‘Prevention’ plan for K-2 crisis: Andy

Gov. Cuomo is taking on the the K-2 crisis with a statewide prevention and treatment plan to get synthetic marijuana off the streets.

“These extremely dangerous and deadly substances are wreaking havoc in communities across the state, and we are stepping up efforts to ensure these drugs remain off the streets and out of our correctional facilities,” Cuomo said in a statement Friday.

“With these new initiatives we can further educate the public on the dangers of these drugs while also continuing to ensure that those who bring this scourge into our communities will be held fully accountable.”

Cuomo first banned synthetic pot in 2012, empowering the state health commissioner to shut down stores where the drugs were being sold because of the threat they posed to public health.

The governor also ordered state agencies to yank liquor and lottery licenses from stores peddling K-2.

Synthetic cannabinoids are man-made chemicals that act on the same receptors of the brain as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — an active ingredient in marijuana.

But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hundreds of known synthetic cannabinoid chemicals are different from THC, and may affect the brain in different and unpredictable ways compared to marijuana.

Cuomo said the prevention and treatment plan will include an educational component to teach the public about the drug’s dangers.