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 »
Two men allegedly selling kratom as a supplement through the mail were arrested by police in Kyiv, Ukraine and charged with illegal sale of a controlled substance. The narcotics unit of the Kyiv police discovered the kratom after tracing it back to the residence where two men sold it by mail through a Telegram account. …
Ukraine’s Wartime Crackdown on Kratom Continues With New Kyiv Arrests Read More »
Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky announced that he is taking action to place 7-hydroxymitragynine on the list of Schedule I substances in Kentucky. The move will classify 7-OH in the same category as heroin, criminalizing 7-OH consumers in the bluegrass state. If it is determined that a substance poses an imminent threat to public safety, …
Where kratom is illegal, criminals profit — and marketing even reaches schools. The family of a city official in Rivne, Ukraine, is being charged with trafficking over 10 tons of kratom in schools across the country. Liana Dynovska and her son, two daughters, and son-in-law have allegedly been involved in the scheme. In total, a …
Family of Official in Ukraine, where Kratom is Illegal, Allegedly Sold Kratom in Schools Read More »
Senator Louis Blessing introduced a bill in the Ohio Senate that will regulate rather than ban kratom. Introduced on October 21, SB299 would limit the amount of naturally-occurring 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) to less than 2% of alkaloids or 1 milligram per serving. All synthetic or semi-synthetic alkaloids will be made illegal to sell. Each product must …
Ohio Introduces Kratom Regulation Bill After Governor Called for Ban in August Read More »
Note: There is a correlation between kratom and seizures, but causation has not been established. Kratom alone or kratom combined with other substances could very well cause seizures in some consumers, but as this study shows, there is not enough evidence to determine causation. Seizures have been commonly listed as a side effect of kratom …
Scientists find “insufficient evidence to suggest that kratom causes seizures” Read More »