K2 synthetic marijuana, despite being illegal in New York, is not hard to find and is as dangerous as ever
A Westchester County family says K2, also known as synthetic marijuana, led to the death of their loved one after he became addicted to it.
They say the unregulated drug is often sold in gas stations and illegal smoke shops, with packaging marketed towards children.
While it has been illegal for more than a decade in New York state, CBS News New York found out it's still easy to buy.
Nathaniel Hester's story
Nathaniel Hester's family said he discovered K2 in 2015 while in rehab for an opioid addiction he developed while on painkillers from a motorcycle accident. Marijuana had not yet been legalized in New York. The synthetic cannabinoid also goes by the names Spice, Skunk, and many more, and mimics the effects of marijuana.
His younger sister said she found K2 wrappers in his room after the 45-year-old died by suicide in January.
"I mean, thousands of rappers were all over the floor and it was like he must have been smoking and smoking and smoking and just that's where he got the courage to do that," Meagan Hester said.
"At one point, he told me, 'I love myself. I will never take my life," said Jessica Hester, his older sister. "He told me that and I trusted and believed him and I think he meant it. I really do."
The sisters said the former Ossining High School athlete loved fitness, people and animals. They showed CBS News New York the last photo the family took together.
"He would do anything for anyone and he always like rooted for the underdog and that's like who Nathaniel was," Meagan Hester said. "I moved back here in August and I was so excited to have my brother see ... he never met my son, Mars, and so I was excited for that to happen."
How K2 affects the brain
The New York State Health Department says K2 contains hallucinogenic chemicals that are made in labs and sprayed onto dry leaves, adding none of it comes from the cannabis plant.
"It hits the receptors in the brain so much stronger than THC would that you're getting some of the benefits, but you get all of the negative effects like high blood pressure, fast heart rate, slow heart rate. Often times, they're contaminated with, for some reason, with anti coagulants so people would be breathing out when they took these things. It becomes psychotic," said Dr. Kenneth Winberg, chief medical officer and founder of Cannabis Doctor of New York.
K2 usage skyrocketed in New York City nearly a decade ago. It's the same substance said to be found on the late Jordan Neely, a Brooklyn man with a history of mental illness who was put in a chokehold on the subway in May 2023.
Friends say Sebastian Zapeta, accused of fatally setting a woman on fire on the subway in December, also took K2.
Meagan Hester said her brother became unrecognizable.
"It made him a shell of who he was," she said. "You couldn't have a conversation with him. It was unbelievable what it did to him."
"He wasn't communicating. He just wasn't available. He didn't look good," Jessica Hester said. "When he quit, the psychosis behavior was the strongest and he would become violently ill and the negative thinking was at its worst."
Hester's attorney, Joseph Glazer, said Nathaniel, "struggled to maintain in the community," adding, "Once he started to get in trouble with the law, which is something he never ever wanted, was when he decided this stuff is legal. I can do this. They sell it in the store down the street."
Why is this illegal product so easy to find?
Despite it being illegal and notorious for putting users in a zombie-like state, the products can still be found on store shelves.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports many synthetic cannabinoid substances that are being sold as incense and potpourri make it hard to crack down on, adding manufacturers adjust the ingredients to bypass legal restrictions.
The DEA says in 2024, it confiscated 918 types of synthetic marijuana nationwide. That's more than double the amount collected in 2023, which was 388. The DEA says most of the samples were plant based, or in vape form. The New York Division spokesperson said a small fraction of that was recovered in New York. He added it is hard to determine K2 at sight, and laboratory testing is required.
K2 also tends to be cheaper and there is barely any regulatory oversight, compared to licensed cannabis shops, like Charlie Fox in Times Square, which have to display the license with a QR code at the entrance.
"There's a series of warnings that every cannabis product has to have," said James Mallios, a partner at the Charlie Fox dispensary. "This QR code, which takes you to a lab that's certified in New York, which shows you who grew the plants, what was contained in that cannabis, did it pass tests for heavy metals, fentanyl, K2, and they have to be childproof as well."
Legal dispensaries are also required to sell those products in a locked case.
"And every Monday we have to send a report to the state, what we took in inventory and what we sold," Mallios said. "There's actually a weekly reporting requirement. There's a rigorous inspection of security in the facility, For example, we have to have 100% camera coverage in this dispensary."
Hester family is now on a crusade to help others
The Hesters have started a change.org petition and are speaking to congressional lawmakers about legislation that would ban the sale and manufacturing of all variants of synthetic marijuana in the United States, regardless of the ingredients.
"If you look at the wrappers, it's really impossible to find out where it even comes from," Meagan Hester said.
"Some of the wrappers that were found in my brother's house had little children's, sort of like characters on it, and its like, God, if child and teen starts smoking that what it can do to their life," Jessica Hester said.
The sisters said they tried to get their brother help to break his addiction to K2.
"I did numerous times. It wasn't easy. One, it would take him being fully transparent and honest about it. When you call places to see if they could do something about it it was like 'Why are you calling me?'" Jessica Hester said. "Two, I just feel like it was newer. It was just not something that was easy for them to treat at the time."
The sisters offered advice to people who may be trying to get help for loved ones using K2.
"Don't stop asking for help," Jessica Hester said. "My brother wanted to be a father and provider with kids. What he wrote in his journal was he wanted to be off all pharmaceutical drugs. He didn't want to be struggling with his addiction anymore. He just wanted to be clean.
"I really believed that my brother was going to be knocking on my door in our 60s, 70s, telling me about his day. I thought for sure he would make it," she added.
"He was robbed of it all and it was because of K2," Meagan Hester said. "K2 just took over. He couldn't get away from it."
The New York State Health Department says synthetic cannabinoids accounted for less than 0.4% of overdoses in 2023, adding that there are data limitations sharing that self-reporting on the information is unreliable.
The toxicology report for Nathaniel Hester showed he was negative for drugs and alcohol, but numerous state health departments report that synthetic cannabinoids are not typically detected in testing.
