Tag: kratom

‘Gas station heroin.’ TN passes full kratom ban after weeks-long debate over effects

Tennessee lawmakers have passed a full ban on kratom, derived from a Southeast Asian plant, following a weeks-long debate over its safety and effects.

“Kratom contains compounds that activate opioid receptors in the brain- mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)– and is often referred to as gas station heroin,” said Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Brainerd during a committee hearing in March.

Kratom supporters say, in its natural form, the plant can help curb opioid addiction and manage pain.

But Tennessee legislators sided with caution this week, aligning with advocates who argue kratom in any form can ultimately lead to addiction and potentially deadly overdoses.

Tennessee now joins about eight other states in banning kratom entirely, including its natural form.

“This bill addresses the growing public health and safety concern surrounding kratom, often marketed as a natural supplement,” Helton-Haynes said. “But natural does not mean safe.”

The kratom plant has been used as an alternative to opioids, sometimes as people wean off heroin, and as a natural pain reliever.

In recent years, however, kratom has been modified into a stronger form known as 7-hydroxymitragynine, or “7-OH,” often sold at gas stations and vape shops as a supplement or extract. Some experts say it is 13 times more potent than morphine.

“I never heard of kratom until the day we lost him,” said Karen Davenport, a mother from Chattanooga who is advocating against the substance, working with lawmakers to get the bill passed. “Like many families, we didn’t realize the risk because kratom is often marketed as a safe, natural product.”

Davenport’s 27-year-old son, Matthew, died after taking kratom, which interacted with his prescription medication. The bill has since been named “Matthew’s Law.”

“What he didn’t know was there’s an exhaustive list of more than 250 drug interactions that can cause a lethal reaction with kratom,” she said.

There remains ongoing debate over whether natural kratom is safe or beneficial. Some states are potentially revising bans. A petition circulating online includes testimonials from some of the estimated hundreds of thousands of kratom users in Tennessee, who say they use it to help with issues like arthritis, back pain and Sciatica.

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have maintained a generally negative stance on kratom and have not approved it for any medical use.

Keep reading

Tennessee House votes to ban kratom, bill now moves to Senate

The State of Tennessee is another step closer to becoming Kratom free.

State representatives voted Wednesday to approve legislation that would outlaw all forms of the substance, including a more potent derivative known as 7-OH.

The proposal now heads to the Senate.

Kratom is a plant-based substance from a Southeast Asian tree, often sold in gas stations and smoke shops. It has been at the center of a growing debate in Tennessee.

Supporters of the bill say the ban is needed to address safety concerns.

“This bill addresses the growing public concern and safety surrounding kratom,” Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes said during earlier hearings.

The legislation is named after a Chattanooga man whose family says he died after using kratom with other substances.

Lawmakers have pointed to risks, including possible links to overdose deaths and concerns about how the substance is marketed.

Keep reading

Kratom is now legal in RI, making it the first state to overturn ban

Businesses can now start applying for licenses to sell and distribute kratom in Rhode Island.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, the psychoactive plant is used to self-treat things like pain, opioid withdrawal and anxiety, but the FDA has not yet approved any kratom products.

The new law will allow people 21 and older to purchase kratom from licensed businesses. But with applications opening Wednesday, it could be a while before kratom goes up on the shelves.

“The average kratom consumer is someone like me … OK, maybe a little younger,” said Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association. “It really deals with the normal stresses of daily life and the aches and pains related to it.”

Haddow is part of a national organization that has been advocating for the legalization of kratom in Rhode Island.

The state has a lengthy legislative history with the substance and was one of a few states to ban it in 2017. But after a few years of debate on Smith Hill, Rhode Island has now become the first state in the country to overturn that ban.

A spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Health said retailers will have to go through training similar to what’s already in place for tobacco products.

The law in Rhode Island does ban a synthetic form of kratom known as 7-OH, which federal health officials warn is addictive like opioids and more dangerous than morphine.

