Illegal products sold as synthetic marijuana are sending an average of 2 to 3 New Yorkers to the emergency room every day since the beginning of 2015. Users of these products can suffer serious personal injury as the herbal mixture sold as synthetic Marijuana as often been sprayed with harmful chemicals. When smoked these chemicals can create anxiety, sedation, rapid heart rate, vomiting and seizures.” Synthetic cannabinoids can even cause kidney failure or in the most extreme cases, heart attacks.
In New York City, these products are sold and consumed in East Harlem mostly by males of an average age of 35. Synthetic cannabinoids are known by several street names, including K2, Spice, Green Giant, Red Giant, Geeked Up, Caution, Smacked, Wicked X, AK-47 and “legal marijuana.” The packages can also be labeled “not for human consumption” and sold as “incense” or “potpourri.”
Read more in the press release from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
