What to Know
- At least 16 people in Brooklyn required medical assistance Saturday due to possible K2 use, police said
- Emergency personnel responded to several locations on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick
- Six people were taken to local hospitals, the FDNY said
More than a dozen people were hospitalized after overdosing on K2 in Brooklyn, authorities said.
Emergency personnel responded to several locations near the intersection of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue, on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick, around 7:30 p.m. Saturday after at least 16 people in the vicinity experienced symptoms including difficulty breathing and falling unconscious that may have been due to K2 use, police said.
Around 14 people were taken to local hospitals for overdosing on the drug, the NYPD said.
There were no fatalities in connection with the overdoses, according to police.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the overdoses, including three who were picked up for untaxed cigarettes and a fourth person who was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, the NYPD said.
The intersection on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick has garnered a reputation as the epicenter of the K2 — or synthetic marijuana — epidemic. In July 2016, 33 people were hospitalized after smoking a “bad batch” of K2 in the area.
Local
Many of them were found staggering around or lying on the streets and sidewalks. Police have previously raided shops in the neighborhoods searching for the drug.
