Police are warning people to beware of a potentially fatal legal high believed to be circulating in the Manchester area ahead of the Parklife music festival.
The alert relates to Vertex, advertised as a type of incense, which laboratory tests have revealed contains AB–CHMINACA, a substance believed to be responsible for deaths in Europe.
Police said a number of people were hospitalised in Cheshire after taking Vertex and they are warning anyone else who has used it to seek immediate assistance.
Ch Insp Gary Simpson, of Greater Manchester police, said: “The use of legal highs is a worrying trend and we have been working closely with Cheshire police to issue urgent warnings after a number of people were hospitalised in Cheshire after taking Vertex.
“This weekend thousands of people will descend upon Manchester for the Parklife Weekender festival and I want to remind people about the potentially lethal dangers of legal highs. I would urge people not to buy or take this, or any other of these so-called legal highs and to consider the danger they pose; you could be playing Russian roulette with your life.”
He said anyone who felt ill after taking Vertex at Parklife should go to the medical facility at the festival, which is being held in Heaton Park.
Police said intelligence suggests Vertex is routinely sold by both retail outlets and local street dealers believed to be bulk purchasing from the Bolton area, while it can also be bought online.
Symptoms to look out for include profuse sweating, racing heartbeat, extreme muscle tension, delirious ranting and very high body temperature. Anyone who sees somebody displaying these symptoms is advised to dial 999, put the person in the recovery position and ask for immediate medical assistance.
Last week, the Home Office announced plans for a blanket ban on legal highs, which would outlaw the trade in “any substance intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect”. The government said it was a response to producers of legal highs getting round previous bans on individual products by tweaking the compound slightly so that it would then become legal again. But concerns have been raised that it may drive the trade underground.
Jon Drape, the event director of the festival, said: “Parklife has a zero tolerance policy to both illegal drugs and legal highs. Anyone found with either on entry will be denied entry to the festival. Anyone caught taking, using, or selling illegal drugs or legal highs within the festival will be ejected and handed over to Greater Manchester police.”
About 70,000 people attended Parklife last year. Artists confirmed to appear this year include Disclosure, Rudimental and Nas.
