Lawmakers Want Online Retailers To Stop Selling K2
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some city officials are calling for online retailers to stop selling synthetic marijuana, known as K2.
Sen. Jeff Klein says you can buy synthetic marijuana under brand names such as "Smacked," "Scooby Snacks" and "Bizzaro" with the click of a mouse.
"We found that is readily available, K2, on major sites like eBay, Craigslist, Backpage," Klein said.
He is writing to the CEOs, demanding that they stop the sale of K2 through their search engines, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
WEB EXTRA: 5 Facts About Synthetic Marijuana
"It is dangerous, unpredictable and illegal substance and for too long unscrupulous stores and online marketplaces have profited," said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is leading the city's anti-K2 campaign.
Klein is also proposing a state measure to vastly stiffen penalties for selling the synthetic drug. Currently the fine is $500; his measure would make it $2,000 for the first offense, and $5,000 for the second.
Under a measure proposed by Mark-Viverito last month, anyone selling K2 would be subject to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. The second offense would mean a civil penalty of up to $25,000.
Thursday's announcement came as the NYPD swept through an area in Harlem, known for its rampant use of K2. Officers moved through East 125th Street near the Metro-North tracks, asking several dozen homeless people in various states of high to leave, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
One woman told Schuck synthetic marijuana is the drug of choice in the area and she needs it.
"It's like a weed high, but see it doesn't affect me like it affects everybody else," the woman said. "I'm still normal, I just go to sleep."
"I notice some people here seriously seem to walk around like zombies," Schuck said.
"That's because it's not straight K2, it's not just K2 that they're on. It's all the alcohol, and the pills and everything else that they're on with it," the woman said. "Overall it's a bad thing, look at what it's doing to people, but it all depends on the individual as well. I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me, and I smoke it."
Here on east 125th street in Harlem. Homeless talk to me about their use of drug K2 and why they need it #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/96bpAvqF2N
— glenn schuck (@glennschuck) September 3, 2015
The NYPD admits use of the drug is a crisis, and while many users enter a catatonic state, a few can turn violent.
In a disturbing video obtained by CBS2, a naked homeless man, said to be under the influence of synthetic marijuana, is seen blocking a Brooklyn school safety vehicle. The man is howling and irrational.
Using or selling K2 isn't a criminal offense. Selling or manufacturing the drug is only a state health-code violation, punishable by a $250 fine.
It's often sold in a variety of branded packaging. Drug makers often get around bans by tweaking the formula slightly.