In the third documentary of UNILAD’s original series: ‘The Dark Side Of Britain’, we explore the growing problem of synthetic cannabis AKA Spice, which is flooding the streets of Manchester.
Spice was made illegal under in 2016, but two years later we take to the streets of the UK’s second city to see if this latest example of the war on drugs is working. In this episode we follow current and former users of this life destroying drug and the people trying to solve this issue once and for all.
Enforcement action has seen us tackle dealers and use intelligence to target organised crime gangs across Greater Manchester – 55 people have been arrested for possession with intent to supply spice since January 2017 in the city centre alone. In addition to this we have also arrested 90 others for being in possession of the drug, with many of these people directed to support services.
Greater Manchester Police say:
“It’s crucial that we continue to work with partners, including Manchester City Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Team, the CPS and the courts to take dealers off the streets but also with health and support services to refer users so that they can get the help that they need and ultimately help us tackle the issue.
We remain committed to working together to keep Manchester safe for everyone, but we do need the continued support of the community in reporting suspicious incidents through 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
