In what is being described as a scene from a zombie movie, concerned residents took to their phones Tuesday morning in hopes of reporting dozens of people who appeared to be overdosing. Bedford Stuyvesant residents phone local police to alert them about a large amount of people slumped over near the intersection of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue, a recent hot spot for drug use and drug activity. According to recent report, a whopping 33 people were taken from the scene to Woodhull and Wyckohoff hospitals for treatment for a possible K2 overdose.
K2 is a synthetic marijuana substitute, made up of dried plant material and chopped up herbs that was previously legal in the United States. In one call to the local authorities, a woman told a 911 dispatcher that she witnessed people smoking the drug before urinating, and vomiting near the busy intersection. Another witness said they watched individuals falling and finally collapsing on the sidewalk, appearing to be in a daze.
"When they smoke that stuff, they drop like flies," said Chino, a local neighbor, in an interview with NBC 4 New York.
This particular section of Bedstuy is well-known for the apparent K2 use, as some neighbors have even taken to posting signs forbidding the use of the drug. Investigators belief the hotspot for K2 use came from the fact that some stores in the area were selling the synthetic marijuana drug, even after it was moved to the illegal drug list in 2015. In the last year, local hospitals have reported over 6,000 visits from patients suffering from K2 related symptoms.
