Ohio Governor Calls for State Kratom Ban; Cites Recent FDA Recommendation

Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) is urging the Ohio Board of Pharmacy (BOP) to classify kratom as a Schedule I substance. This comes just weeks after the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) schedule 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), an alkaloid that occurs in trace amounts in plain leaf kratom and as a metabolite of mitragynine. Unlike Florida, where 7-OH was classified as Schedule I under an emergency rule in response to this announcement, Gov. DeWine wants to ban ALL kratom, not just certain alkaloids.

In a press release, Gov. DeWine stated:

The FDA recently recommended that the kratom compound 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) be classified as an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Governor DeWine is asking the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to ban all natural chemical compounds in kratom, including mitragynine, 7-OH, and the less common but more potent compound mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MP). He is also recommending that all existing and future synthetic kratom compounds be banned as well. 

The governor went on to boast that “Ohio will be the first state in the country to categorize all current and future natural and synthetic kratom compounds as Schedule I drugs.”

The American Kratom Association (AKA) is urging kratom consumers to contact the Ohio BOP and Gov. DeWine’s office ahead of a Wednesday meeting:

OHIO BOARD OF PHARMACY CALLS FOR SPECIAL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY THE 27TH AT 8:30 AM.

CONTACT OHIO BOARD OF PHARMACY TO EXPRESS OPPOSITION! USE THE FORM BELOW or email [email protected] and [email protected]

The form can be found at https://www.protectkratom.org/ohio

“This sweeping action is not based on sound science and would strip thousands of Ohioans of access to a safe, natural product that has been used for centuries in Southeast Asia and safely consumed in the United States for decades,” the AKA said in a statement.

Some kratom advocates on social media are blaming the push for new bans on 7-OH vendors for irresponsible marketing. Others, like r/kratom user novasilverpill, argues that the federal push to ban 7-OH is leading to new local prohibitions on all kratom: “it’s almost as if all this was predicted when 7Oh was given up like a sacrificial lamb”.

Others point out that prohibition could lead more people with chronic pain to turn to stronger, unregulated illicit drugs like fentanyl.

Gov. DeWine’s announcement comes days after news that city officials were considering a kratom ban in Toledo, as well as a companion resolution that would urge the BOP to ban kratom statewide.

The Ohio BOP considered banning kratom in 2018, but reconsidered after an effective campaign led by the AKA.

8.27.25 UPDATE FROM AKA, via Reddit: “Official_AKA_Kratom 1h ago🌿American Kratom Association OHIO BOP Canceled their meeting today in response to pushback from kratom community. The AKA is working with the Governor’s Office to support consumer protection legislation”