Prisoners filmed eating bugs in exchange for ‘spice’ street drug

It appeared that this potential high was too good for the fly challenge partaker to pass up.

The footage showed the green-clad con nonchalantly scraping some of the flies together with his hands and then downing them like bar snacks as his fellow jailbirds burst into guffaws.

Then, seeing that the human fly strip left a few insects behind, another prisoner consolidates the stragglers.

He then hands them to the incarcerated entomophagist (bug eater), who inhales them with gusto, before showing his tongue to the camera to show that he completed the revolting stunt.

The “Fear Factor”-esque culinary feat both impressed and revolted TikTok viewers, with one aghast commenter writing, “No way.”

“No flies on him,” joked another while one viewer quipped that flies contain “more protein than a steak per gram.”

“Give that man his spice,” said one newfound fan.

While the stunt may have been amusing to sophomoric social media users, Spice is no laughing matter.

The psychotropic compound — which is illegal in both the UK and US — has become a scourge within the UK’s and other countries’ prisons, which have seen a spike in overdoses on the drug.

In 2021, at least 35 prisoners in Florida were hospitalized with severe bleeding after smoking the synthetic cannaboid.

Part of the problem is that Spice is packaged without warning labels noting its adverse effects, which include potentially fatal hemorrhaging and bruising.

Despite its illicit status, the drug has managed to infiltrate the clink via black market dealers.

Addressing the Spice epidemic in the prison system, a Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “While we cannot discuss individuals, our staff work hard to tackle the introduction of illicit substances and prevent the harm they cause.

“We have seen the success of measures, such as the photocopying of mail, in stopping that supply into our establishments,” the spokesperson added. “However, we are not complacent and will continue to do all we can to safeguard the health and well-being of people in our care.”