California health officials sound alarm over gas station supplement linked to deadly overdose

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California officials are warning the public about an inconspicuous but deadly supplement sitting on gas station shelves across the state after it allegedly killed a man.

The supplement, which markets itself as “cat’s claw,” contained dihydro-7-hydroxymirtragynine (MGM-15), a kratom-derived opioid.

Officials detected MGM-15 in a 37-year-old man who overdosed and died in late September after he took the supplement. His cause of death was ruled to be an accident caused by the “toxic effects of kratom alkaloids.”

MGM-15 is 15 to 50 times stronger than morphine and is not approved for medical use in humans, officials said. The overdose was the first of its kind in San Francisco after cases in Utah and Washington.

The purple package contains 100mg of alleged uncaria tomentosa, or “cat’s claw” and is labeled “Paradise Blend.” The brand “Script Botanicals x Maui labs,” sells the supplement.

Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told CBS News the package lures consumers into a false sense of security.

“It looks really not dangerous,” she said. “People buy it, they’ll take it as a supplement and they think it’ll give them energy…but if you take too much of them it can depress your ability to breathe and you can die from it.”

Cat’s claw comes from a woody vine in the Amazon forest and is promoted for a variety of benefits, including relief for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, viral infections, and other conditions.

The herbal supplement on its own does not contain MGM-15.

MGM-15 is a chemically modified form of 7-hydroxymitragynine, which is found naturally in kratom.

Kratom is marketed as a supplement that boosts energy and mood.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche previously warned about synthetic opioids in consumer products.

“These are potent opioids being manufactured and sold in consumer products, often under labels that obscure their true risks,” Blanche said.

The dangerous gas station supplement revelation comes as San Francisco and California take the brunt of the opioid crisis. San Francisco endured 625 accidental overdose deaths in 2025 and 2,298 deaths in LA County.

The California Post reached out to Script Botanicals for comment.

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