K2 profits may fund terrorism

From PIX11:

K2 traffickers import chemicals that are mixed in China, mostly receiving them in the mail, and then spray the chemicals on dried leaves and package the product in colorful bags. The fake pot, which is then rolled in paper and smoked, has been sold for years over the counter in tobacco shops and bodegas.

The profits are enormous, and that’s remained a worry for the federal government, which acknowledges that millions of dollars have been wired overseas, possibly to pay for terror training and plots.

“It’s a concern that money from some of these organizations has gone back to countries in conflict,” the DEA’s Hunt told PIX11. “Yemen. Jordan. Syria. So, anytime we see money going back to these countries, it’s a concern for law enforcement, that it could be going to fund terrorism.”

K2 causing problems in Jamaica

From WPIX:

Anthony Mitchell, a security guard at the 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, Queens, told PIX11 he’s been watching the people collapse there since at least January.

“One young man went into convulsions and shot some white stuff out of his mouth,” Mitchell recounted to PIX11 Investigates this week. “And then another young man went into convulsions and started shaking.”

The managers of the bus terminal—a major hub for travelers into Jamaica—have been getting complaints from store-owners and bus drivers at the site for months.

Young men are loitering outside shops and smoking synthetic drugs, commonly called K2 or Spice. They can buy a package—marketed as potpourri—for as little as $5.00 a clip.

The stuff looks a little like marijuana—but there’s nothing organic about it.

It’s sprayed with chemicals, often manufactured in China, that create a high.

Synthetic pot is really bad news

From WPIX:

K2 is just one brand name among many types of synthetic marijuana flooding the marketplace in recent years — on the Internet, in gas stations, and at local delis. It’s packaged as potpourri or incense with warnings that it’s not for human consumption, but teenagers and poor addicts have been abusing it; sometimes, with deadly results.

Fifteen people have died in the United States this year from a bad reaction to synthetic pot with more than 4,300 calls made to poison control centers as of July 6. The reactions can be severe, with some users having psychotic episodes and exhibiting severely violent behavior.

Last year, federal agents raided stores in 29 states that were selling the phony pot, which is actually dried plant material sprayed with cannabinoids. The chemicals used to create the high are usually produced in China.

The feds were especially concerned about something else they found at a store in Birmingham, Ala. In Birmingham, the agents discovered $38 million worth of wire transfers to Yemen.

Yemen is known as a major base for terror training and plotting.

Why was all that money going to Yemen? Is the sale of synthetic marijuana a way to poison American youth—and finance terrorism at the same time?