On the same corner in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where 33 people were hospitalized in 2016, at least 25 more people were taken to the hospital over the weekend.

They had bad reactions to what police suspect is, again, a bad batch of K2, multiple outlets reported.

The NYPD earlier this week requested that people with any information on the incident phone their tips to 800-577-TIPS.

The police also noted that this specific batch is nicknamed “cotton ball.”

Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident, according to Spectrum News 1 NY.

K2 is a synthetic cannabinoid. It is also known as “Spice,” but it is sold under literally hundreds of brand names worldwide. (An extensive list of names for the substance can be found here.)

Some common street and slang names include AK-47, Black Mamba, Bliss, Bombay Blue, Fake Weed, Genie, K2, Kush, Kronic, Mr. Happy, Moon Rocks, Scooby Snax, Skunk, Spice, Yucatan Fire, and Zohai, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

K2 is second only to marijuana itself as the most popular illegal drug used by high school seniors.

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What’s going on here? About a decade ago, K2 hit the U.S. — and since then, both federal authorities and states have passed legislation banning or limiting its distribution. But there’s a snag.

To avoid prosecution, manufacturers regularly change the chemicals they use to create the K2, so defining it legally by its chemical composition is tricky. A seemingly never-ending cat-and-mouse game makes it tough for legislators and regulators to keep up.

Also, in an effort to skirt prosecution, perpetrators regularly sell the product as “potpourri” or “incense” — and label (tongue-in-cheek) as “not for human consumption.”

The CDC recently warned consumers not to use any synthetic marijuana products purchased since March 1, 2018. The agency cited an Illinois Department of Public Health report of multiple cases of deaths and severe bleeding following use of contaminated synthetic cannabinoids. They urged any consumers who have used the product and are experiencing similar symptoms to report immediately to the hospital.

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Some forms of K2 resemble marijuana. They are often sold in small, shiny sachets as dry, crumbled plant material that has been sprayed with lab-synthesized chemicals. The chemicals are designed to mimic the effect of THC — tetrahydrocannabinol — marijuana’s primary psychoactive ingredient. K2 is also sold as a liquid meant for vaping — consumed via e-cigarettes and similar devices. Some people add the substance to create teas or incorporate it into foods.

That is where K2’s similarities to marijuana end.

Though many believe K2 is a “safe” or “natural” alternative to marijuana, nothing could be further from the truth. It is neither.

The lists of complications and symptoms related to this drug’s use are extensive and disturbing.

K2 or Spice, according to experts, produces effects profoundly different from ordinary marijuana. Produced largely in labs in China, it can be vastly more potent than marijuana, for example.

Even worse, lists of complications and symptoms related to its use are extensive and disturbing. They include agitation and irritability, confusion and concentration problems, hallucinations, delusions, psychosis, suicidal thoughts and violent behavior, seizures, sleepiness and dizziness, the CDC warns. Breathing problems, gastrointestinal problems, heart attack, fast heart rate, high blood pressure, stroke, kidney damage and muscle damage have also been reported.

Perhaps most worrying is that, though rare, its use is linked to some deaths.

Meanwhile, this past weekend, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio offered his solution to the growing illicit drug epidemic — and it’s a head-shaker. De Blasio told top NYPD officials to stop arresting people for smoking marijuana in public. Instead, the mayor wants the police to issue tickets, CNN reported.

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Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced discussions on ending the prosecution of marijuana possession and smoking cases this August, according to The New York Times. Brooklyn ended the practice in 2014 for many low-level marijuana cases. The decision is in part based on concerns about marked racial disparities — black people are arrested far more frequently on marijuana charges in New York City than are white people.

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.