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Suspected Synthetic ‘K2’ Pot Dealers Arrested After Over 100 People Overdose In A Connecticut Park

By Mizuki Hisaka
Published on: 17:33 PST, Aug 17, 2018

In states where recreational marijuana is not legal, some people go to great lengths to emulate a natural high. That was the case for a group of New Haven park-goers this Wednesday and Thursday. In a shocking series of events, over 100 people overdosed at or near the New Haven Park during a 36-hour span. The culprit was synthetic marijuana called “K2.” Fortunately, no deaths have been reported so far and people recovered from their overdose “quickly,” according to Yahoo News.

But that doesn’t excuse the K2 dealers from their wrongdoing. Suspect John Parker, 53, was arrested after victims identified him as one of the dealers. When Parker was arrested, police found him with 32 bags of K2. Another man, 27-year-old Felix Melendez, was also charged. However, authorities have yet to determine who was peddling the K2 that led to the overdoses. A third suspect has also been arrested, although they have yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, the public is being warned against consuming K2.

“We want people to be warned that what they have could be extremely dangerous and they should not use it.”

Although the substance is called “synthetic pot,” it’s actually nothing like real marijuana. It’s a plant material with chemicals sprayed onto it to give users the feeling of getting high. However, it’s dangerous because nobody really knows what’s being sprayed on the plant material.

In the case of the overdoses in New Haven, Police Chief Anthony Campbell announced that the K2 was sprayed with fubinaca, reported WFSB. Fubinaca is the “ultra potent” substance that caused 33 people in New York City to act like they were in a “zombie” state, detailed the Patch. Doctors later reported that the fubinaca has “strong depressant effects” that explains why people were acting like zombies.

The problem with synthetic marijuana is only escalating, as this class of drugs is considered to be the fastest growing sector of the illegal drug trade, described NEJM. K2 was originally created by chemists and pharmaceutical scientists who wanted to learn more about the endocannabinoid system. Since then, other countries like China and South Asia have begun producing synthetic cannabis for sale on the dark market.

Its effects can vary wildly, and K2 can also trigger serious medical conditions for people who are susceptible. Common symptoms include drowsiness and irregular heartbeat, while serious symptoms like psychosis, seizures, and even death have been reported. On the other hand, consumption of marijuana has never been linked to a single death.

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