vapes . The men then offer increasingly more dangerous substances , spice and pills, and even allowing teens to get into debt for vapes , then threatening them and their family homes when they’re addicted, or asking for sexual favors from teenage girls to repay the debt.
They don’t tell them it’s spice or whatever - they tell them it’s weed, and they don’t know what they’re addicted to until it’s too late.
The teens become increasingly aggressive and violent at home , massive come downs, school refusal, etc.
Personally, having seen the extent of the problem in schools and in my local area I’m at the point of wanting to present my 14yo with regular shop bought branded vapes myself, which totally goes against any vision of parenting I had but here we are. The alternative is my child buying vapes from dangerous dealers in cars.
of course in an ideal world the situation would be that there’d be no vaping at all, but given how much vapes are exchanged and consumed in school , I feel absolutely powerless.

Meltinthemiddle · 29/12/2023 12:48

These vapes really are the start of something, so many kids posing and using it as an assessory. They always blame she parents etc for kids experimenting with this stuff but how about the government who have allowed this to happen. They should never have been produced or sold in the first place.

Seriouslynonono · 29/12/2023 14:22

Blimey @Brynandwin - that's really quite scary.

I dabbled in all sorts as a teen but at least I knew what it was as I could physically see it. Stuff put into vapes to make them even more addictive on the black market is something the government really needs to address before they go full steam ahead with their ban on selling nicotine products to anyone born after 2006 (or whatever it is). I agree with the ban in principle, but the black market vape business must be stopped first otherwise the consequences are going to be so much worse that smoking shop bought fags like we all did in the 90's.

Brynandwin · 29/12/2023 15:43

Exactly . If anything, a ban at this point without tackling the bigger problem would be counterproductive.