Synthetic marijuana, 'K2', targeted in new NYC crackdown

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Purchased in colorful bags and small packages, with a street name of K2, the dried organic plant substance sprayed with chemicals is now the synthetic marijuana of choice.

"I started buying it in the bodega and it was 5 dollars," said former K2 user Della Ellis. "It was very dangerous, very dangerous."

Ellis knows the frightening results of smoking K2. She is now in a substance abuse program, getting help but also warning others of the dangers.

"When I smoked I was winding up in the emergency room a couple of times for the use of K2," she said.

She joins Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and other city officials issuing a call to action.

"According to recent police reports, we are seeing an increase in the level of violent behavior, violent acts that are taking place by people who smoke," said Adams.

It is seen, officials say, across the boroughs of the city.

"This is now illegal and there are serious repercussions if they engage in selling this product," said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Seeing the dangers of K2 in her district, Mark-Viverito will be introducing legislation next month calling for stronger civil penalties.

Getting caught selling the contraband could lead up to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison.

Subsequent violations could lead up to a $25,000 fine, the loss of the business and the revocation of a store owner's tobacco license.

"As a way of being aggressive about it because we do see it, the city is seeing it as a real concern that is growing throughout the city," said Mark-Viveriot.

In the Bronx, in one month, a single hospital saw more than 100 people who admitted they were high on K2.

State Senator Jeff Klein, who set up an undercover operation at a store on East 187th street and scored K2, is also proposing stiffer state criminal penalities for K2 that Della Ellis knows first hand is dangerous.

"They need to get it off the streets because it is very dangerous, it could get in the hands of children," she said.

And adults.