SAN FRANCISCO—Over the last few months, the San Francisco Police Department Narcotics Unit has investigated smoke shops in the Park and Sunset districts suspected of violating California state and San Francisco laws by selling illegal items. The investigation led to searches of two stores over the past several weeks. During them, hundreds of illegal items were seized, including flavored tobacco, kratom, drug paraphernalia, 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) packets, and psilocybin and nitrous oxide, often sold in packets labeled as herbal supplements or in other products with misleading labels.
The first search occurred on September 10, 2026. Narcotics officers searched a smoke shop in the 1400 block of Haight Street. In the process, they discovered drug paraphernalia, nitrous oxide, and kratom displayed with price tags inside the store, in plain view. Officers seized items suspected of including several glass pipes, flavored tobacco vapes, and nitrous oxide canisters, as well as items believed to contain 7-OH packets, kratom, and psilocybin mushrooms.
On October 9, 2026, officers conducted a second search and served a warrant at a smoke shop in the 4600 block of Geary Boulevard because the store lacked a license to sell tobacco products. The officers seized over 400 kratom products, over 200 flavored vapes, along with tobacco products. They also seized drug pipes and paraphernalia, along with psilocybin products and other evidence.
On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, the San Francisco Department of Public Health reported that an individual died after consuming dihydro-7-hydroxymitragynine, or MGM-15. This drug was recently added to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of Schedule I narcotics. It is commonly packaged as an herbal supplement and is a kratom-derived semi-synthetic opioid.
The department and the City Attorney’s Office are working together to conduct these investigations. Kratom and 7-OH are not listed on the drug schedule. These substances have not been evaluated, tested, or approved for human consumption by United States regulatory agencies. They can be harmful, as they contain compounds that can produce mind-altering effects and mimic the effects of opioids and stimulants. Consuming high doses of them can also result in coma, death, respiratory depression or hypoventilation, and hypertension, which can lead to cardiac arrest and stroke.
The SFPD will continue its efforts to penalize violations of the city’s civil code, including the sale of illegal substances and products and the sale of such products to minors. These investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information should call the SFPD at 1-415-575-444 or text TIP411, starting the message with SFPD.