Some have pushed back on the legalization of kratom, including Portsmouth state Rep. Michelle McGaw.

“Without clean scientific trials, without going through a drug approval process, I’m not comfortable having a drug that works directly on the opioid receptors,” she said.

Keep reading

When 7‑OH Fears Drive Policy by Anecdote

For generations, communities in Southeast Asia have used the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa — kratom — brewed as a drink to relieve pain and steady mood. Its principal alkaloids, mitragynine and the more potent 7‑hydroxymitragynine, act on opioid receptors and produce analgesic effects.

Kratom has since gained a significant presence in the United States, where consumers often use it as an alternative to prescription opioids or as a self-directed aid in managing withdrawal. It is sold in teas, capsules, powders, and concentrated extracts, with purified 7‑OH products increasingly appearing in vape shops, convenience stores, and online markets.

Regulators are now moving toward prohibition. Last July, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to urge the Drug Enforcement Administration to place 7‑OH in Schedule I — the same legal category as heroin.

Supporters of these efforts argue that kratom — especially high-potency 7‑OH — could fuel the next wave of overdose deaths. But the data tell a different story.

Fatal overdoses in which 7‑OH has been implicated are exceedingly rare, and deaths linked to kratom more broadly are rarer still. In the limited cases where coroners listed kratom or 7‑OH as contributing factors, polysubstance use was the norm. Roughly two-thirds of decedents had fentanyl in their systems. About one-third had heroin present, and just under one-fifth had prescription opioids or cocaine. Around 80% had documented histories of substance misuse, and about 90% were not receiving clinical care for pain.

Each of these deaths is tragic, and any loss of life linked to psychoactive substances deserves careful scrutiny.

Keep reading

South Dakota Senate Panel Advances Bills To Ban Intoxicating Hemp And Kratom—But Without Recommendations For Passage

A South Dakota Senate panel advanced—but did not endorse—bans on hemp-derived intoxicants and kratom on Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre.

Both bills were sponsored by Sen. John Carley, R-Piedmont.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to put the two prohibition bills in front of the full state Senate with no recommendation. Committees generally give a “do pass” recommendation to the bills they send out for a floor vote.

The votes came one day after the Senate Judiciary Committee offered its unqualified support for a bill meant to restrict the sale of certain hemp-based products to people older than 21. That bill came from Attorney General Marty Jackley (R).

In testimony about Carley’s bills, business owners and consumers of products like hemp-derived THC seltzers and kratom said they helped people kick opioids or alcohol. They also mentioned sales taxes collected on consumable products and the value of hemp to South Dakota farmers. That led some committee members to oppose the bills and sparked failed attempts to block the proposals. Ultimately, however, the committee opted to let the state Senate weigh in.

“We need to have a conversation about this on the floor,” said Sen. Curt Voight, R-Rapid City. “I think it rises to the level of a legislative decision.”

Possession, sale or use of kratom or THC consumables under each proposal would be a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Tighter rules on hemp products

The first bill, Senate Bill 61, aims to act as an outright ban on the possession, sale or use of any intoxicating hemp products in the state outside of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.

Such products are typically produced by altering or distilling cannabidiol, or CBD, found in the hemp plant to produce forms of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the intoxicating compound found in greater abundance in the marijuana plant.

Many of the gummies, vape cartridges and other products made using hemp-derived THC variants like Delta-8, Delta-9 or Delta-10 are sold primarily in smoke shops, but THC seltzers are often available at bars, liquor stores or grocery stores.

The products essentially act as a workaround for the prohibition of marijuana in South Dakota by anyone who lacks a medical marijuana card, Carley said. The senator is also a member of the state’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee, which has taken testimony from medical cannabis providers about the impact the unregulated market has on their operations.

“This actually is harming the licensed marijuana businesses,” Carley said.

