Synthetic cannabinoids consumed via e-cigarettes in English schools

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), colloquially spice or K2, are the most common drug to be found in prisons in the UK, where they are associated with nearly half of non-natural deaths. In the community, SCs are associated with poly-drug users who are also likely to be homeless. People who use SCs report debilitating side effects and withdrawal symptoms, coupled with dependence. Until now, SC use was believed to be largely restricted to prison and homeless populations. However, media reporting in the UK has increasingly identified cases of children collapsing in schools, which are claimed to be associated with vaping and putatively the vaping of a drug, variously reported as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) synthetic cannabis or spice. We therefore conducted the first study to identify and quantity SCs in e-cigarettes routinely collected from schools. We sampled 27 schools from geographically distinct regions of England, representing a very broad range of social metrics (free school meals, persistent absenteeism, and SEN). The material was sampled by self-submission by individual schools of e-cigarettes seized during normal school operation and transferred to us for analysis via local police forces. We found a remarkably consistent picture where SCs were detected in 17.5 % of all e-cigarettes sampled, and in 21 of 27 (78 %) of all sampled schools. Moreover, the percentage of SC e-cigarettes positively correlated with a metric of social deprivation, the fraction of pupils eligible for free school meals. The SC positive e-cigarettes were almost entirely found in e-cigarette liquid bottles and refillable e-cigarette devices, with very few identified in single use e-cigarette products. Within the positive samples we found an average SC concentration of 1.03 mg mL-1 with a maximum of 3.6 mg mL-1. In contrast to the high prevalence of SCs, few samples contained THC (1.6 %). We suggest that pupils are being sold SC e-cigarettes as cannabis and may be unaware they are consuming (and sometimes supplying) considerably more harmful drugs. Our findings are immediately crucial to policy policing and healthcare in the UK as well as to educational bodies and schools.