Musician Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats and Brian Setzer Orchestra told Guitar Player that his comeback to the music business was hampered by a kratom dependency. “It started innocently enough,” says Setzer… “They advertise it as a safe tonic to give you energy, and it’s not. So that just aggravated the whole thing. I …
In a ruling the American Kratom Association (AKA) called “brutal”, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy mandated that while natural dried leaf kratom will remain legal, the same kratom sold in capsules will be classified as Schedule I substances, along with kratom in liquid form. Major liquid extract brands that have been marketed in gas stations …
Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s Controversial New Kratom Rules Read More »
Following a White House meeting on drug policy on Monday, May 11, 2026, President Donald Trump told a small group of reporters, “We’re looking very seriously at natural 7‑OH and getting that approved.” In 2025, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy gave a press …
Trump Says His Administration is Looking to Approve “Natural 7-OH” Read More »
A long-awaited kratom clinical study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. The pilot study (defined as “a preliminary investigation designed to test the feasibility and design of a larger, more comprehensive study”) involved healthy adult participants who were administered an ascending dose of …
Multiple news media and even medical professionals have repeated the claim that 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is “13 times stronger than morphine” as though it is a fact established through rigorous science. Where does this claim come from and how accurate is it? The claim comes from studies from 2002 (Takayama, et al) and 2004 (Matsumoto, et …
Is 7-OH Really “13 times stronger than morphine”? Read More »
Under an emergency rule, it has been illegal to sell, possess, or distribute any isolated or concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in Florida since August 2025. 7‑OH concentrations below 1% in kratom remain legal, which keeps plain‑leaf kratom legal in Florida. In September, multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, …
Florida Man Who Media Claim Had “92,000 Pounds of 7-OH” Pleads Guilty to Gun Charge Read More »
A case series published recently in the Journal of Addiction examined 14 American patients of Community Medical Services, a healthcare company specializing in the medically assisted treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The patients were diagnosed with Kratom Use Disorder (KUD) (Sherrick, 2026). The very brief report does not get into specifics about kratom product …
Kratom Use Disorder Treatment with Methadone an Ongoing Practice Read More »
On June 2, 2025, a last-minute amendment to ban kratom was slipped into a Connecticut hemp regulation bill that had originally been introduced on February 2. By June 4, the bill was sitting on Governor Ned Lamont’s desk. Lamont signed the bill into law three weeks later. The next step was to determine which schedule …
Connecticut Moves Forward with Kratom Ban Despite Majority Public Opposition Read More »
The U.S. Marshals Service operating under an order from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized approximately 73,000 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products from three Missouri warehouses. The warehouses are operated by Shaman Botanicals LLC (selling products under the American Shaman brand) and Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC (selling products under the Relax Relief Rejuvenate brand). American …
FDA Seizes Tens of Thousands of 7-OH Products from Missouri Warehouses Read More »
A Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) bill that would regulate the distribution, sale, and manufacture of kratom products is being considered in the Michigan House. House Bill 4969 would: Given the 2% limit, this Kratom Consumer Protection Act and others effectively outlaw the sale of novel 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products that have been widely available since …