More than 30 people in Brooklyn were hospitalized Tuesday because of suspected overdoses on synthetic marijuana, despite New York's statewide efforts to crack down on the drug The New York Times reported.
Police said witnesses saw some people in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn smoking synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as K2 or "Spice." In all, 33 people were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
Brian Arthur live-streamed the scene on Facebook earlier today when he encountered some of the victims staggering, struggling to stand or fighting with police.
"It's like zombieland over here," Arthur is heard saying in the live video feed.
In response to the dozens hospitalized Tuesday, the New York State Department of Health said in a statement that it was investigating this morning's overdose and monitoring emergency rooms across the city, the Associated Press reported.
The city's Department of Health & Mental Hygiene also issued this warning on Twitter: "K2 is not marijuana. It is a dangerous mix of chemicals that can land you in the hospital."
Last summer, the state's Department of Public Health implemented emergency regulations to combat the sale of synthetic marijuana. Since 2015, New York City has seen more than 6,000 emergency room visits, involving K2, according to the city's health department.
In October 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation that criminalized the production and sale of K2. Under the new law, selling K2 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and fines of more than $100,000.
Prior to 2010, synthetic cannabinoids, or man-made cocktails of chemicals, like K2, were not controlled by any state or at the federal level, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Today, at least 43 states have taken action to minimize the impact of these substances.
In 2015, poison control centers across the country fielded around 7,700 calls about synthetic cannabinoid substances, more than double the number they received in 2014, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.