Experts say banned 7-0H products are different than other Kratom products

According to the FDA, “7-OH is increasingly recognized as having the potential for abuse because of its ability to bind to opioid receptors.” "We also need to educate the public about 7-OH," Makary said. He was joined at Wednesday's news conference by Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA's Commissioner of Food and Drugs. He said the FDA wants to raise awareness about the opioid. Uthmeier used an emergency action to prohibit the sale of 7-OH and reclassify it as a Schedule 1 drug. State officials say about 5,000 stores in Florida are selling the substance.

Kratom: Uses, Effects, and Safety

“Kratom was one problem, but that was a lower dose of exposure of the compound that binds to the mu-opioid receptor,” Perrone said. But addiction specialists and researchers say that 7-OH is a different, more potent and much more dangerous beast. The patient did have a history of opioid use disorder, but he was in recovery.

Opia Watermelon Lush Mitragynine Tablets 150mg, 4 tablets

When you shop with kratompoint you save! In the meantime, it's important to know that these products are often marketed with bright, colorful packaging designed to mimic regulated products and are typically sold as beverages, pills, powders, and gummies. "I think Alt Law that what we need to do is, we need to figure out how to educate people. We need to get similar to what we do with cigarettes, alcohol, or cannabis. At this point, it needs to be, you know, warning labels about what it is and what it does," said Micah Sawyer, the founder of a Sonoma County non-profit educating youth about the dangers of substance abuse. The Department said alcohol was present in all cases, but that the decedents were otherwise healthy, "with no other substances identified as substantively contributing to their deaths." In November 2025, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department urged retailers to immediately stop selling the products, claiming that six recent overdose deaths in Los Angeles County were tied to 7-OH ingestion.

AKA works to give a voice to millions of Americans by fighting to protect their rights to access safe and natural kratom. American Kratom Association (AKA) is a consumer-based, nonprofit organization, focused on furthering the latest science as guidance for kratom public policy. Kratom advocates say the negative press and push to criminalize kratom are fueled more by corporate greed than actual health concerns.

Division of Environmental Health Laboratories

The council’s decision came after months of consideration and was prompted by the Bonneville County Coroner’s Office issuing a public warning about kratom. The ban does not prohibit the possession of kratom, only the sale. IDAHO FALLS — The city council unanimously voted to ban the sale of kratom within city limits on Thursday night.

• Now that the partial ban is going into effect, McKell said he intends to keep an eye on the issue, hoping for a full ban.
• Some policymakers and public health officials warn that kratom carries risks of addiction, contamination, and adverse health effects, while some advocates argue that regulated access can provide an alternative for people seeking relief from pain or opioid dependence.
• Dr. Sarah Wakeman, medical director for substance use disorder at Mass General Brigham, said there’s some truth to that.
• Mac HaddowSenior Fellow on Public
• Though several kratom bills were considered this session by the Florida legislature, their session ended in March without any of the pending bills being passed that would have maintained the status of 7-OH.
• That athletes have turned to the plant is not surprising, said kratom researcher Christopher McCurdy.

“I tried to put out some public education alerts and nobody was interested,” said Stanciu, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “So, you know, to be able to use an opioid use disorder treatment on somebody with 7-OH use really solidifies for me — eyes open — that this is really the same problem.” The mu-opioid receptor is the primary target for our bodies’ own endorphins and also opioids like morphine and fentanyl.

And just as 7-OH is like kratom on steroids, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl is like 7-OH on steroids. Although only present in small amounts in the leaves of kratom, 7-OH is produced by the body as a byproduct of mitragynine, the primary psychoactive alkaloid in kratom. That all changed around 2015, with the introduction of a second wave of “enhanced” kratom products.

If you're buying in Tennessee, the product must be derived from natural plant material. San Diego has banned kratom sales, while other municipalities have considered restrictions. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued warnings in 2025 about concentrated 7-OH products, citing a spike in poison control calls.

Is 7-OH the same as kratom?

• She added that if those patients don’t work on their substance use disorder, they can “continue to elevate the amount that they take.”
• CBD Kratom is one of nearly two dozen kratom companies under investigation by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.
• OPIA Kratom contains 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which is a natural alkaloid that is potent and found in the kratom plant (Mitragyna Speciosa).
• Several others have passed or are considering limits like age restrictions and bans on the powerful synthetic version.
• “We are targeting a concentrated synthetic byproduct that is an opioid.”

As with all kratom products, do not exceed dosing recommendations. Former NASCAR driver Jack Smith, who became addicted to Percocet after breaking his neck twice, credits kratom for helping him overcome opioid dependence and manage chronic pain. Look for natural-leaf products with published third-party lab testing, clear 21+ age verification, accurate labeling, and GMP-aligned practices. Natural kratom leaf is the ground whole leaf, dominant in mitragynine, with 7-OH present only in trace amounts (typically under 2%). Traditional natural-leaf kratom powder and capsules are regulated separately, primarily through state Kratom Consumer Protection Acts. The FDA’s June 2026 warning letters target concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products such as tablets, gummies, and shots.