Cleveland Police warning about cannabis gummies and 'shatter labs'
People are being urged to be on the lookout and report anything they see
Police in Teesside is telling us about the dangers of cannabis gummies as there's a risk to children and homes.
Last week, Cleveland Police seized thousands of cannabis gummies and cash in Eston.
Following a search of an address on Ainthorpe Road, officers found over 1,000 edible gummies, approximately £30,000 worth of cannabis, and £50,000 in cash were recovered.
Inspector Phil Morris runs the drugs unit at Cleveland Police and he said: "Luckily cannabis gummies are still relatively rare on Teesside but we have come across instances of people making and selling them. The public should be aware of the dangers which includes; they look like sweets or every day snacks, so having them around children in your home is a risk. A child could accidentally eat one with potentially serious medical consequences.
"Basically you don't know what you're putting into your body and because they're digested into the body instead of being smoked, the effect of the high isn't instantaneous like smoking. It can take up to two hours to take effect. People think they're fine to drive after taking one or even take more because they think it's had no effect. Driving with any drug in your system is illegal, the same as drink driving is.
"Cannabis gummies are designed to appeal to young people. There's sweet flavours and bright packaging so there's dangers around teenagers trying to potentially harbour them for drugs and you don't know where these edibles are being made. These aren't licensed or inspected commercial kitchens, so you don't know the cleanliness or hygiene involved in making them is like.
"Edibles need cannabis to be infused into the food. Look out for people making their own sweets or chocolates on a mass scale in environments that aren't like commercial kitchens. Look out for things like new sets of jelly moulds. Sometimes there are normal every day sweets boiled down to make the sugar base for the edibles, large amounts of empty wrappers, or large amounts of ingredients like corn syrup, gelatines, and flavourings.
"The production of a shatter lab involves the use of butane or propane gas which most people will know as being used as fuel for camping stoves and heaters, but it's actually highly flammable and dangerous. You can easily imagine the dangers around people with no clue of what they're doing, messing around with massive amounts of butane gas in their kitchen. I'd urge the public to think would you want that happening next door to you or your family?
"These labs are extremely dangerous and the people who are making this are selfishly putting others at risk. Signs to look out for include people buying or hoarding large amounts of gas cannisters of any size, including used or discarded cannisters in bins. Unusual ventilation set ups or strange equipment set ups in their homes, particularly large stainless steel equipment or strange chemical smells.
"A single spark can set off an explosion and if there's a number of gas bottles present that could be disastrous not just for that property but for anyone around them.
"Drugs of all types are incredibly harmful to our communities and the people involved in selling them are often involved in organised crime as well as exploiting vulnerable people and causing serious violence in our communities. Cleveland Police has a number of teams who tackle drug dealing every day, but information from the public is really helpful to us."
If you have information relating to the supply of drugs, please report it either by calling Cleveland Police on 101 or visiting our website.
You can report information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.