Ambulance staff warn of dangerous drugs
Ambulance bosses have issued a stark warning about psychoactive drugs like Black Mamba, saying users risk death after a spike in call outs.
It follows figures which say West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics are called out between 80 and 100 times a week to cases involving the synthetic cannabinoid drug.
Murray MacGregor, WMAS spokesman, said the service dealt with about 10,000 incidents where a caller mentioned synthetic drugs between August 2018 and July 2018.
Fewer than a third of calls were in Shropshire, but he said that the 10,000 where drugs were mentioned represented the "tip of an iceberg".
Many symptoms could be caused by the drugs, unbeknown to the caller.
He said: "When a call comes in it might go through as a cardiac arrest or breathing difficulties for example.
"But it is quite rare that someone who calls actually knows the person has taken Black Mamba and says so.
Risk
"We have seen people suffer in all kinds of ways after taking psychoactive substances.
"Because they don't know what is in them, they really do put their lives at risk by taking them."
He shared the testimony of a WMAS paramedic who treated people under the influence of Black Mamba and other drugs.
The paramedic, whose did not wish to be named, said: "I have witnessed patients suffering paranoia, psychotic episodes and stroke-like symptoms after taking these drugs.
"We have seen people climb up lampposts, jump off and end up fighting with paramedics even though their legs have been broken."
