A major fire in a Glasgow tenement last week has been reportedly linked to a new super-strength strain of cannabis.

The Scottish Sun on Sunday reports that the kit used to make the 'superdope' drug by distilling cannabis triggered the explosion in Fairburn Street, Tollcross, on March 21.

A 30-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident which saw fire crews rescue eight people who were taken to hospital.

One man also leapt from the second floor of the tenement to escape the flames.

Glasgow Times:

The new strain of cannabis is known as Shatter and is made by extracting psychoactive material from canabis and distilling it into a honeycomb substance.

The new drug, which is a lot more powerful that cannabis weed or resin, has already been linked to a number of fires in Canada and the US.

Police expert Kenneth Simpson said yesterday: “This is a concerning new trend. There is definitely a growing market.

“It’s £50 to £100 per gram and there is not a cheap way of making it.

“The concern is that to feed that market people start to try to produce it and there are inherent dangers in doing that.

“I’d warn people not to become involved in the process of making shatter because of the very clear dangers involved.”