There have been many reports coast to coast of people being hospitalized for what is being sold as “synthetic marijuana”. Over 200 people in Austin were sickened in June, 2015 by K-2 in a similar situation. How stupid does an individual have to be to inject, ingest or smoke an unknown substance?
2:40 p.m. update: Investigators believe the batch of the synthetic drug K2 that caused dozens in downtown Austin to have adverse medical reactions this week is coming from Houston, Austin police said Friday.
At least 16 people, all found at one Houston park, were taken to the hospital in June after overdosing on the drug, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Austin police are basing their theory on interviews with people downtown as well as “internal intelligence,” said Austin police Lt. Kurt Thomas. Investigators believe the K2 — also known as kush, spice or synthetic marijuana — is manufactured overseas, but a shipment to Houston made its way to Austin.
In total, 69 people in Austin have requested medical assistance after ingesting K2 since 7 p.m. Wednesday, EMS officials said.
Police detained three potential dealers Thursday, based on evidence from surveillance footage at the Salvation Army building in downtown Austin, Thomas said. However, any charges against them will be based on the findings from the lab tests of the suspected K2 that officers confiscated, and those tests can take weeks. As a result, the three people — all of whom reside in Austin and are being treated as persons of interest in the investigation — are no longer in police custody.
On Thursday, several ambulances staged at several points across the downtown area — including at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless at Seventh and Red River streets — to respond as quickly as possible to the number of calls they were receiving, EMS officials said.