Ohio Kratom Ban Paused After RFK Jr. Call to Gov. DeWine
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. urged Ohio Gov. DeWine to pause a kratom ban as states weigh regulations on synthetic 7-OH products while natural kratom remains legal.
Current Events
Louisiana Wastes No Time Cracking Down on Kratom
Louisiana has officially banned kratom as a Schedule I substance, leading to arrests, raids, and controversy. Learn how the state’s for-profit prison system may be driving aggressive enforcement — and what this means for kratom consumers.
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 …
Ohio Governor Calls for State Kratom Ban; Cites Recent FDA Recommendation Read More »
Toledo Ohio Debates Kratom Ban and Push for State Ban
Just two days after the FDA announced plans to recommend that the DEA schedule 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a controlled substance, on July 31, council members in Toledo, Ohio announced a possible ban on all of kratom, as well as legislation that would urge the state to ban as well. The ban in Toledo would only …
Toledo Ohio Debates Kratom Ban and Push for State Ban Read More »
Will Florida’s 7-OH Ban Set Off a Domino Effect?
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed an emergency rule that classifies 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) a Schedule I substance in Florida. “Due to the danger posed to the public, Florida is taking 7-OH off the shelves immediately,” said Uthmeier in a news release. “We are here today because Dr. Marty Makary and the FDA have alerted …
Will Florida’s 7-OH Ban Set Off a Domino Effect? Read More »
Could Kratom Consumers Catch DUI if 7-OH is Banned?
The alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is unique in that it occurs mostly as a metabolite of mitragynine (MG), the most abundant alkaloid in kratom. On July 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its intention to recommend scheduling of 7-OH on the list of federally controlled substances, but explicitly stated that its not going after …
Could Kratom Consumers Catch DUI if 7-OH is Banned? Read More »
Wave of Negative News Engulfs Kratom Since FDA Move to Schedule 7-OH
A wave of negative media coverage (more than usual) has engulfed kratom in the weeks following the FDA’s July 29 recommendation to classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as an illicit substance. While the agency’s move targets products containing an abundance of 7-OH—not the plain leaf kratom that contains near-zero amounts of 7-OH—news outlets have blurred the distinction, …
Wave of Negative News Engulfs Kratom Since FDA Move to Schedule 7-OH Read More »
Multiple Kratom Ban Bills Sit in Massachusetts Legislature
This past spring, state lawmakers have filed six bills in Massachusetts having to do with kratom policy. Four of the bills aim to schedule kratom as a “Class A” controlled substance, which would put it in the same category as heroin and fentanyl. One bill, S1558, aims to regulate kratom similar to Kratom Consumer Protection …
Multiple Kratom Ban Bills Sit in Massachusetts Legislature Read More »
FDA Announces Plans to Schedule 7-OH as a Controlled Substance a Week After Kratom Industry Allegedly Staged 7-OH Protests
On Tuesday, July 29, officials including Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary announced via a press conference the FDA’s intent to recommend to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) be scheduled as a controlled substance. Several times during …
Dr. McCurdy at Kratom Debate: Natural Leaf is “the only product that should be in the marketplace”
The kratom industry is railing against 7-OH products as problematic, but are extra-strength kratom extracts problematic too? The controversy surrounding the rise of new 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products has sparked a debate among various players in the kratom industry, as well as scientists and consumers. A debate called “The 7-OH Fault Line” took place at the …