At least 130 people have overdosed on K2 in New York in the past 3 days

The mass K2 overdose in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, that left more than 33 hospitalized is apparently a dramatic example of a recent alarming trend. According to the New York Times, synthetic marijuana has sent more than 130 to the hospital between Monday and Wednesday alone this week, with about a fourth of those from the Brooklyn incident. The number of people admitted to emergency rooms in just three days almost matches the entire number — 140 — hospitalized in June. Cops think a "bad batch" has hit the streets, sickening people, though they're not yet sure of the origin. And even with reports of a K2 "epidemic" in Bed-Stuy, hospitalizations linked to synthetic weed have plunged over the past year: Last July, at the peak of the city's K2 problem, 1,200 people were hospitalized because of bad reactions to spice — a number that decreased by 85 percent in March 2016.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton promised Thursday to escalate the crackdown on stores and bodegas illegally peddling K2. "You can expect to have very frequent visits from us until we padlock you, get court orders to put you out of business," Bratton said. "We're coming after you big time."

More on the K2 overdoses