3 Arrested In Synthetic Marijuana Bust At Long Island Convenience Store

MEDFORD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Three people have been arrested in a synthetic marijuana bust at a convenience store on Long Island.

Investigators seized 1,000 packets of synthetic marijuana from the Eyup Gas & Convenience Store in Medford, officials said.

The store owner and two clerks are now facing drug trafficking charges.

The Department of Health is moving to close the store in wake of the arrests.

Synthetic marijuana, known as K2, is marketed to young people with names that Gov. Andrew Cuomo said make the drug sound "cool and innocuous."

"K2 has been a problem for the past several years, it's a relatively recent phenomena," Cuomo said. "But it's dangerous."

The governor is planning to advance legislation to add 35 synthetics to the state controlled substances list, including fentanyl which is being mixed with heroin to make it more addictive and deadly.

"The number of deaths in the U.S. from drug overdoses, 64,000 last year. It's more people than died at the peak of HIV, it's more people that died than the peak year of gun violence," Cuomo said.

Adding the synthetics to the controlled substances list will make those who manufacture or distribute the drugs subject to criminal penalties.