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 …

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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 …

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AKA and HART Face Off Over 7-Hydroxymitragynine This Friday

Members of the American Kratom Association (AKA) and the Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) will debate the controversial alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and the 7-OH-abundant products that have become available to consumers in the past 2 years. Billed as “The 7-OH Fault Line”, the debate will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center 3150 Paradise …

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Preliminary in silico Study Explores Kratom Alkaloids’ Effects on Breast Cancer Protein

Disclaimer: Kratom Is Not a Breast Cancer Treatment: While this study investigates the potential of kratom compounds mitragynine and 7-hyroxymitragynine to bind with HER2 receptors through computer modeling, it does not prove or suggest that kratom cures breast cancer. These results are preliminary and based solely on in silico simulations (i.e., computer-generated predictions). No clinical …

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Germany Issues Health Warning on Kratom, Fuels Ban Speculation

Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) issued a warning in early July about the potential harms of kratom, sparking new concerns that a kratom ban might be forthcoming. “Kratom is not approved as a medicine in Germany. The safety and effectiveness of kratom have not been sufficiently tested so far,” reads a …

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New York Legislature Sends Kratom Bill to Governors’ Desk

The New York State Legislature has approved a bill that would usher in a new era of kratom regulation—focused not on prohibition, but on harm reduction and public health oversight. “A lot of times making things illegal doesn’t solve the problem, as we know,” said New York Assembly co-sponsor Phil Steck, who chairs the Committee …

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Man Cuts Off Penis During Psychotic Episode; Media Blames Kratom

In the tradition of Reefer Madness, LSD window-jumpers, and bath salt zombies, the media has conjured up a new ghoul: the kratom-fueled self-castrator. The phrase “based on a true story” has never been more fitting. Triggered by a case report published in a medical journal in January 2024, recent clickbait media stories describe a deranged …

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Connecticut Governor Signs Bill to Ban Kratom

A bill signed by Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on June 25 will schedule kratom as a controlled substance in Connecticut. Regardless of the schedule assigned, kratom will be illegal to freely sell, buy, and possess in the state. Section 4 of the bill instructs the Commissioner of Consumer Protection Bryan T. Cafferelli to schedule a …

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