7-OH: The Fight for Facts, Fairness, & Freedom
Despite being villianized by corporate media and special interests, 7-OH has provided hard-working Americans across the country long-sought relief. This film captures their perspectives.
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Why This Film Matters
Why should we pay attention?
Prohibition has never worked. Rather than make Americans safer, ban-first policies have a history of harming the public. Responsible, adult consumers use 7-OH to manage chronic pain or reduce reliance on controlled or illegal substances. In places access to 7-OH is restricted, there’s concern of consumers going back to illicit or stronger substances. 7-OH must be regulated, not banned and taken from Americans who have finally found a product that meets their needs. The Americans featured in the documentary are a testament to this truth.
Who is Featured
7-OH users look like America.
Jason, Kentucky
Jason is a U.S. Army veteran and former railroad worker. After a deployment left him with PTSD and he sustained permanent injuries in a train accident, Jason was told he was “retired” by his doctors and prescribed opiates. He fell into severe addiction, but found 7-OH, which allowed him to rebuild his life. “If I’m going to fight for truth, and liberty, and freedom in my younger days, I’m going to do it now.”
Samantha, Ohio
Samantha is a shelter director who works with populations ravaged by the opioid crisis; a crisis that‘s also impacted her own family. She’s struggled with anxiety and insomnia her whole life, but no prescribed medication has worked without significant side effects. 7-OH has allowed Samantha to manage her conditions without sacrificing quality of life. “I do have a degree in social work. I started in shelters in 2014, and I’ve seen everything… The kinds of people that get left behind by society, I guess you could say. And I’ve never seen anybody who their biggest problem is something isn’t banned.”
Emilia, Washington
Emilia has battled chronic pain since childhood due to autoimmune disorder, and has spent the better part of a half-decade searching for relief. After trying dozens of remedies, prescribed and otherwise, she finally found 7-OH. She dreams of writing a memoir to help other young people who struggle with chronic pain. “Listen to the people with chronic pain, listen to the people who are recovering addicts. Listen to their stories.”
Explore the Issue
Learn more about 7-OH.
Q&A with Director Lena Jakobsson
Director Lena Jakobsson’s thoughts on the film, the consumers who shared their stories, and the status of 7-OH.
In the film, we meet people using 7 OH to manage chronic pain, anxiety, or withdrawal symptoms. What patterns did you see in why they chose 7 OH instead of other methods of managing these challenges?
Director Lena Jakobsson answers:
Jason, Emilia, and Samantha all turned to 7-OH after having tried more mainstream and “acceptable” options, like pharmaceuticals. Take Emilia, who had to fight for a decade to convince doctors to take her Sjögren’s Syndrome symptoms seriously. She’s tried everything they’ve suggested to stave off the creeping pain, which she knows will stay with her for the rest of her life.
That’s the pattern for me: These are people who’ve been on long journeys in search of a way to simply live their lives again. 7-OH gave them that ability. It’s palpable in their words as well: “I can just be me”; “I can be present.”
What surprised you the most as you traveled the country and people shared their 7-OH experiences with you?
Director Lena Jakobsson answers:
I vividly remember my first phone conversation with Jason months ago, as he talked about making sure “the truth has its day.” There was real intensity and resolve in his voice, and it wasn’t until I got to know him, Samantha, and Emilia better that I understood the source of it. Each of them is deeply committed to making their voice heard in the policy debate, and genuinely angry about what they see as the misinformation and profit-driven lobbying. It surprised me initially – but for them and people in their situation, access to 7-OH is existential.
How did you navigate the tension between how consumers view 7-OH and how regulators view 7-OH? And has the recent wave of proposed regulatory actions informed how you viewed creating this documentary?
Director Lena Jakobsson answers:
When I was asked to make this advocacy film, I hadn’t heard of 7-OH, and had an impression of Kratom as something vaguely scary; the “gas station heroin” trope.
Our goal was not to provide an all-encompassing account of the policy debate and its stakeholders. Instead, the team and I approached it as an opportunity to fill in what seems to be a real gap in information.
And then, a couple of weeks ago, as my editor and I were chugging away, we got word that a federal ban on 7-OH may once again be looming. What’s always an awesome responsibility to those who entrust me with their stories – to tell them as clearly, authentically, and intimately as possible – suddenly felt even more weighty.
If a policymaker watches this film, what is the single most important question you hope they ask themselves before voting on a ban?
Director Lena Jakobsson answers:
Something Samantha said sums this up really well: “Why aren’t we curious about why people like this substance?”