Police seek synthetic pot in mass overdoses, arrest three
Police swarmed a Connecticut park near Yale University and searched people’s homes for drugs Thursday in an effort to prevent more overdoses from a batch of synthetic marijuana blamed hospitalizing more than 70 people.
Social workers and mental health professionals also responded to the New Haven Green, where most of the overdoses happened Wednesday. Authorities described a chaotic scene where people were dropping to the ground unconscious, others vomiting and some becoming lethargic.
Officials said 76 people overdosed Wednesday and 17 more were treated Thursday. Officials weren’t certain whether Thursday’s cases involved the same batch of “K2” synthetic marijuana. No deaths were reported, and most of those brought to hospitals have been discharged.
Synthetic marijuana, called “spice” and other names, usually is plant material sprayed with chemicals or other substances. It has been blamed for overdoses across the country. Some of the New Haven victims tested positive for the powerful opioid fentanyl, also blamed for overdoses, but authorities believe this week’s overdoses were caused solely by synthetic marijuana.
Police Chief Anthony Campbell said one of three people arrested in connection with the overdoses apparently gave K2 away in an effort to get people hooked. The names of the suspects haven’t been released.
Campbell said officers were executing search warrants Thursday in an effort to get all the bad drugs off the streets. He said the suspects could face both state and federal charges.
Mayor Toni Harp said plans were being finalized for Jim Carroll, President Donald Trump’s nominee for drug czar, to visit New Haven on Monday.
New Haven first responders were called to a similar outbreak on the Green on July 4, when more than a dozen people became sick from synthetic marijuana. The city also saw more than a dozen synthetic marijuana overdoses in January.