Police have warned people against taking a synthetic form of cannabis known as 'Black Mamba' after a man's body was found near Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre.

The homeless man was found on Sunday morning just a few hundred metres from the entrance to the building.

Two other people in Birmingham are also ill after taking the drug, which replicates the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis.

West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Thomas Hadley said: "It is extremely concerning that users of this substance are putting their lives at risk, even more so because we believe there is a potentially lethal batch of the substance currently being distributed in Birmingham.

"Those involved in the production and supply of these drugs will continue to face robust action to disrupt their activity as we seek to shut down the manufacture and supply chains across the region."


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The death came as Greater Manchester Police said they received 31 calls on Saturday about the use of Spice - a generic name for synthetic cannabinoids like 'Black Mamba'.

Fourteen of the calls over the 24 hours were about people who had collapsed.

The drug has been said to leave people like "zombies" as it can cause hallucinations, psychosis, muscle weakness and paranoia.

The Psychoactive Substances Act, which came into effect in 2016, made it illegal to produce, supply or import such substances - but it is not illegal to possess them.

Synthetic cannabinoids react more strongly with the brain's cannabinoid receptors and so can be more potent than natural cannabis, making it easier to use too much and experience unpleasant and harmful effects.