K2 NEWS

Rise of a New ‘Drug’ Puts the Community on Edge By Candace Y.A. Montague Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief Cathy Lanier speaks about the dangers of synthetic marijuana. Photo: Lateef Mangum, Office of the Mayor K2, Spice, Scooby Snax, and Bizarro. Clever names printed on small packages containing a deadly substance. Synthetic marijuana has been making its rounds among residents in the District. In May 2013 the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) launched its [...]

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Already being blamed for the spike in violent crime in the district, D.C. fire and emergency medical services say synthetic drugs are suspected of driving up the number of calls for overdoses. Many of these overdose calls have been to Hope Village. a halfway house for federal prisoners nearing the end of their sentence in Southeast D.C. The residents of the halfway house have proven to be a fertile population for synthetic [...]

The Washington Post By Julie Zauzmer July 8 at 6:31 PM The woman who abandoned a child in a stroller on a busy D.C. street on Tuesday was high on synthetic marijuana at the time, D.C. police said. In a court document, police said that Latonya Cooper, 24, left a 10-month-old baby in a stroller in front of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on E Street NW. A spokeswoman for the D.C. Child and [...]

Synthetic marijuana has played a role in multiple accidents and crimes in the past several weeks: a woman is accused of stabbing her boyfriend while high on the drug, and a D.C. homeless shelter experienced multiple overdoses. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said she wants to crack down on all synthetic drugs. But what is synthetic marijuana made from? The drug, which goes by many nicknames including bizarro, spice and [...]

Posted: Jun 30, 2015 9:59 AM EDT Updated: Jun 30, 2015 10:40 PM EDT By Marina Marraco, FOX 5 Reporter WASHINGTON - FOX 5 was the first to bring you exclusive video showing several people overdosing on synthetic marijuana just blocks away from D.C. police headquarters. On Tuesday, emergency legislation was passed allowing the police chief to shut down District establishments that sell synthetic drugs.These drugs, also known as K2, Spice, Bizarro, Scooby Snax, Zorro [...]

FILE/Getty Images Two people were rushed to a hospital Monday afternoon from the same location where groups of people overdosed on synthetic marijuana twice this month. The two patients were transported from 2nd and D streets NW with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS said. For hours Monday afternoon, ambulances were stationed outside the Community for Creative Non-Violence, the largest homeless shelter in the District. Eleven people overdosed near the [...]

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier speaks at a news conference Monday as Mayor Muriel E. Bowser looks on. (Bill O'Leary/Washington Post)  By Abigail Hauslohner June 15  D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser vowed Monday to crack down hard on suppliers of synthetic drugs after a spike in overdoses sent dozens to area hospitals in the past month.Bowser plans to introduce emergency legislation this week that would give the D.C. police chief authority to shut down any [...]

The synthetic drug K2 is pictured. (Credit: Jim MacKay/NewsRadio 99.1) Related Tags: Overdose, prince georges county, synthetic drugs, synthetic marijuana PRINCE GEORGE’S CO., Md. — Dozens of people have been hospitalized throughout the D.C.-area in recent weeks after overdosing on synthetic marijuana, a drug that has gone from an obscure recreational drug to a public health issue. WNEW’s Jim MacKay spoke with a Landover woman who suffers from drug addiction and had a difficult experience [...]

DC mayor unveils new drug enforcement strategy (Photo: Bruce Johnson, WUSA9) WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- "A significant shift in violent and drug crimes" in D.C. in the last decade has prompted a new drug enforcement strategy, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser's office. Bowser made the announcement Monday morning, regarding the way D.C. will target suppliers who bring dangerous narcotics into the communities. Mayor Bowser also announced legislation that allows Metropolitan Police Department and the Department [...]

By Nick Iannelli | @NickWTOP May 20, 2015 12:06 pm 5 Shares WASHINGTON — Poison centers across the country are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of cases involving synthetic cannabinoids, also known as synthetic marijuana, and in the D.C. region the problem is pronounced. “We’ve seen synthetic cannabinoid exposures increase on the eastern seaboard of the United States,” says Dr. Suzanne Doyon, medical director of the Maryland Poison Center. In Maryland alone, there [...]