25 people have been hospitalized after overdosing on K2 synthetic marijuana last night, according to ABC 7 News.
Most of the calls were received on a specific corner, Broadway and Myrtle, in Bedford-Stuyvesant. This corner experienced a similar crisis back in 2016, when 33 people were hospitalized after being suspected of overdosing on K2. A eyewitness spoke to ABC 7, saying how there are always people passed out on the corner, which is considered to be the epicenter of the K2 epidemic.
So far no arrests have been made, but police reportedly already have a suspect in mind, and are also patrolling local businesses to try and determine the source of the drug. All the victims of the drug are expected to survive, but the incident is a grim reminder of a issue that the city has been facing for some time.
According to Complex, there was a very similar incident last month in Illinois, where 38 people had to be hospitalized after consuming the drug, with one of the victims dying. Several patients experienced severe bleeding from the drug. A warning from the CDC followed, warning people not to take the drug, as high levels of rat poison had been detected in at least 18 of the patients.
The NYPD also stated that a man who drove his car into a crowd of people in Times Square last year was high off K2. If you're going to try and get high, make sure you keep to the natural stuff.
Watch the ABC 7 news report below.