Carley had the support of the South Dakota Police Chiefs’ Association, South Dakota Sheriff’s Association and a group called Protecting South Dakota Kids.

Opponents included representatives for hemp retailers and hemp growers and a handful of business owners, who said the bill’s ban on any products with more than 0.4 percent THC by weight would remove many non-intoxicating products from store shelves, including topical creams.

“All this is a hemp and CBD ban,” said Matt Yde, who sells CBD in Sioux Falls but does not offer intoxicating products. “I would have to close my store, because I would have to remove 90 percent of my products.”

Steve Siegel of the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association said he’s had many friends who’ve switched to THC seltzers from alcohol or pain killers. He said their popularity shows consumer demand, and getting a medical marijuana card can be expensive and onerous.

“These drinks should be regulated. But they’re selling like wildfire,” Siegel said. “They’re a phenomenal alternative to alcohol.”

Carley responded by saying the state shouldn’t be encouraging people to switch from one mind-altering drug to another.

He was “sorry to hear” about people who’d been addicted to painkillers and alcohol, but said instead of switching to a THC alternative, “They need some friends there. They need some church. They need some God in their life, or even ice cream or tea.”

Keep reading

Florida drug bust seizes 92,000 pounds of 7-OH, arsenal of guns and explosives, sheriff says: “‘Breaking Bad’ on steroids”

In what is considered the largest bust of its kind in the country, a young man is facing serious charges after a Central Florida drug and explosives seizure unveiled an operation that authorities referred to as “‘Breaking Bad’ on steroids.”

In a Facebook video shared Wednesday, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello announced they arrested 26-year-old Maxwell Horvath on several charges after local and federal law enforcement agents seized approximately 92,000 pounds of an illegal substance believed to contain concentrations of 7-OH — a byproduct of the kratom plant said to be just as addictive as opioids — with a street value of around $4.7 million.

Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an emergency rule banning the use of 7-OH, calling it an “immediate danger.” Uthmeier is looking to have a judge toss out a challenge to a rule banning the sale and manufacture of the kratom byproduct.

“This is what danger looks like right here,” Ivey said, detailing the dozens of weapons and boxes shown throughout the video. “Everything that you see behind us, everything you see in front of us, is a red flag for disaster.”

Augello added that along with the drugs, agents seized an arsenal of firearms and explosives, including five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the property where the warrant was searched, along with grenade simulators and 50 pounds of precursor chemicals to make explosives.

“We’re not just talking about drugs, we’re not just talking about illegal substances out in the street, we’re talking about explosive devices,” he said. “Things that the military and other countries are utilizing all over the world to take out populations of people.”

Ivey chimed in, calling the situation “terrorist activity across the board.”

“This guy was either looking to engage in war or looking to arm those or furnish to those who are,” Ivey said.

Keep reading

Ohio governor calls kratom an imminent public health risk, pushes for ban

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is urging the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to classify kratom as a Schedule I drug, citing it as an “imminent public health risk” due to its potential dangers, particularly for teenagers and babies.

Kratom, which is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, is sold in products like the Feel Free drink at gas stations and stores in Ohio and Kentucky.

The governor’s proposal would make Ohio the first state to take such strong action against kratom.

Doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital are raising alarms about its risks.

Dr. Stephanie Merher, a neonatologist, said, “Some of the moms who have taken this and not taken anything else, they have actually needed to go on buprenorphine or methadone to get off of this. It’s that potent.”

She has treated babies exposed in utero who exhibit symptoms similar to opioid withdrawal, including fussiness, tremors and difficulty eating.

Dr. Shan Yin, medical director of the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center, explained that kratom and kava, another ingredient in Feel Free, create a “speedball-like” effect. He noted, “It’s also at this point, unregulated. So, you never know quite what’s in it.”

Feel Free is sold as an herbal product, not a controlled substance, and carries a “21+ only” warning, which the company says it voluntarily implemented. However, that is not required under federal or Ohio law, so anyone can purchase it in the state.

