Gummies that contain CBD and THC Delta-9, sold at supermarkets across the state.

Hundreds of Texas convenience stores are selling untested, highly addictive and potentially deadly drugs as over-the-counter dietary supplements, and law enforcement is not keeping up.

I recently found a product called 7-Hydro next to the register at a Refuel station. A company called Real Botanicals labels the three-tablet package as “#1 Kratom, Pure and Potent.” While the cashier checked my ID to ensure I was over 18, he did not warn me that the active ingredient, 7-Hydroxymitragynine, would bind with the opioid receptors in my brain and potentially create a life-threatening addiction.

He also had no idea that selling 7-Hydro, if testing by the Greater Kratom Coalition is correct, could land him in prison.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

While Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is trying to ban products that contain THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, Texans face far greater threats. Chemists are discovering new ways to synthesize naturally occurring molecules that can mimic heroin, psychedelic mushrooms and

© Houston Chronicle