Michigan family issues warning after 'Gas Station Heroin' overdose kills son

Family sounds alarm after deadly 'Gas Station Heroin' overdose

The drug is stronger than Morphine and highly addictive, and you can buy it at smoke shops and gas stations. Now there is a push to get it banned on the federal level this week.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Gas-station heroin, an opioid-like drug that is legal, has killed a Metro Detroit man. Meanwhile, there is a movement in the fight against 7-Hydroxy Pills. 

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The drug is stronger than morphine and highly addictive, and you can buy it at smoke shops and gas stations. Now there is a push to get it banned on the federal level this week. 

FOX 2 sat down with the family, whose son died from a 7-Hydroxy overdose. It had been two years since Jose found his son dead.

"I don’t wish this on nobody this is the hardest thing I could ever imagine," said Jose. "I just started yelling and shaking him and stuff and I rolled him over and checked his pulse and stuff like that, but he was already starting to stiffen up."

The son's death certificate said the cause of death was 'Mitragynine Intoxication," it is the psychoactive compound found in the Kratom Plant, which is where 7-Hydroxy pills come from. 

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The packaging almost always includes the word, ‘Kratom’ on it. Kratom is a tree from Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, 7-Hydroxy is a derivative but is significantly more potent. 

"I did not know what Kratom was. If I would have known, we might be telling a different story," said Jose.

7-Hydroxy has been banned in a dozen states but not in Michigan. Now, a big step was taken in the fight against it, as health officials pushed for a nationwide ban in Washington DC. 

What's next:

Now, the DEA will review the recommendation and make a decision on a ban. 

Jose and his family are suing several manufacturers of the 7-Hydroxy pills that killed their son. He warns many that just because it is legal, does not mean it's safe. 

The ban would not affect products that include Kratom Lead, which is widely used and significantly less potent than 7-Hydroxy.