Stemming the flow of drugs into prisons

Dr Chris Pudney is developing a tool that could help turn around the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

His inter-disciplinary team at the University of Bath is developing the world’s first portable test that detects synthetic drugs such as Spice.

They’re hoping that in the future the device will be used to help stem the flow of synthetic drugs smuggled into prisons and reduce the devastating effects on users of these highly addictive substances.

Spice is the street name for a mixture of lab-made drugs known as synthetic cannabinoids or Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS). They mimic the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, by binding to the same receptors in the brain.

Whilst they were originally designed to mimic the effects of cannabis, they are much stronger which makes them considerably more dangerous and unpredictable.

They can cause severe negative effects including anxiety, paranoia and psychotic episodes.

THC is known as a partial agonist because it only partially reacts with cannabinoid receptors, however synthetic cannabis binds more strongly to the receptors and activates a full response, causing much more intense effects.

A totally different drug

Natural cannabis from plants contains a concoction of chemicals – in addition to THC, it contains cannabidiol (CBD), which is marketed as a medicinal treatment for a whole host of health problems, from pain relief to Parkinson’s disease.

“Synthetic drugs like Spice are often mistaken for a synthetic version of cannabis, but in reality, they are completely different drugs,” says Dr Pudney, Reader in the University’s Department of Biology & Biochemistry.

The synthetic drugs are sprayed onto dried leaves which users can smoke, but as there is no quality control by sellers, the effects can be very unpredictable.

Dr Pudney says: “Our studies have found that there is a huge variation in strength of these drugs, even within the same batch. This means users have no idea how strong it is or how much they’re taking.”

“A particularly unpleasant drug”

Dr Jenny Scott is a Senior Lecturer from the Addiction and Mental Health Group based in the University of Bath’s Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. Alongside her academic research, she works in a drug and alcohol treatment clinic one day a week.

She has been working with Dr Pudney on the synthetic drugs test from the start, to understand the use of these drugs in more detail so they can create a device that meets the needs of the people that will be using it.

Interviews with frontline homeless workers in Manchester in 2016 estimated that between 80 and 95 per cent of homeless people in the city centre were using synthetic cannabinoids.

Dr Scott says: “Spice is cheap and very easy to buy online from abroad, but it’s a particularly unpleasant drug.

“Not only is it more harmful than cannabis, but it’s more addictive and poses severe health risks for users.

“The negative effects can be so strong that most people who try it, don’t usually repeat the experience,” she says. “People only take it if they’re really desperate to separate themselves from their reality.

“If you’re homeless, sleeping in a doorway, you might be subjected to physical or verbal abuse, urinated on, have your possessions stolen, or even be raped. Powerful synthetic drugs like Spice zombify users to help them cope with the grim reality of life on the streets or in prison.”

The first synthetic cannabinoid was identified on the recreational drug market in 2008. It was swiftly banned in many countries however as soon as one substance was outlawed, another similar chemical with the same effects would appear on the drugs market.

This initially gave Spice the reputation of being a 'legal high' because legislators were always playing catch-up.

The 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act put a stop to this in the UK by making it an offence to produce, supply, import or export any psychoactive substance, with the maximum penalty being seven years' imprisonment.

The law stopped the sale of synthetic drugs in high street shops, and reduced their use in the general population, but they are still very prevalent in highly deprived areas, in particular the homeless population.

Because they're cheap and not easily detectable, their use in the community is difficult to monitor or control.

It also means they can easily be smuggled into prisons.

“Because until now it’s been difficult to detect these drugs, they are the most commonly used substances in prisons,” says Dr Scott.

“Inmates use it while in prison, if they come out homeless, as many do, they may keep taking it as it’s cheap, easy to get and it’s not routinely tested for.”

People smuggle the drugs into prison by spraying them onto letters, children’s drawings or pieces of clothing or books to take into the prison or onto faked legal documents, because prison rules state that legal documents must only be opened by the recipient.

Rules have recently changed so that photocopies of all post except legal documents are given to inmates instead of the originals, and greetings cards can only be sent directly from approved online suppliers. However, drugs still get into the prisons via other routes.

“These are organised gangs of criminals that are smuggling drugs into the prisons – they are creative in finding ways of getting through the system,” says Dr Pudney.

“People soak paper or clothing in drugs and then throw them over the fences, or tamper with external contractor services such as the laundry or maintenance.

“Whilst there is drug testing equipment already in prisons, they only check for specific drugs, and you can only test as many things as you can swab – and you can’t swab everything.

“In contrast, our detection device identifies a range of synthetic drugs in saliva, on paper or fabric, in an instant, simply by waving it over the top of the sample – we hope it could be a real game-changer in the fight to keep drugs out of prisons.”