A man who believed he was selling a synthetic form of marijuana was actually selling marshmallow leaves sprayed with WD-40.
A court heard that Zachary Gaffey, 27, was seen with a bag containing a "large quantity of vegetable material," according to the Manchester Evening News.
The material was believed by Gaffey to be Spice, but was in fact marshmallow leaves sprayed with the lubricant WD-40, which can give the smell and appearance of Spice.
The court was told that Gaffey had purchased the drug, believing it to be Spice, intending to sell it on to users.
He has now been jailed for attempting to sell the drug, along with Aidan Kay, 25, who was helping him deal the fake drug.
Both have also received an indefinite ban from parts of Manchester's city centre after a Criminal Behaviour Order was imposed.
The judge described the scourge of Spice in Manchester as a "plague."
During sentencing, Judge Timothy Smith said: "That drug has caused mayhem in the city centre.
"It has been described during the course of this hearing as a scourge on this city, an epidemic.
"Its impact on the local community cannot be overemphasised.
"It is quite simply a plague on this city."
Gaffey, who was previously jailed for more than five years for robbing a shop with an air pistol, later told the police he was a Spice user, and had been addicted since 2012.
His lawyer said that he became homeless, and was selling Spice to fund his own habit as well as to pay for his sustenance.
Gaffey was jailed for 30 months and Kay for seven months.
