Austin-Travis County EMS medics are noticing some overdoses are requiring two doses of Narcan to save a life.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police and health officials are warning about a dangerous substance suspected to be circulating in the city’s drug supply, triggering severe overdoses that may require multiple doses of Narcan.
Officials said the substance may be showing up in pills, but they have not confirmed exactly what it is.
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“We don’t know what is in the supply, but we know it is toxic,” said Maggie Luna, executive director of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance.
Luna warned about a substance referred to as 7-OH. This is a product that can be found in some products listed by the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is considering the legality of 7-OH and its potency levels.
Luna said people are finding it available to purchase at local gas stations. She said people may assume products sold at gas stations are legal and safe, leading them to take more than recommended.
“One of our participants gave it to me and said that this was something that was being purchased and it’s causing people to fall out,” Luna said. “On the back it says to take half of one. Well, people are thinking, ‘It’s at the gas station, it’s legal. I can take the whole package.’”
In one week, Luna said her outreach team treated 16 overdoses, though it is unclear whether 7-OH was involved. She said a man and a woman were hospitalized after taking a pressed pill.
“They both took the same pill. There is fentanyl in the pill that they bought,” Luna said. “We just don’t know what else was in it. And so, one person is in a coma; one person is on life support.”
The warning follows an incident in which five people overdosed on Sixth Street on Sept. 16. Austin police are investigating what substance caused it.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said investigators are awaiting toxicology reports.
“I think we’re still waiting for the toxicology reports on that,” Davis said. “But again, we’re aware that narcotics and the supply that’s out there is unprecedented, and the amount of drugs, what they’re putting in the toxicity of these drugs, is alarming and it is killing people.”
Austin-Travis County EMS is also seeing an increase in overdose patients who require multiple doses of Narcan, according to a joint statement with Austin Public Health.
“ATCEMS has a high index of suspicion that a new, very potent opioid has made its way into the drug supply in Austin, but because EMS doesn’t have the ability to test for specific substances, we can’t confirm that for certain,” the statement said.
ATCEMS told KVUE it responded in September to 98 opioid calls in which nine patients required more than two doses of Narcan. The agency also reported that in September 2025, 73 opioid overdoses occurred and two patients required extra Narcan.
Luna said toxicology results can lag behind rapid changes in the drug supply.
“I think that APD being involved in and getting the toxicology report is great, but like we said, by the time we get these results the supply is going to change,” Luna said.
Davis urged people not to take any substance that is not purchased over the counter or prescribed by a doctor. The chief also said authorities are “moving past heroin and fentanyl.”