AUSTIN, Texas – According to Austin/Travis EMS, calls are down for patients overdosing on the synthetic drug K2.

• 36 people facing charges for buying or selling K2 in Austin
• Fake pot likely tainted with rat poison kills 3, sickens 100
• Austin drug bust nets more than $1M in K2

EMS said last month they saw the lowest number of K2 calls since July 2014. Crews are thanking the Austin Police Department for its efforts to combat the problem.

K2 calls have become a huge burden on emergency workers, who usually get several calls a night.

In 2017, a man was arrested after police seized two shipments of K2 en route from China to Austin.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthetic cannabinoids are human-made chemicals that can be smoked or vaporized. The substance got its name from the similarity between chemicals found in marijuana. However, K2 it is more powerful, dangerous, and can be life-threatening.