Stop Gas Station Heroin Commends HHS for Including Concentrated Synthetic 7-OH Products in Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy

Federal Strategy Recognizes the Severe Risks of Foreign Concentrated Synthetic7-OH Opioids Sold in Gas Stations and Convenience Stores Nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Stop Gas Station Heroin today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for explicitly naming concentrated synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) opioid products in its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy. The inclusion marks a critical milestone in efforts to confront a growing public health crisis caused by foreign lab-made synthetic 7-OH opioids flooding American neighborhoods.

Concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products are not natural. While naturally occurring 7-OH occurs only in trace amounts as a metabolite of dried kratom leaf, the synthetic versions being sold at gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores across the country are manufactured by bad actors who chemically manipulate the plant extract with harsh agents like pool shock and ethyl acetate. The result is a supercharged opioid up to 13 times stronger than morphine — a drug that quickly drives addiction, debt, and despair.

Many of these products are disguised as candies, gummies, drink mixes, or wellness aids, sold with no meaningful age restrictions or safety safeguards. Their colorful packaging and candy-like marketing make them especially dangerous to children and families.

The Strategy’s recognition of concentrated synthetic 7-OH builds on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent recommendation to classify these substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Crucially, the FDA made it clear to distinguish that its action is targeted at concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products and not at the natural kratom leaf, which has been used safely for centuries and remains outside the scope of this recommendation.

“HHS has sent an urgent message: concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products have no place in our communities,” said David Bregger, Executive Director of Stop Gas Station Heroin. “By calling out the deceptive marketing and unregulated sale of these engineered narcotics, the administration is prioritizing the safety of children and families nationwide.”

Stop Gas Station Heroin continues to urge the Drug Enforcement Administration to take the next step in keeping Americans safe by formally scheduling synthetic 7-OH and its analogues as Schedule I controlled substances.