Via D.C. Fire and EMS.

In the past several months, District officials have noted a serious uptick in the number of synthetic drug overdoses, but statistics recently released by D.C. Fire and EMS shows just how bad the problem is. In just June alone, DCFEMS reported 439 cases of synthetic drug overdoses in the District.

Since April of this year, there have been 906 total cases reported of synthetic drug overdoses, with a whopping 895 of those cases requiring hospital transports. That averages to about nine overdoses a day.

The rapid rise of synthetic drug use in the District—reported overdoses increased between April and June by more than 400 percent—are believed to be contributing to the city’s recent uptick in violent crime. At a Ward 5 panel discussion on crime in the city yesterday, authorities said that “synthetic drugs are also fueling crime in the nation’s capital,” WJLA reports. So far, there’s a 21-percent increase in homicides from this time in 2014.

In DCFEMS statistics, all of the synthetic drug cases are linked specifically to overdoses on synthetic cannabinoids, like K2, Spice, and Scooby Snax. Such synthetic drugs are meant to mimic the chemical composition of marijuana, but, in reality, they have very little in common with marijuana and are far more dangerous.

Recently, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed aggressive legislation into law to help combat the sale of synthetic drugs in the District. Though her administration’s crackdown on synthetic drugs have since shuttered several businesses in D.C. that were caught selling the substances, the problem persists: in just the first two weeks of July, DCFEMS reported 149 overdoses.

Synthetic Cannabinoid Patient Case Data (WP Charts on 7-15-15)