New threats rarely come with a warning label. Sometimes they arrive in bright, candy-like packaging labeled with buzzwords like energy, relaxation, wellness, and natural. Sitting on convenience store shelves next to harmless products people recognize and trust, they’re sold as gummies, energy shots, vapes, or dietary supplements.
That familiarity is part of the danger.
Public health professionals across the country are raising concerns about a growing category of substances commonly called “gas station drugs.” These products can include tianeptine, kratom and concentrated semi-synthetic 7-OH products, intoxicating hemp-derived delta-8 and delta-10 and mushroom products. They can be easy to access, difficult to identify and packaged in ways that minimize the perception of risk.
The issue is that consumers have easy access to these products but little reliable information about what they contain, how potent they are, or the harm they can cause to the body and brain. When substances are sold as candy, snacks, energy shots, or wellness products, the distance between curiosity and harm narrows dangerously. After all, it looks like candy and says it’s healthy, right?
The situation is moving faster than public understanding
“Legal” does not mean safe. “Natural” does not mean harmless. And a label does not always tell the whole story. In a fast-changing marketplace, product formulations, packaging and availability can shift quickly. Most products are not approved for medical use. Many have inconsistent potency, and others have been linked to misleading labels or undisclosed psychoactive ingredients.
For youth and young adults, the stakes can be especially high. With minimal regulation, access to potentially dangerous substances is easy. Because their brains are still developing, substances that affect their reward system can pose serious risks, including dependence, withdrawal, mental health effects, and impacts on learning and memory. This is not an abstract public health concern; it’s a real-world communication challenge.
People need to know gas station drugs present a real, omnipresent danger. They need to understand that attractive packaging does not prove safety. They need clear information before an experiment becomes a pattern and before a pattern turns into dependence.
Regulation matters. But education cannot wait.
Regulation plays an essential role in protecting public health. Yet emerging drug trends rarely wait for regulations to catch up. Manufacturers can change product names, formulations and marketing strategies at a pace that policy processes cannot always match. By the time one substance is better understood, another version may already be appearing in stores or online.
That does not mean communities are powerless. It means public education must act with urgency. The fastest way to reduce harm is often to provide people with credible, practical information they can use now. Explain what these substances are without sensationalism. Challenge misleading messages about “herbal,” “natural” and “wellness.” Make the risks understandable to youth, young adults, parents, educators, health care providers and community partners. Help people who may already be experiencing dependence find where to turn for support.
Effective awareness campaigns do more than warn. They build recognition, create a shared language and replace uncertainty with informed decision-making. When the marketplace is confusing, clarity becomes a public health intervention.
Seventeen years of helping communities know the dangers
Emerging drugs are not new. The names, products and packaging change. The need for trustworthy education does not. Over 17 years ago, we created Know The Dangers, a public health awareness website that evolves with the drug landscape. From bath salts to prescription opioids to fentanyl and beyond, this information and education ecosystem has helped communities communicate risks clearly, reach audiences where they are, and support safer choices when the consequences are real.
No two communities face the same challenge in exactly the same way. That’s why we start every new outreach by understanding what is showing up locally, who is most at risk and which messages will break through. Effective campaigns pair strategy and creativity with accessible education, targeted media, community partnerships and measurement. The goal is always the same: help people recognize a new danger before it takes hold.
This work requires speed, credibility and care. Awareness alone will not solve every problem, but it can give a community a critical head start.
If this is affecting your community, let’s talk.
Gas station drugs pose a real danger. Communities should not have to wait for the next emergency, overdose trend or alarming product to act. If leaders, public health teams, schools or community organizations are seeing these products in their area, now is the time to build awareness and potentially save lives. Russell Herder is ready to help you move forward with clarity, urgency and purpose.
Concerned about what is showing up on shelves in your community?
