The DEA is coming for 7-OH.
They want a temporary ban. Temporary usually means two years. Maybe three.
It’s an opioid-like compound. Sold in gas station gummies. Smoke shop drinks. Capsules everywhere.
“Presents severe risks to public health.”
That’s the agency’s line. They’re pushing 7-OH into Schedule I territory. The same bucket as heroin.
Big win for the natural kratom crowd. They’ve been fighting this for a while. Got backing from the top. Trump called for “natural” stuff. Implied he liked it.
Kratom itself isn’t the villain here, or so they say. It’s a plant. Southeast Asian. Analgesic properties. Trace amounts of 7-OH naturally present.
The problem? Unregulated production.
Explosive growth in pure 7-OH products. Way more potent than the leaf. Called “gas station heroin” online. It hits mu-opioid receptors hard.
The Political Mess
Things get ugly fast.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works in HHS now. Markwayne Mullin is DHS chief. Both love the kratom industry. Too much so, critics say.
Kennedy has been photographed with JW Ross. Convicted criminal. Founder of Botanic Tonics. Makes “Feel Free” drinks.
The FDA raided them in 2023. Said there wasn’t enough info to prove safety. Mullin invested a million bucks into that same company.
Users say the withdrawals were brutal.
The DOJ dropped its case in December. A few months later. A shell company tied to Feel Free donated $500k to MAHA PAC. Coincidence? You decide.
DHS defends Mullin. Claims he follows ethics standards. Says he and Kennedy fought to regulate 7-OH specifically. Because it’s synthetic. Marketed to kids via sneaky packaging.
Opposing Views
Lobbyists for kratom are cheering.
“This DEA action should end the debate.”
Mac Haddow from the American Kratom Association thinks that. He says these chemically manipulated opioids aren’t kratom. Just dangerous knock-offs using the real plant’s good name.
The 7-OH side isn’t quiet though.
Jeff Smith leads Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust. Advocacy group. Says hundreds of thousands will share their stories during the 30-day comment period. People using it to manage pain. Return to work.
He insists there’s no scientific basis for a ban.
The debate rumbles on.
