By COLlive reporter
At least 2 recent public disturbances on the streets of Crown Heights are being linked to the growing usage of a drug which causes psychotic effect, according to the New York Police Department.
A black male that was arrested on Wednesday for disrupting traffic on Montgomery and Utica was said to have been influenced by synthetic marijuana, also known as the K2 or Spice drug.
“He was blocking the street and not letting cars drive,” an eyewitness told COLlive.com. “He then began kicking a few cars and someone called the police who arrested him.”
The man was taken to Kings County Hospital Center for an evaluation.
This follows an incident on Tuesday afternoon when a black man attacked a Jewish man sitting on a bench on Eastern Parkway.
According to a report, the assailant freely admitted to the attack claiming to be under the influence of drugs; police at the scene declared they were taking the suspect to a psyche ward.
NYPD 71st Community Affairs Officer, Detective Vinny Martinos said both incidents were connected to the drug that contains dried, shredded plant material and chemical additives.
National Institute on Drug Abuse says that the effects of K2 “are even stronger than those of marijuana” and that “some users report psychotic effects like extreme anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.”
“We have a significant problem in the neighborhood with this drug,” Martinos said. “It is a type of marijuana that causes psychotic effect. People who take it have to be hospitalized.”
The New York Times reports that these new synthetic drugs started spilling onto the global markets around 2008, at first legal and uncontrolled. It is now affecting at least 70 countries.
Martinos did clarify that this drug problem was not connected to last week’s bust of a “crack house” in Crown Heights that had cocaine and marijuana. 5 people, three Jewish males and two non-Jewish females, were taken into custody.
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Great, Our neighberhood is getting better and better for our children. Our Teens can be exposed to drugs, yuppies inviting them into the bars and our own fellow lubavitchers planning to open bars for their new tennants. Shame on you ! Shame on the landlords who bring in this filth. We need to make quality of life better for our children if we make our young couples compete with Manhattan rents. Instead , Greed is winning. This is no place to raise children. Great Job !