Suspected European legal high killer drug seized in Derby

A legal high drug that is suspected of causing several deaths in Europe has been found in Derby.

The legal high, nicknamed ‘Black Mamba’, was discovered in Derby city centre when police were called to attend an incident. The substance was seized by the police and sent away for testing. The test results revealed that substance to be MDMB-CHMICA, a drug that has allegedly been a causal factor in two fatalities and three hospitalisations in Germany during the period September 2014 to January 2015.Several types of legal high are available for sale in the UK and Europe. MDMB-CHMICA belongs to a group known as cannabinoids, which are taken by smoking and inhaling and produce similar effects to those of cannabis.

Steve Holme, the central drug reception manager for Derbyshire Police, said: “Synthetic cannabinoids are sold under a variety of different brand names; however, the contents of each brand regularly changes and just because a user has not had any adverse reaction to a particular brand once doesn’t mean that it won’t happen next time. Put simply, you cannot rely on the labelling on packets, or on the brand name, if you choose to use one of these substances.”

Many of these drugs have not yet fallen under the control of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, despite being linked to deaths. The drug website Talk to Frank warns that legal high packaging may be misleading, as the list of ingredients may not truly reflect the packet’s contents.