Hi everyone – I know that many of you have been complaining of the K-2 epidemic for some time. After a highly publicized situation where 33 people very publicly overdosed, both the Governor and the Mayor have promised to crack down on the sources.
Cuomo announces crackdown on synthetic marijuana
By Josefa Velasquez
07/14/2016 02:01 PM EDT
ALBANY – After 33 people overdosed in Bedford-Stuyvesant this week on synthetic marijuana, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday said the state would bolster enforcement efforts to crack down on the drug also known K2.
The state health department’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, along with the State Police, will join forces to curb the illegal sale of K2, Cuomo said.
The governor, who on Wednesday said the state was facing a “real crisis” on drugs, has also instructed the State Liquor Authority and the state Gaming Commission to increase their oversight to revoke liquor and lottery licenses if store owners are found to be illegally selling K2.
“The evolution of synthetic drugs is an alarming public health risk, but we are on the front lines of the battle,” Cuomo said in a statement. “The state will continue to identify emerging compounds that put users in danger and aggressively chase down sellers of these toxic substances.”
Last year, Cuomo added two classes of compounds to the list of prohibited substances, both of which were approved by the Public Health and Health Planning Council. The governor also created a campaign to fight synthetic drugs and prescription drug abuse, which included billboards and a commercial.
De Blasio and Cuomo promise resources to tackle K2
By Dan Goldberg
07/13/2016 04:50 PM EDT
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday both expressed concern over the dangers posed by synthetic marijuana, following a highly publicized incident in Brooklyn where nearly three dozen people overdosed on K2, a drug considered particularly dangerous because its consistency and potency can change from batch to batch.
“Help is on the way,” de Blasio said during an unrelated press conference in the Bronx. “I am very concerned about this.”
On Tuesday, 33 people overdosed in Bedford-Stuyvesant, in what witnesses described as a horrifying scene of people urinating, vomiting and collapsing onto the pavement.
De Blasio said that last summer, the city “cracked down” on the “heinous individuals” selling synthetic marijuana in East Harlem, and those same tools would be deployed to other areas of the city if and when problems arose.
“We will throw the book at any one selling K2,” de Blasio said. “You’re going to be seeing very rigorous enforcement, and very quickly. … If you are selling this drug, we have the ability to shut your store down. We will literally take away your livelihood. I hope that is a clear enough warning.”
Earlier in the day, at a separate press conference in the Bronx, Cuomo said the state is going through a crisis when it comes to drugs.