San Francisco reports first fatal overdose from synthetic opioid sold in gas stations, smoke shops – CBS News

San Francisco reports first fatal overdose from synthetic opioid sold in gas stations, smoke shops  CBS News

A San Francisco resident has died after ingesting a semi-synthetic opioid sold in gas stations and smoke shops, the first such case in the city involving dihydro-7-hydroxymirtragynine, also known as MGM-15, health officials said. The kratom-derived opioid, estimated to be up to 50 times more potent than morphine, is not approved for any medical use and was recently designated as a Schedule 1 drug by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The San Francisco Department of Public Health issued an alert to the public and health care providers on Wednesday about MGM-15, and said the person who ingested it died late last month.Despite it being illegal for sale, MGM-15 has been found in products marketed as "uncaria tomentosa" or "cat's claw," and SFDPH said MGM-15 has also been identified in overdoses in Utah and Washington.

The "Script botanicals x Maui labs" tablets the San Francisco decedent consumed do not list kratom or 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in the packaging, SFDPH said, although the medical examiner's office found MGM-15 in both the decedent and the product packaging.It was the second time this year that San Francisco's health department issued a public warning about a synthetic opioid. In April, SFDPH alerted about the drug cychlorphine following the overdose death of a 16-year-old boy. San Francisco police said cychlorphine, estimated to be 10 times estimated more