Selling K2 Could Come With $100K In Fines Under New Bill

NEW YORK — Selling K2 could mean even more trouble for New York City merchants — and their landlords — under a City Council bill introduced Tuesday. Councilman Andy King has proposed doubling the maximum fines for selling the dangerous synthetic drug to $100,000 while also making landlords liable for such penalties.

"We’re looking to save lives, we’re looking to save families — more importantly, we’re looking to save communities," King, a Bronx Democrat, said Tuesday.

Often referred to as synthetic marijuana, K2 is generally made from herbs sprayed with chemicals similar to THC, the active ingredient in pot, the FBI says. The drug has been linked to mass overdoses in Brooklyn as recently as September, when five people were reportedly hospitalized.

Mass K2 overdoses go back to the summer of 2016, when more than 30 people were seen collapsed and vomiting in Bed-Stuy, DNAinfo reported at the time.

Selling, manufacturing or distributing K2 constitutes a misdemeanor that can come with a maximum penalty of $5,000 and a year in jail under the city's administrative code.

The city can also impose civil fines starting at $500 on those caught breaking the law, with each packet counting as a separate violation. King's bill would hike the maximum civil penalty from $50,000 to $100,000.

The bill would also allow the city to slap landlords with such fines in addition to individuals and businesses. The change would hold landlords accountable if their retail tenants are found to be selling the substance, King said.

"In adding landlords to the discussion, we acknowledge you can't be out of sight out of mind allowing crime, and landlords can and should be people who are subject to penalties for K2 sales," King said in a statement Monday. "You can't make your money collecting rent in the suburbs benefiting from drug sales in our communities."

Another provision would require law-enforcement officials to notify the local community board whenever they find K2 in a local business that's licensed to sell alcohol. That would let the boards know that they could revoke those stores' licenses, King said.

The NYPD has cracked down on K2. Cops recovered more than 1,000 packets of the drug last May in an investigation that started when a mass overdose in Bushwick sent more than a dozen people to the hospital.