Posted on 10/10/2025 6:25:05 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
California authorities have started a crackdown on kratom and kratom-related products like these two 7-OH products pictured at a smoke shop in Daly City.
A powerful new opioid drug that’s sold at convenience stores across California has been linked to three additional deaths, as public health officials warn of a growing public health crisis linked to the painkiller.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health announced three more deaths Friday morning that are linked to 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which is commonly sold as 7-OH. That brings the total deaths linked to the drug in LA to six, after LADPH announced three earlier deaths.
7-OH is a synthetic drug that causes both opioid and stimulant-like effects; it’s usually sold as a pill but sometimes is infused into drinks and vaporizers. It’s commonly marketed in colorful packaging with candy-flavored pills and sold at gas stations and smoke shops across the state.
The drug is a synthetic relative of kratom and is often described as “gas station heroin” because of its potent strength. One study published in 2024 estimated it was 14 to 22 times stronger than morphine.
7-OH carries the risk of a fatal overdose, especially when combined with other drugs like alcohol, according to Gary Tsai, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Bureau. Narcan can reverse a 7-OH overdose.
“Kratom and 7-OH products are marketed as natural remedies and sold illegally in gas stations, smoke shops, online, and other retailers. It’s critical that the community understand that these products are dangerous and can result in fatal overdoses,” Tsai said in a Friday news release.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"new opioid drug that’s sold at convenience stores across California"
Why do drunks lean backward, but drug addicts bend over forward?
I’m sure libertarians are thrilled at this news. They want nothing more than to make dangerous drugs legal and available everywhere.
It’s a stimulant, but at high doses, it has some opioid effects.
It’s only a partial agonist of opioid receptors.
It’s nothing like heroin.
I know kratom has been around for a while, and my state was going to ban it, but did not.
I think the real issue is the killer 7-OH stuff which occurs naturally in very small quantities in the kratom plant so since they want to ban kratom anyway they are lumping them together so they can say Kratom Kills.
I am pretty sure there are many other substances which have a large legal profit and lobbyists which are more deadly.
Ban a drug that “killed” 3 people in a city of millions but keep thos illegals aliens drunk driving, murdering, and bringing in cartel crime.
Priorities
Drug addicts throw up sooner like junkies but to them it’s worth the rush.
If you seen how they drive out here you’d believe they are all are on something.
speed limits are when the pedal meets the floor and no road rules.
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