Kentucky lawmakers enacted a 21-plus age limit on kratom last year, while Indiana banned it completely in 2014. Ohio currently has no restrictions.

Earlier in August, Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacson (D) told WLWT he wants to protect kids from the synthetic form form of Kratom known as 7-OH. “You can buy it at convenience stores and gas stations and vape stores in super concentrated forms with no age restrictions. It’s not behind the counter. And so we need to do something about it.”

Botanic Tonics, the maker of Feel Free, disputes the safety concerns, asserting that its product contains only natural, whole-leaf kratom, not the concentrated synthetic form known as 7-OH.

Keep reading

RFK Jr. Takes A Page From The Prohibitionist Playbook By Endorsing Criminalization Of Kratom Compound 7-OH

At a recent press conference, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation to classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a federally controlled substance. Despite political promises to forge a different path, the same tired Drug War tactics were on full display.

What Is 7-Hydroxymitragynine?

7-OH is one of many naturally occurring alkaloids found in the leaves of kratom trees. These leaves have been used for centuries as an herbal remedy. They contain a complex blend of alkaloids that interact with opioid, serotonin and alpha-adrenergic receptors. Around the world, people use kratom to help manage discomfort, enhance focus or relax.

In raw, dried kratom leaf, 7-OH exists only in trace amounts (typically less than 0.1 mg per gram of leaf). It’s formed when a more abundant alkaloid, mitragynine, degrades in the leaves.

But in recent years, manufacturers have begun converting large amounts of mitragynine into 7-OH to create extremely potent products. Some capsules and tablets contain 15–50 mg of 7-OH, hundreds of times more than what you’d find in a standard 2–5 gram serving of kratom leaves. 7-OH products produce stronger pain-killing effects than leaf kratom or kratom extract.

Yet potency, on its own, isn’t a problem. The problem is how these products are being manufactured, marketed and sold—with little to no safety testing, evidence for medical claims or manufacturing oversight.

7-OH manufacturing practices are often substandard, resulting in tablets that contain a range of unknown byproducts and impurities with substantial differences between batches. Oftentimes, manufacturers label them with kratom leaf imagery and terminology (such as “advanced kratom alkaloids,” “superior kratom alkaloids,” “premium kratom alkaloids” or “organic kratom extract full-spectrum 7-hydroxymitragynine”) with the clear intention to mislead consumers into thinking isolated 7-OH is similar to kratom.

Few come with clear dosage instructions, warnings about potential interactions or disclosures about dependency risks. And most are sold at gas stations and smoke shops, where employees typically have no education on the products or their potential risks.

What the Media and Government Get Wrong About 7OH

With growing popularity has come growing scrutiny. But government agencies and major media outlets aren’t focusing on the issues laid out above. Instead, the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and HHS are leaning on a familiar narrative predicated on fear: opioid = bad, synthetic = dangerous and availability = addiction.

None of these equations hold up under scrutiny. First, opioids have saved far more lives than they’ve taken—through pain management, trauma care and palliative medicine. The vast majority of opioid-related deaths involve combinations with other sedatives, not opioids alone.

Second, the natural vs. synthetic distinction tells us nothing meaningful about a drug’s safety. Consider nicotine (natural, widely available, highly addictive) versus naloxone (synthetic, life-saving, non-addictive).

And finally, while availability may shape patterns of use, it’s not what drives addiction. We don’t attribute alcoholism to the mere existence of alcohol—especially when younger generations are drinking less despite liquor stores on every corner. Nor do we assume that junk food availability is the sole cause of disordered eating. Addiction is about context, not presence.

So far, there is little evidence to support the HHS’s narrative that 7-OH is ruining lives. Many people do report issues with dependency and withdrawal, as well as financial issues from spending a lot of money on 7-OH products. But reports of severe 7-OH-related harms (like overdoses) are sparse. There’s currently no public record of a single verified death caused solely by 7-OH. At the same time, many individuals report success using 7-OH to manage conditions that they haven’t found any other viable treatment for.

