Source: Orlando Sentinel
Excerpt:
7-OH drug ban is hasty
A concentrated byproduct of kratom that is sold in smoke shops throughout the state, 7-OH has not led to any confirmed deaths. There is no documented surge in Florida ER visits or poison control reports attributed to 7-OH. Those are the facts. Yet, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier just invoked an “emergency” schedule to ban it (“‘Highly addictive’ smoke shop product banned in Florida,” Aug. 14). I see this as a manufactured panic.
I spent 10 years hooked on heroin after a severe back injury and years on prescription opioids. I overdosed more than once and failed at quitting more times than I can count. Two years ago I switched to 7-OH. I can now work, care for my family, and manage constant pain without the nausea and anxiety that came with leaf kratom. I have stayed sober.
If the Attorney General had credible evidence that 7-OH is harming the public, he would show it. He has yet to show us any numbers that even separate 7-OH from regular kratom. So why is 7-OH being targeted?
Chris Carroll Titusville