Stronger than morphine, packaged like candy, sold at the gas station. And nobody is talking about it..

TL;DR - Jordan Neumann, person in long-term recovery, medical detox professional, and advocate with Texas Against Fentanyl, joins the Atomic Souls podcast to talk about what is sitting on gas station shelves right now. 7-OH is a synthetic opioid stronger than morphine, flavored like candy, and aimed directly at teenagers. The denial surrounding it is not ignorance. It is addiction.

Hi everyone,

Jordan Neumann brought an autopsy report to his comment section. One finding. Sole cause of death: 7-hydroxymitragynine toxicity. The response from people defending the product was immediate: you made that in Photoshop.

That is not a fringe reaction. That is the comment section on every video Jordan posts about 7-OH. Hundreds of comments. Fewer than one percent in support of regulation. Jordan works in medical detox. He is a person in long-term recovery. He partners with Texas Against Fentanyl, an organization built by a mother who lost her son. He knows what denial looks like from the inside. And he said it plainly: those people are not trolls. They are dependent.

That is the whole conversation. Everything else is context.

What 7-OH actually is

7-hydroxymitragynine is the primary psychoactive compound in kratom, extracted, isolated, and concentrated in a lab to levels thousands of times higher than anything found in nature. It binds to mu-opioid receptors more powerfully than morphine. By every clinical definition, it is a synthetic opioid.

In Texas, anything over 2% 7-OH content is a banned substance. Every product currently on the market exceeds that threshold.

And yet it sits on gas station shelves next to the energy drinks, priced at twenty dollars, available to anyone with a bill and a pulse.

The "it's natural" argument collapses the moment you understand what the product actually is. Jordan put it plainly: heroin comes from a plant. Cocaine comes from a plant. At some point someone put it in a lab and refined it. That is the whole story.

The design is not accidental

This is what practitioners need to understand. The flavors are not incidental.

Jordan laid out the business psychology directly: bright colored packaging, multiple flavor options, product names referencing street terms that run through rap music consumed primarily by adolescents whose frontal lobes are not fully developed. None of this is accidental. Every element of the product design targets a specific demographic before they have the neurological capacity to accurately assess risk.

Jordan calls it the on-ramp problem. For every person using 7-OH as an exit ramp from harder opioids, there are people who never would have touched anything, who walked into a gas station and found a synthetic opioid packaged like candy next to the register.

The moment they made it flavored, they stopped selling to adults.

The comment section as clinical data

Jordan posts documentation. He shares lab results. He put a real autopsy report on the internet and the response was that he fabricated it.

He explained this through his neuroscience background: when he was addicted to opioids, nothing else in his life mattered as much as his ability to get and use them. The comment section is that same mechanism expressed through a keyboard.

Addiction does not argue in good faith. It argues for survival.

Which means the people defending this product most aggressively are the ones who need the most help.

If your clients are defending a substance the way most people defend their lives, what does that tell you about where they actually are?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel

My Reads of the Week

FDA asks DOJ to classify 7-OH as a Schedule I substance  The FDA formally recommended 7-OH be classified alongside heroin and ecstasy as a Schedule I controlled substance, citing a surge in overdoses, poisonings, and emergency room visits linked to products sold openly at gas stations and convenience stores.

Consumer alert: synthetic opioids flooding gas station shelves  Georgia's Attorney General issued a formal consumer alert in November 2025 confirming that 7-OH products are engineered to be addictive and deliberately designed to resemble everyday candy and gummies to appeal to teens and young adults. A useful resource to share with clients who believe the "natural" label.

What to know about kratom, the "gas station heroin" targeted for a ban  A comprehensive April 2026 breakdown from the Detroit News covering what 7-OH actually is, how states are responding, and why the "kratom is natural" argument no longer holds. Worth bookmarking for client conversations and family education.

The full conversation with Jordan goes much deeper, into the neuroscience of addiction, Telegram drug storefronts, why harm reduction is failing in the fentanyl era, and what practitioners can actually do about it. New episodes drop every week.

Wisdom Nugget

Most people who end up defending a dangerous substance are not doing it consciously. They are doing it the same way they have always protected themselves from something they could not face. That is trauma. Quiet, shapeshifting, and nearly invisible until you know what you are looking for. This piece from the Atomic Souls blog is a no-nonsense breakdown of what trauma actually looks like in everyday behavior, not the dramatic movie version, but the kind that shows up as overreaction, avoidance, and defending choices that are clearly causing harm. If you are working with clients who cannot seem to see what everyone around them can see, start here.

Read more

Hot Takes

Nitrous oxide is not just a "fun party accessory"... it is destroying lives. (YouTube)

Talking about good kratom (YouTube)

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The essence of our mission at Atomic Souls transcends the realms of recovery and stability; it's about igniting the flame of purpose and passion within each soul we encounter. Join us.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel

p.s. If this is our first introduction, hi, I’m Rachel, founder and CEO of Atomic Souls Counseling. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC). After years in the trenches as a clinician, I discovered that my real passion isn’t just helping clients heal; it’s helping therapists thrive.

I’ve built Atomic Souls into more than a counseling practice; it’s a place where healing and business intelligence meet. I work with therapists, counselors, and practice owners to help them build sustainable, ethical, and profitable practices. Together, we focus on strategy, systems, and the economics of growth the behind-the-scenes work that allows you to keep showing up fully for your clients without burning out.

My approach blends clinical wisdom with business strategy. I coach on everything from pricing models and team structure to marketing, leadership, and scaling, all while maintaining your integrity and purpose. I believe you can be both a gifted clinician and a confident entrepreneur; those two identities don’t have to compete.

Through Atomic Souls, I’ve built a community where mental health professionals support one another, share resources, and turn purpose into sustainable success. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to expand, I’m here to help you build a practice that aligns with your values and fuels your life, not drains it.

If you’re a therapist ready to step into the next chapter of your career with clarity and confidence, let’s connect.

I write about the business of healing: strategy, systems, and soul for therapists who want to build thriving, values-driven practices on my blog.

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