Despite the lack of research into 7-OH and evidence of significant harm (and the nascent state of medical research), the FDA has formally recommended that 7-OH be added to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. If approved, possession or production of 7-OH above a certain concentration would be a felony offense.

But placing a compound in Schedule I has historically done nothing to eliminate risk. In fact, we’ve often seen this categorization increase harm by pushing substances into the shadows, where they become harder to monitor, regulate, or use safely.

Keep reading

State Gives a Deadly Gift to Fentanyl Makers, Big Pharma, and Drug Warriors — A Ban on Kratom

This Friday, August 1, 2025, Louisiana will criminalize a leaf. Not fentanyl. Not meth. Not synthetic opioids that kill over 100,000 Americans every year. No, lawmakers have decided to outlaw kratom — a safe, natural plant in the coffee family — and those caught with it could face six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

To understand the full weight of this insanity, you have to peel back the curtain on the drug war’s real purpose. It’s not about keeping people safe. It’s about criminalizing autonomy. It’s about corporate profits, institutional control, and punishing people for the crime of treating themselves outside of state-approved chemical dependency.

Kratom isn’t the threat. The threat is what it replaces.

The Lie That Keeps Killing

For years, scientists, doctors, and hundreds of thousands of kratom users have warned the federal government: ban this plant, and opioid deaths will rise.

In 2018, a group of scientists wrote to the DEA and White House, blasting the FDA’s push to classify kratom as a Schedule I drug. They made it clear: kratom, when used in its natural form, does not cause respiratory depression — the primary cause of death in opioid overdoses. More importantly, the plant has become a lifeline away from opioids for millions.

“Placing kratom into Schedule I will potentially increase the number of deaths of Americans caused by opioids,” the scientists warned, adding that the FDA’s data blaming kratom for dozens of deaths was riddled with inconsistencies, co-ingestions, and zero proof of causation.

In fact, many of those “kratom deaths” were linked to adulterated products, synthetic extracts, or pre-existing conditions — not the raw plant. One such alkaloid, 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), has been artificially concentrated in some unregulated kratom extracts to mimic opioid-like effects, but this is not kratom. This is corporate bastardization — the same playbook used to demonize cannabis while pushing synthetic THC.

Keep reading

As Kratom Consumers Face Global Market Disruption, It’s Time For FDA To Put Safety Over Stigma

For over a decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has quietly crippled the kratom supply chain. Now, Indonesia’s new export regulations—meant to raise kratom quality standards and appeal to U.S. regulators—may have just squeezed the most responsible products out of the market.

At the end of 2024, the Indonesian government enacted sweeping new trade regulations aimed at tightening the export market for kratom, a tree native to Southeast Asia with leaves containing psychoactive alkaloids that have long been used as an herbal remedy.

One provision of the policy strengthens quality control for kratom exports, which was notably absent in the past. Moving forward, all kratom shipments must be sterilized before leaving Indonesia, and only batches that meet minimum thresholds for the concentration of the primary active compound, mitragynine, will qualify for export. These steps are designed to limit contamination and prevent exporters from bulking up shipments with non-kratom plant material.

The second component of the regulations is a prohibition on the export of raw kratom leaf with a particle size over 0.6 millimeters, which includes crushed-leaf kratom. In the United States, crushed leaf is most often used to make extracts. By imposing particle size restrictions, Indonesia aims to ensure that the economic value of processing raw kratom into finished extract products stays within its own borders, rather than being captured by foreign companies.

These new standards represent a step forward for kratom quality control and international industry fairness. The intentions are worth celebrating and supporting.

However, the new regulations have also inadvertently disrupted the supply chain of safer, more traditional kratom products while failing to address the root cause of regulatory tension between the U.S. and Indonesia.

Keep reading