K2 Set Ablaze in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

By Edwin Tetteh

The 1950s gave us LSD. The 1980s gave us cocaine. In the 1990s, we saw peak levels of heroin use. Marijuana is arguably the most popular recreational drug and it’s been around for generations. But, there’s a new drug in town and it’s a lot easier to procure than you would probably imagine. K2 has pervaded the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and it’s going to be a while before that changes.

“K2 is getting a lot of attention from law enforcement to increase awareness,” said Erin Mulvey, The Public Affairs Officer of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration who has sounded off on the K2 phenomenon. “A lot of people still don’t know what it is.”

Synthetic cannabinoids, rather “K2” or “Spice” as they are colloquially known, are the latest rage in New York City. Originally introduced in the East Harlem part of Manhattan, the synthetic drug’s influence has since stretched through the likes of New York City’s other boroughs much like a wildfire. Though Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s respective teams have made efforts to bring an end to the pollination of K2 around NYC, their efforts continue to be met with great resistance as K2’s presence is still felt in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

Since it first popped up in 2009, K2 has proven to be a powerful drug. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that there has been over 7,369 cases between January 1st and November 30th in 2015. K2 was best defined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as “Man-made, mind altering chemicals either sprayed on dried, shredded plan material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices.” Confusingly enough, the synthetic marijuana is often labeled “Not for Human Consumption,” and its dreamy packaging also claims that its contents are natural and extracted from plants.

Synthetic cannabinoids act on the same receptors as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC in short. Users have claimed that a K2 high is similar to that of marijuana, but if this is indeed true, it begs the question: Why is there a need for a substitute? The American idiom “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly comes to mind, raising questions about users’ and abusers’ rationale. Some argue that K2 is undetectable by labs conducting drug tests, but that notion has been refuted long ago. Some of the early adapters of the drug from the East Harlem area have criminal charges on their record and the detection of marijuana by their probation or parole officer would grant them an express pass to prison. Nonetheless, have those East Harlemites found a new scapegoat in K2?

More than 6,000 K2 users have been sent to the emergency room since January 2015 and most of the people admitted have been men, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC announced that synthetic marijuana killed 15 people in just the first half of 2015 – triple the amount from just the year before. Although the amount of human exposure to synthetic cannabinoids has declined between the years 2011 and 2013, there were some significant spikes in both 2014 as well as Spring 2015 with the numbers gradually inclining and tapering off after reaching their peaks.

City and State of New York officials have not responded kindly to the omnipresence of synthetic cannabinoids. While the mortality rate may suggest the trendy drug isn’t the biggest threat, it is quite suggestive and alarming even to consider the rate at which users are rushed to the hospital because of special attention they needed. According to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, during this quarter, about 325 out of 2,961 callers revealed life-threatening symptoms requiring immediate and careful attention. Another 1,407 callers showed symptoms that also needed immediate and careful attention though their conditions weren’t as threatening.

Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo see eye-to-eye on this subject and continue to voice their disdain with how taxing K2 has become on New York City.

“Anyone who sells this product is endangering people’s lives and they’re acting in a criminal manner and we’re going to get them,” declared de Blasio in an October press conference just before signing a law to ban the manufacture and sale of synthetic cannabinoids. He continued: “It’s cheap and too available and too many people who had other problems started reaching out to K2 and only made their lives much worse.”

In April, Governor Cuomo made it known that he is looking to the Department of Health to up the ante on their regulations in hopes of further supporting the push to ban the manufacture of these synthetic cannabinoids. “Synthetic drugs are anything but harmless, and this rash of severe health emergencies across the state is direct proof,” proclaims Cuomo. “We banned synthetic marijuana, bath salts and similar substances to avoid the disastrous results that occur…”

Though it has been reported that K2 is currently the runner-up to marijuana in terms of popularity amongst New York City high school students, its presence still flies under the radar of the majority of Americans. Perhaps, as Mulvey of the DEA suggests, this is because drug organizations are targeting the youth by naming the synthetic cannabinoids with names such as “Scooby Snax” and “Mr. Nice Guy,” and ensuring the youth can access them without having to search too hard. Mulvey says K2 can be found in convenience stores, bodegas and gas stations. Unfortunately, it appears that the marketing efforts by the aforementioned organizations have proven to be effective considering 1 in 9 high school seniors have been reported to use K2.

“People are under the impression that it is legal when it is not. But, the biggest misconception is that it’s all-natural. This is synthetic marijuana. Taking in all of those chemicals is just like taking a shot of battery acid,” says Mulvey.

The level of celebrity K2 has attained amongst High School students, especially in Bushwick, Brooklyn, has caused alarm among parents, teachers, and law enforcement. Clearly the area around the J-train Gates Ave station offers far more than the human eye can see. But, with a wealth of homes, newly renovated apartment buildings, long withstanding churches, mom-and-pop shops and schools nearby, it is awfully difficult to assume that K2 had penetrated this part of Brooklyn – but it has.

“I haven’t tried it, but I can’t lie, I do know a few people that have. I even know some that tried it more than once,” says a young male from Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology wearing a rich navy Jansport, New York Yankees cap and a grey Nike sweat suit.

His friend chimed in, “You’re crazy if you think anyone around here will admit to using that stuff. No one wants to be known as the person doing K2. Your reputation will be in shambles.”

The two students preferred to remain unnamed.

Visiting the deli-in-question around 3:15pm on a Thursday seemed like a solid decision – no post-class dismissal chaos to get caught up in. The Money Market Deli on Greene Street and Broadway was blindingly illuminated with natural light penetrating the massive floor to ceiling windows. An older Black man wearing a heavily faded and pilled sweat suit stood by the entrance with an eerie grimace, in a manner strongly reminiscent of a nightclub bouncer. One man of middle-eastern descent wearing a navy blue snapback hat turned backward leaned over the counter in front of the register.

“That’s the fire right there,” says the man behind the counter who preferred not to be named. He responded without hesitation when he noticed my eyes fixated on what appeared to be incense.

After a few preliminary questions, the man follows up with “Are you undercover or something? What’s with all the questions?” From this point, he continues cautiously, carefully processing each question before responding.

“Nah, I don’t consider myself a drug dealer, because I don’t consider this a drug – look at the packaging. I could stop selling it right now and it wouldn’t make a difference, but if it brings in a little more money, why not sell it?”

“There are liquor stores selling alcohol to kids, not even checking for ID. Where is that on the news? But I’m the bad guy?”

The 83rd Precinct is actively working to eliminate all traces of synthetic cannabinoids in Bushwick. The job has proven to be much more daunting than anticipated, however. Inspector Maximo Tolentino of the 83rd Precinct revealed in Community Board 4’s September meeting that his precinct has to tap on the 81st Precinct to assist in the mission due to the locale of Money Market Deli being just outside of the jurisdiction of the 83rd Precinct. While the 83rd Precinct successfully eliminated the presence of synthetic cannabinoids within their jurisdiction, it still seems that Money Market Deli has proven to be quite the formidable foe, leaving Bushwick residents wondering – what will it take to finally stop the spreading of the K2 influence?