‘Black Mamba’ synthetic cannabis makes man slice off his own nose

A man high on a form of synthetic cannabis sliced off his own nose before being subdued by police officers, it has been revealed.

Six officers had to help restrain the man and carry him to an ambulance during the incident last year.

He was suffering an extreme psychotic episode after taking Black Mamba, the brand name of one of a number of drugs which used to be known as legal highs until they were banned last year.

West Midlands Police, which has released details of the incident now to publicise the dangers of the drugs, said officers were met with a "bloodbath" when they arrived at the scene.

The two PCs who were first on scene battled for almost 30 minutes to help the man and stem the blood loss.

Then four other officers arrived and helped their colleagues bring him down three flights of stairs so he could be taken to hospital.

Birmingham Police Inspector Mat Minton said: "I believe the actions of these officers saved the man’s life.

"They were met with the sight of someone who’d mutilated himself and was outwardly displaying hostility and aggression towards them.

"They had to deal with that while trying to provide emergency first aid.

"It’s hard to imagine how challenging that scene must have been for the officers who first attended – they did a brilliant job."

The drug mimics the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.

But it is more potent than natural cannabis and can cause harmful side effects – including psychosis, convulsions and organ failure.

Black Mamba is now a class-B drug after it was designated a controlled drug in 2013.

It and other so-called legal highs, like Spice, were completely outlawed when the Psychoactive Substances Act became law last year.

Superintendent Andy Parsons said: "Some people are still viewing Black Mamba as a low-risk drug substitute and are taking it without any consideration for their safety.

"But our view is that there is no safe way to use Spice or Mamba.

"The reality is that these psychoactive substances can have catastrophic effects.

"Unscrupulous distributors are making it using dangerous, potent chemicals which can be lethal, while the psychological impact can be devastating and lead people to self-harm or harm others.

"We cannot stress enough that Black Mamba is a very dangerous drug. It is also now illegal to possess synthetic cannabis like Black Mamba and Spice so users could end up with criminal records."

(c) Sky News 2017: ‘Black Mamba’ synthetic cannabis makes man slice off his own nose