A FREE THURSDAY PUBLICATION
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
“By all these lovely tokens September days are here,With summer’s best of weather, And autumn’s best of cheer.” (Helen Hunt Jackson)
SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM
Synthetic Marijuana Comes to Town This is the ninth article in South Boston Online’s drug series. Instead of being about heroin, this article deals with the sudden onslaught of so-called “synthetic marijuana” (Spice, Spike, K2, whatever) in South Boston, which happened just over a month ago. We could not research this article as carefully as our previous ones, but we can accurately state that synthetic marijuana is highly dangerous, both to its users and to those who are unlucky enough to be near them. by Rick Winterson
During August, South Boston Online began receiving increasingly numerous reports concerning synthetic marijuana, which is more commonly called “Spice”, “Spike”, or “K2”, as well as various trade names such as “Gold” and “Black Mamba”. Many of these reports came
from residents of the Andrew Square neighborhood, concerning large numbers of strangers hanging out on street corners and porch steps. All of a sudden, a lot of newcomers were wearing old backpacks and dragging wheeled (and full) suitcases behind them. At least two locations here in South Boston had recently been selling synthetic marijuana over the counter; sales and usage south of us in Dorchester had assumed frightening proportions. License plates from as far away as Great Barrington and Philadelphia have shown up here. Synthetic marijuana reared its ugly head in 2013, just two years ago in Colorado (where else?). To a user, it had two huge advantages over other substances – it was very cheap and it was available everywhere in small shops – even in some gas stations. The sheer numbers of users, especially among homeless folk, who are hard to trace anyhow, has overwhelmed the police continued on page 2
Steps for Stephanie T-Shirt Sale
Stop by the East Boston Savings Bank (formerly Mt. Washington) on Saturday between the hours of 9-12 and purchase a t-shirt to help support Steps for Stephanie which was created to honor our friend Stephanie Uftring who lost her battle with Colon Cancer. Stephanie inspired so many people with her courage, strength and spirit. She was larger than life and her memory will live on with all of those she has touched. Our team is participating in the 2015 Boston Get Your Rear In Gear 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, September 19th at 9 am at Carson Beach. The event benefits the Colon Cancer Coalition. We want to make a difference for the thousands of people in our community touched by colon cancer. The funds we raise will stay right here, helping with prevention, early detection and treatment for this disease.
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