The Fourth Wave of the Opioid Epidemic is Here
Packaged Like Candy and Sold at Your Local Convenience Store
Intoxicating and Dissociative Derivatives Mimic the Effects of Scheduled Drugs
America is in the midst of a new wave of the nation’s opioid epidemic, with dangerous synthetic drugs hurting kids and fueling for-profit addiction in communities across the country.
These lab-made, chemically altered substances — like tianeptine, nitrous oxide, intoxicating hemp, and synthetic isolate alkaloids like 7 and Pseudo — are cleverly disguised to evade regulatory scrutiny and confuse consumers, all while masquerading as copycat snacks, knockoff prescription opioids, supplements, and other novelty products.
If we want to keep our children safe, we need smart regulation that protects personal freedom and enforcement of current federal laws around the sale of unapproved drugs. Blanket bans that criminalize natural botanicals won’t stop this crisis. Let’s distinguish between the two and deal with the real issue now.
What Is Gas Station Heroin?
First used in reference to tianeptine, an unscheduled antidepressant with opioid-like effects, the term “Gas Station Heroin” now encompasses a range of harmful synthetic substances that pervert natural plants. These include synthetic cannabinoids like Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10, and HHC; nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas;” and oxidative, semi-synthetic alkaloid products like 7 and Pseudo.
Although chemically designed to mimic the effects of opioids and other narcotics, synthetic drugs are rarely labeled as such and are often sold alongside everyday snacks and beverages. The businesses behind this illicit trade frequently operate on a cash-only basis, lack financial transparency, and sidestep taxes and public health oversight.
How Real Food Became Gas Station Heroin
Natural foods have been turned into processed, addictive products. Now, a new threat is emerging in Gas Station Heroin — with synthetic drugs disguised as ultra-processed snacks, devastating Americans across the country.
The Fourth Wave of the Opioid Epidemic is Here
Packaged Like Candy and Sold at Your Local Convenience Store. Intoxicating and Dissociative Derivatives Mimic the Effects of Scheduled Drugs. If we want to stop this crisis and keep our children safe, we need regulation that protects citizens from unhealthy chemically engineered synthetic products while safeguarding Mother Nature.
An International Cartel Poisoning Americans
These synthetic drugs and base materials are illegally imported, illegally sold, and illegally marketed. They are not dietary supplements. They are not traditional botanicals. They are unapproved new illegal drugs being trafficked into American communities under false pretenses, and the people selling them know exactly what they’re doing.
Most of these products are made in foreign labs and sold to Americans through retailers operating in cash and evading enforcement. This is not a regulatory gray area; it is a coordinated, multi-billion-dollar syndicate exploiting legal loopholes to drive addiction and profit while endangering American communities.
Lab-Made Chemicals Masquerading as Plants
Natural botanical products have been used safely for centuries and have inherent consumer trust. Now, serial bad actors are isolating a single compound from a leaf and chemically altering it in labs to create hyper-concentrated drugs that are poisoning consumers.
Don’t be fooled: The chemical alteration of botanicals creates an incredibly scary and dangerous output. Illicit dealers, misleadingly marketing these substances, seek to exploit public confusion between whole plant products and isolated constituents.
New Drugs Driving the Crisis
Among the newest, most dangerous substances driving the Gas Station Heroin crisis is 7. It’s a synthesized drug that contains large amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7OH), a byproduct compound found in minuscule amounts in dried leaf kratom. 7 products call themselves kratom, but they have almost nothing in common with the natural botanical.
By isolating a single compound from a leaf and chemically altering it in a lab, 7 becomes something else entirely: a drug up to 30 times more potent than morphine, sold for just $6 per pill, with none of the plant’s natural protections. Many of the same players behind 7 are also manufacturing tianeptine and intoxicating hemp products.
The Nationwide Synthetics Threat
The Food and Drug Administration has signaled renewed interest in the regulation of synthetic substances. Commissioner Marty Makary, testifying before the U.S. Senate in May 2025, said FDA officials “have begun taking action against new challenges such as Gas Station Heroin,” indicating a heightened focus from the agency on this emerging threat.
Numerous organizations and agencies have also issued public health warnings about the threats posed by synthetic drugs. The Scientific Association for Botanical Education and Research advised in February 2025 that synthetic 7OH products are up to 30 times more potent than morphine at opioid receptors, posing severe risks like respiratory depression, toxicity, and addiction.
What You Need To Know
Synthetic Substances Bring Foreign-Made Toxins to Our Shores
- Bad actors synthesize, concentrate, and often isolate natural botanicals to create dangerous, highly concentrated substances marketed to minors.
- Synthetic drugs are manufactured primarily in China and India and brought into the United States through our porous borders under false pretenses.
- These foreign-imported drugs are distributed through a widespread network of independent convenience stores and smoke shops.
These Dangerous Drugs Are Not the Same as Natural Plants
- Natural botanicals have been consumed safely for centuries and have inherent consumer trust.
- Though synthetic substances are falsely marketed as botanicals, they are 30 times more potent than the natural plant and carry dangerous consequences.
- Synthetic drugs are packaged to target minors by mimicking popular consumer products like ice cream cones, chips, gummies, and cereals.
Blanket Bans Aren’t the Solution to This National Emergency
- Blanket bans on both natural plants and synthetic drugs lump centuries-old botanicals in with harmful Schedule I substances like heroin and LSD.
- These bans punish law-abiding businesses and natural plant users, including military veterans, who consume botanicals for pain relief.
- They could drive natural plant users to more addictive and dangerous pharmaceuticals or illegal substances.
Gas Station Heroin vs. Natural Remedies
| Synthetic Drugs | Whole Plant Products |
| Lab-made, hyper-concentrated perversions of natural plants | Used for centuries to increase productivity and general health and wellness, providing relief from occasional pain, stress, and anxiety |
| No age restrictions, no dosage guidelines, and no evidence of safety from clinical trials | Consumed as a natural alternative to pharmaceuticals, facilitating harm reduction |
| Marketed to mimic popular consumer products or prescription drugs | Distributed in forms such as powders, capsules, teas, and liquid supplements |
| Sold on a cash-only basis to sidestep taxes and public health oversight | Supplied by law-abiding businesses as natural health remedies |
| Part of a coordinated, multi-billion-dollar syndicate exploiting legal loopholes | Embraced by a homegrown wellness movement that prioritizes transparency |
If we want to stop this crisis and keep our children safe, we need regulation that safeguards personal freedom, not blanket bans that criminalize whole plant products. Let’s distinguish between the two and deal with the real issue now!
We need to STOP GAS STATION HEROIN – Join the fight!
Contact Us At info@stopgasstationheroin.com