Thirty-three people were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after authorities responded to calls of people overdosing on K2 near a Brooklyn intersection that has been called one of the worst spots in New York City for synthetic drug use.
Authorities said that it wasn't clear what drug the people who were transported to hospitals had ingested, but the NYPD said that at least five were reportedly smoking the cheap synthetic cannabinoid commonly called K2 outside a building on Stockton Street.
The woman who called 911 to report the men smoking told NBC 4 New York they were vomiting and urinating. Witnesses told DNAinfo that the victims collapsed on the sidewalk and subway platforms.
Since 2015, there have been more than 6,000 K2-related emergency room visits in New York City, according to the city's health department. There have been two confirmed deaths associated with the drug.
Source: 33 Hospitalized After Calls About Mass K2 Overdose in Brooklyn: NYPD | NBC New York http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/K2-Mass-Overdoses-Brooklyn-Bedford-Stuyvesant-NYC-386499841.html#ixzz4EOm5ia00
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Synthetic Marijuana, also known as "K-2" or "Spice" is a mixture of common herbs sprayed with synthetic chemicals that mirror the high of Marijuana. The synthetic product is sold as incense in head shops, tobacco stores and convenient stores. So far, twelve states have banned the sale of Synthetic Marijuana - (Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky). The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that within the past year there have been over 500 cases of negative reactions to the still legal yet dangerous drug. On the national level the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently designated certain chemicals that are present within Synthetic Marijuana to the same category that heroin and LSD are part of and further emphasizes the need to be able to test blood and urine for Synthetic Marijuana use. On the local level- The Herald Online reported that Fort Mill,...