Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Drug Issue
- Local Testimonials
- Drug Usage and Availability
- Health Risks
- Government Response
A YOUNG man sits in the warming winter sunshine on the cold stone steps, struggling to light his cigarette before taking a long drag and exhaling.
Moments later, he stands up, walks a few steps across the square, bends down to brush something off his trousers, and just… remains there, rooted to the spot as if he has been turned to stone.
A man lies motionless after seemingly consuming a street drugCredit: Roland Leon
The city is now filled with so-called Zombies, who are unable to move after consuming the life-threatening drugCredit: Roland Leon
The Sun witnessed a drug deal taking place in the city centerCredit: Roland Leon
His cigarette wasn’t an ordinary one, nor was it even a typical cannabis joint. He is among Birmingham’s many users of the life-threatening drug known as Black Mamba.
This substance is made from dried plant material or other botanical components, sprayed with lab-produced chemicals that replicate the effects of THC, the psychoactive element of cannabis. This drug has left a trail of death and destruction in the city.
Extremely potent, it induces what is referred to in the drug community as ‘couch lock,’ a condition that leaves users so ‘stoned’ that they cannot move at all.
Residents of Birmingham describe the sight of frozen individuals standing like statues in the street, slumped over and motionless, as a daily occurrence.
Abi Jones, 32, remarked: “I’ve noticed people standing around, seemingly out of it, more often in the past year. They resemble zombies.”
“Often, you see them in the morning in Pigeon Park (a local term for The Old Square), either standing with their heads down or lying down, and they seem unable to speak.”
“It’s horrifying; you see them all over the city, so it’s clearly a significant problem.”
Samir Elsayed, 29, who has lived in central Birmingham for two years, shared his observations.
“I’m accustomed to seeing individuals who sometimes appear homeless, standing but leaning over, as if they’ve taken something, in the middle of the day.”
“Many of them seem to be in their thirties. Living in the center, I encounter them frequently.”
“I had a dealer residing in my building, and you’d hear him at 4-5 am with people coming in and out, arguing about money.”
“It appears that drugs are widespread here.”
On the day The Sun visited, we witnessed what seemed to be a drug deal within half an hour of our arrival, as one man met with two others, walked with them, handed them something, and then turned to leave, his hand clenched tightly around something unseen.
One anonymous woman told us the city resembled a scene from a horror movie.
We observed several individuals openly smoking joints, bodies slumped together in doorways, and the classic slumped standing posture, which is why Black Mamba is referred to as ‘the zombie drug.’
A man frozen for several seconds in Birmingham, where Black Mamba is becoming an increasing issueCredit: Roland Leon
The town center has seen an increase in drug users on the streetsCredit: Roland Leon
The Christmas market
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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