Police: More than a dozen sickened in Bedford-Stuyvesant after using K2

More than a dozen people became sickened in Bedford-Stuyvesant during the weekend after police said they used K2, commonly known as spice or synthetic marijuana.

This particular version of the drug, which police said is nicknamed “cotton ball,” affected at least 15 people on Saturday. The NYPD initially reported 25 people had been hospitalized, but later revised the number, citing repeated calls for the same person.

The drug, which is illegal to sell and possess in New York City, can cause users to pass out, hallucinate and vomit, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Police arrested three people on Saturday night inside addresses that corresponded to a pair of bodegas across the street from each other on the corner of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue, the Big Boy Deli and the Star Deli & Grill.

Charges included the possession and/or sale of unstamped cigarettes and failure to report sales tax. One of the three was charged with criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly having a knife.

Saturday’s incident comes about two years after 33 people suffered from apparent K2 overdoses in the same area.

Brooklyn Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr., who represents Bed-Stuy, is calling on the NYPD and the city to escalate efforts to prevent the sale and use of K2.

“Some of the local shop owners are now using what’s called runners. So, not selling it absolutely out of the store, but having people who are working outside of the store who are loosely associated with the stores doing their business for them,” he said at a news conference Sunday.

But the councilman warned that completely shutting down stores in the area could accelerate gentrification.

The victims of Saturday’s incident were taken to Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Woodhull Medical Center, police said.

Police did not identify those who have been hospitalized or provide further information about their conditions.

With Alison Fox and Nicole Brown