Opioid deaths fell 35% in Travis County, health officials say, but they warn about 'gas station' kratom products

Opioid overdose deaths in Travis County fell by about 35% in 2024 compared with 2023, Austin Public Health told the mayor and council in a memo dated Oct. 26. But the department's medical director warned that overdose calls remain high, and flagged a newer worry: concentrated kratom products sold at gas stations and smoke shops.

For residents, the memo is a status check on one of the city's largest public health efforts, the response the council started with an opioid emergency declaration in 2022. It also explains what the city is doing about "gas station opioids," products that can look like candy.

What the memo says

The memo is from Dr. Desmar Walkes, the Austin-Travis County health authority, and Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup. Its attached slides say opioid deaths rose steadily from 2018 through 2023, driven largely by fentanyl, before the 2024 drop. Total overdose deaths also fell that year for the first time in several years, the slides say.

Other figures in the attachment:

• Naloxone before EMS arrives. Someone gave naloxone before Austin-Travis County EMS arrived in 20.6% of overdose responses in 2021, 51.3% in 2023 and 49% in 2024. That means about half of overdose calls still had none given before medics got there.
• A data dashboard. In 2023 the department launched an overdose dashboard combining EMS, hospital and death data.
• Credit given. The memo calls the council's emergency declaration "instrumental" in getting money and partners in place.

Still, the memo says EMS data shows "consistently high numbers" of drug poisonings, including from unknown opioids, and that the drug supply keeps changing.

The kratom concern

The memo singles out 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, an opioid-like compound linked to kratom. Concentrated 7-OH products are sold at convenience stores, gas stations, smoke shops and online, sometimes as gummies, liquids and snacks. The memo says that packaging raises the risk that children will eat them by accident.

Texas law already sets age limits and labeling rules for kratom and caps 7-OH at 2% of a product's alkaloids, the memo says. On Oct. 9 the U.S. Justice Department announced new federal scheduling steps aimed at 7-OH and related substances. As of Oct. 23, the memo says, the DEA had not issued a temporary scheduling order for 7-OH itself. The city's role for now is surveillance and public warnings. Anyone with a bad reaction to kratom or 7-OH products should call a doctor or the Texas Poison Center Network at 1-800-222-1222.

What our records add

Where the money goes. At the July 22 budget meeting, a deputy director of Austin Public Health told the council that opioid settlement allocations had totaled about $3.6 million. Current contracts include $600,000 for the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance and $250,000 for Communities for Recovery, plus $125,000 for a UT Austin program that trains clinicians. The UT contract pays for the kind of continuing medical education and "academic detailing" for clinicians that the memo describes.

Unanimous votes. Our records show the council approved those contracts without a no vote. The Communities for Recovery extension passed 10-0 on consent in March. The UT clinician training amendment passed 11-0 in December 2025. The 2025 Texas Harm Reduction Alliance extension passed 11-0 in September 2025. This year's $600,000 renewal, paid from opioid settlement funds, was on the Sept. 24 agenda. Council Member José Velásquez highlighted it from the dais, calling harm reduction part of the city's "public safety ecosystem".

The smoke-shop link. The memo's concern about 7-OH sold in smoke shops comes as Austin weighs keeping new tobacco and vape stores 1,000 feet from schools. Our story on that staff report covers the proposal. The buffer would not address kratom sales directly.

What's next

The memo lists priorities: faster drug poisoning surveillance, more clinician education, support for harm reduction groups and better links to treatment. The council's Public Health Committee, chaired by Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, is the likeliest venue for a follow-up briefing. The DEA's next step on 7-OH will decide whether those products become federally controlled.