--- title: Nearly 120 Die of Synthetic Marijuana Overdoses description: In less than a week, more than 100 people in Texas overdosed on a drug that is not technically banned by federal or state laws and has been designed to give users highs similar to marijuana canonical: https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/ author: David Winograd article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-06T19:34:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:41:16.880Z article:section: Health og:title: Nearly 120 Die of Synthetic Marijuana Overdoses og:description: In less than a week, more than 100 people in Texas overdosed on a drug that is not technically banned by federal or state laws and has been designed to give users highs similar to marijuana og:url: https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte05355b18ac7b2c8/69868e23169ab0671a2792e7/ap100215038652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Fake Pot Ban og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nearly 120 Die of Synthetic Marijuana Overdoses twitter:description: In less than a week, more than 100 people in Texas overdosed on a drug that is not technically banned by federal or state laws and has been designed to give users highs similar to marijuana twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte05355b18ac7b2c8/69868e23169ab0671a2792e7/ap100215038652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nearly 120 People Overdose on Synthetic Marijuana in 5-Day Period > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=552e7512-4870-4da2-ac07-057126b21586&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [David Winograd](https://time.com/author/david-winograd/) ## David Winograd May 6, 2014 7:34 PM UTC  A package of K2 , a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with chemicals A package of K2 , a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with chemicals Kelley McCall—AP by [David Winograd](https://time.com/author/david-winograd/) ## David Winograd May 6, 2014 7:34 PM UTC Almost 120 people in a five-day period in Texas [overdosed on a synthetic drug](http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/Near-120-statewide-overdose-on-synthetic-marijuana-from-Dallas-258028241.html) that mimics the effects of marijuana. Police believe the drug on which the victims overdosed, known as K2, came from the same Dallas supplier, News 8 reports. Some of the overdose victims had to be sedated before being treated. Dr. James d’Etienne of Dallas’ Baylor Medical Center [said](http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/More-than-30-overdose-on-synthetic-marijuana-in-a-day-in-Dallas-257765821.html) that “several of \[the patients\] came in with similar symptoms of psychosis, altered mental status, abnormal behavior.” K2 is designed by the chemists who create it to give users a high that is similar to weed. The effects of K2, however, are largely unknown. The substance is not listed as an illegal drug, so vendors [can sell](http://time.com/57167/rise-of-fake-pot/) it without fear of legal repercussions, as TIME reported in an [April cover story](http://time.com/57167/rise-of-fake-pot/) on the dramatic rise of synthetic pot’s popularity. Police are investigating the composition of the substance connected to the rash of overdoses to determine if they were laced with other drugs. \[[_News 8_](http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/Near-120-statewide-overdose-on-synthetic-marijuana-from-Dallas-258028241.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/"},"headline":"Nearly 120 People Overdose on Synthetic Marijuana in 5-Day Period","datePublished":"2014-05-06T19:34:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:41:16.880Z","description":"In less than a week, more than 100 people in Texas overdosed on a drug that is not technically banned by federal or state laws and has been designed to give users highs similar to marijuana","url":"https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/","keywords":["Drugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte05355b18ac7b2c8/69868e23169ab0671a2792e7/ap100215038652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Winograd","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-winograd/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte05355b18ac7b2c8/69868e23169ab0671a2792e7/ap100215038652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fake Pot Ban","caption":"Fake Pot Ban","creditText":"Kelley McCall—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/89835/synthetic-marijuana-overdoses-k2/","name":"Nearly 120 People Overdose on Synthetic Marijuana in 5-Day Period"}}]}] ```