'Gas Station Heroin' May Soon Be Banned In San Mateo County

REDWOOD CITY, CA — San Mateo County supervisors have introduced a new ordinance that could ban an easily accessible substance commonly referred to as "gas station heroin," officials said.

The proposed ordinance would ban the sale of kratom, and any related compounds, including 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, which is found in an evergreen tree commonly found in Southeast Asia called Mitragyna speciosa.

County supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to move forward with the proposed ordinance and will return for a final vote at a later date.

"It is destroying lives up and down the state," said Supervisor Ray Mueller, who introduced the ordianance. "People are going in to stores and really finding an opioid that is readily present, available and being marketed and, in many cases, being marketed to youth."

With the ban, San Mateo County would become the first of the nine Bay Area counties to make kratom illegal, officials said. Other counties, such as Los Angeles, have already taken similar actions to restrict kratom and 7-OH sales.

The new ordinance would treat the sale of the drug as a public nuisance, which can lead to fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail, county officials said.

Businesses caught selling the substance, should the measure move forward, also face having their licenses revoked, county officials said.

Kratom can be found in places such as gas stations or smoke shops in gummy, pressed tablets or liquid forms, county officials said.

It is often sold as a "natural remedy," but more studies are pointing to "significant risks" caused by the substance, according to county officials.

Although kratom is legal on a federal level, the FDA has placed it on its "drug and chemical of concern" list and warned Americans to avoid consuming it.

There have been several overdoses reported in connection with the drug, which can cause adverse effects, including nausea and liver damage, respiratory issues and death, according to the FDA.