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Florida targets 'gas station morphine' drugs
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier announces that Florida is expanding its emergency ban to outlaw copycat chemical formulas of a highly potent kratom extract known as "gas station morphine."
TAMPA, Fla. - Florida officials are expanding an emergency ban to target new chemical compounds that bypass previous restrictions on a high-potency kratom extract linked to hundreds of deaths across the state.
Since 2013, medical examiners in the state have linked at least 587 overdose deaths to 7OH and related chemical compound drugs.
Florida drug investigation
What we know:
The chemicals covered under the expansion include 7-hydroxymitragynine, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, 7-acetoxymitragynine, 9-hydroxycorynantheidine, 10-hydroxycorynantheidine, MGM-15, and MGM-16.
Key provisions of the rule:
- Strict limit: No product may contain more than 1 milligram of these dangerous chemicals per gram (solids/pills) or per milliliter (liquids).
- Any product containing any amount of 7-OH or its related compounds must also contain at least 100 times more regular mitragynine by mass, preventing super-concentrated and chemically altered formulas.
Those who violate the rule could face prison sentences of up to 30 years.
Dangerous store shelves
The backstory:
Not quite a year ago, the state of Florida issued an emergency rule rescheduling 7OH, which is a chemical extract from the kratom plant where they remove and high concentrate a product, selling it on the shelves.
"A product our chemists have analyzed can be 13 times or more potent than morphine," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier explained. "We rescheduled this, making it unlawful to sell this. Gas station morphine, as we called it, was found in 711 and in retail stores up and down the state, on shelves next to candy bars, snacks, at the fingertips of children."
While the state was able to shut down many of these dangerous drugs, officials noted that people try to skirt the system and dodge regulations to profit over public safety.
No 7OH products have been approved for medical treatment in the state.
A mother’s loss
What they're saying:
Patty Wheeler, whose 27-year-old son died after taking a kratom concentrate, spoke during Monday’s press conference.
She said her son walked into a vape store and bought powder, which he began taking on October 6.
"He said, "Mom, don’t worry about this. It is just an herbal supplement, and I am taking it because it’s an alternative for alcohol for me. I believe it is safe and it is no problem,’" Wheeler explained.
By October 25, Wheeler said her son had died in his brother’s arms while having a seizure from OPMS.
"My son Wyatt died after using a kratom concentrate product, something that was 50–100 times more fatal than the powder he was taking," Wheeler said. "That loss changed my life forever."
State enforcement numbers
By the numbers:
- 587: The minimum number of overdose deaths linked by medical examiners to 7OH and related compounds since 2013.
- 13: The number of times more potent than morphine that a single analyzed product was found to be.
- 1,800: The approximate number of child predators taken down by the state in the last year as part of broader child safety efforts.
- 30: The maximum number of years in a prison sentence that violators could face under the updated rule.
Future drug crackdowns
What's next:
The state will enforce the newly updated rule to ensure any new chemical compounds used to substitute 7OH derivatives are completely covered.
Officials stated they will continue to fight back against illicit drugs that are smuggled into the country from overseas adversaries.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Florida Attorney General Uthmeier, who explained how state chemists analyzed the potency of the kratom extract, tracked overdose deaths with medical examiners, and established the updated emergency rule criteria.