Recovery specialists ask for help in combatting new drug

The Republican caucus of the Madison County Commission met on Monday, Aug. 11, and a couple of local non-profit leaders met with them.

They weren’t there to ask for funding.

They weren’t there to tell them about plans they have for probable funding needs down the road.

They were there to discuss a problem that’s becoming more prominent in Madison County and across the country that needs addressing at the state and federal levels.

They were asking them to consider making moves at the local level in the meantime.

Julanne Stone, the director of the Scarlet Rope Project, and Lindsey Crowder, the director of Aspell Recovery Center, along with Rachel Hardin, the clinical director at Aspell, informed present commissioners about a couple of substances that are part of energy drinks and other types of merchandise in gas stations and vape shops that are addictive and are becoming something both of their organizations are having to deal with.

“There are two substances we're dealing with and we're seeing more and more of in our recovery program," Crowder said. "One of them is kratom, which comes from the leaf of a plant from southeast Asia."

Crowder said it's marketed as a natural supplement that is used to treat anxiety, depression and even opioid withdrawals.

"It has potential to do good, but the problem is recently, people have begun pulling a potent extract from it," Crowder said. 

Crowder didn't use the scientific name for the extract, but it's 7-hydroxymitragynine. It's more commonly referred to as 7-OH.

"It's placed in nice little shots or pills and powders, and it's found in some vapes also," Crowder said. "And these products are sold at most gas stations and every single vape store."

One thing the group asked about with the commissioners is the possibility of doing something similar to what the City Council in Covington is discussing, which is putting a limit on the number of vape shops it can have in town. According to what was said at the caucus meeting, the proposal on the table in Covington is to cap the number of vape shops at its current number and then not allow the addition of another vape shop until one of the current ones closes down.

7-OH is as addictive as heroine and morphine, and Aspell is already dealing with getting some of its clients off the substance.

But it's so new the FDA doesn't regulate it yet, and because it doesn't, the amount of the substance in any given product can vary, causing some products to have a dangerously high amount of the substance that could cause an almost instant addiction.

"And the marketing looks innocent because you can see a display in a gas station for the 5-Hour Energy shots, and then right next to them are the shots that have 7-OH in them," Stone said. "And of course, they're going to say it's designed to give you a boost of energy."

Hardin, who also works with West Tennessee Detox and a similar organization in Nashville, said because of its marketing, it's getting to young people and older people not normally stereotyped as having addiction problems.

"Some of the people we've helped have been nurses and teachers - occupations that sometimes require more energy than others, so they may be on their way to work looking for a pick-me-up and saw this new thing and tried it and it worked," Hardin said. "A person we treated in Nashville would get a product early in the day, use it and then it wears off after three or four hours.

"And they'd have to get another. They were spending $400 per day to keep their energy up."

The state of Tennessee does regulate 7-OH with the limit of people have to be 21 years old to purchase it.

"Well we have the law that you have to be 21 to buy beer, but that's broken every day," said County Commissioner Cyndi Bryant.

Crowder added that 7-OH is so new that many sellers probably don't even know to check it and card those purchasing it.

Stone said their main objective right now is to inform as many people as possible about the problem. County Commission Chair Mike Taylor was at the meeting and said he plans to recognize the trio and allow them to speak at the County Commission meeting on Aug. 18 so they can talk to the entire Commission and other County leaders there.

"The word needs to get out, and we need as many people as possible to know about this so they know to avoid it and try to keep their children away from it," Crowder said. "Because it's already becoming a problem, and we need to slow it down as much and as quickly as we can."

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news