JAYFORCE

K2 is a baaaad trip. Just watch this VICE News video on this whack marijuana substitute; comprised of plant matter sprayed with synthetic chemicals (designed to mimic the effects of marijuana’s active ingredient).

Weed is already lower-priced than most all illegal or controlled substances. However, VICE News reports (above) that K2 is currently America’s cheapest way to get high. The drug is often sold at corner stores, labeled as potpourri and unfit for human consumption. A bag of K2 sells for $5 to $10, while a joint goes for just $1.

The drug’s dangerous side effects have taken a toll on a wide variety of communities across the country, particularly in New York City. US poison control centers received more than 6,000 K2 calls in the first nine months of 2015, around a quarter of those calls came from NYC.

VICE News’ Nilo Tabrizy takes us to take a look a glimpse of the challenges New York City is facing with K2 through the lens of volunteer ambulance corps and harm reduction specialists in its outer boroughs.

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