SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco has reported its first fatal overdose from a potent kratom-derived opioid known as MGM-15. The San Francisco Department of Health has issued a health alert about the semi-synthetic opioid, which is not approved for any medical use.
"Ingesting too much MGM-15 can result in a fatal opioid overdose," SFDPH said in a news release Wednesday.
New name chosen for San Francisco’s Cesar Chavez Street
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner detected MGM-15 in a fatal overdose involving an adult who died in late September, officials said. Previously, the drug had been died to overdoses in Utah and Washington.
MGM-15 was recently designated as a Schedule 1 substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The drug is illegal for sale but has been found in products marketed as "uncaria tomentosa" or "cat's claw" that can be found for sale in smoke shops and gas stations, officials said.
A toxicology report confirmed the presence of MGM-15 in person who died and in the packaging of the product they consumed (pictured below).
Health officials noted that the brand, "Script Botanical x Maui labs," is different from products that contained MGM-15 in Utah and Washington. The packaging, officials said, makes no reference to kratom or 7-hydroxymitagynine.
The health alert on MGM-15 follows a similar alert issued by SFDPH earlier this year about a synthetic non-fentanyl opioid called cychlorphine, which was tied to the fatal overdose of a teen back in April.
