The Food and Drug Administration wants the Drug Enforcement Agency to outlaw 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a natural compound from the kratom plant used to manage chronic pain and other conditions. But the move wouldn’t just be misguided; it would destroy lives.
For me and thousands of other Americans, this is about whether we’re allowed to live without constant and debilitating pain.
Drug policy is an easy thing to get wrong and a difficult thing to get right. Most drug policy experts agree that total prohibition has failed, but there is little consensus on what might actually work. Drug policy often happens in the ivory towers of government and academia, which can lead to a gap between official rules and street reality—the best example being alcohol remaining legal while less harmful drugs are banned.
Tampa, FL — The Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) today responded to the announcement
by Florida officials that 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a kratom-derived compound, is being emergency
scheduled. While the action is framed as a public health measure, the facts tell a different story.
“This decision ignores the science,” said Jeff Smith, National Policy Director for HART. “According to
the FDA’s database, there are zero confirmed deaths linked to 7-OH alone, and just eight adverse events
ever reported, even with over half a billion adult uses. If 7-OH were truly the threat being claimed, the
data would show it. It doesn’t.”
Matthew Bishop lives in New York City.
At 68, I’ve seen a lot of bad decisions made in the name of public health. Pain patients like me have watched access to safe and effective treatments shrink while stigma has grown. So when a state legislature takes a thoughtful approach, especially on something as misunderstood as kratom and 7-OH, it deserves recognition.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration are considering classifying 7-OH, a compound derived from the kratom plant, as a Schedule 1 controlled substance — effectively making it illegal at the federal level.
Last month, the FDA announced it was targeting the compound, which is a concentrated byproduct of the kratom plant known to relieve pain and cause feelings of euphoria, due to its “high potential for abuse.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced their intent to initiate scheduling of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a kratom-derived compound, under the Controlled Substances Act. On July 29, officials suggested placing 7-OH in Schedule I, a classification traditionally reserved for substances with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and no established safety margin.
Such a move would have sweeping consequences for clinical research, product regulation, and patient access. Yet no evidence was presented to support it.
Two major national news outlets — USA Today and the New York Post
— published scathing new reports this week exposing the growing public health crisis fueled by
kratom and its unregulated derivatives. Together, the stories reveal a disturbing pattern: while
everyday Americans fall victim to addiction, withdrawal, and predatory marketing, federal
officials are refusing to go after the actual source of danger, instead targeting 7-
hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), an industry competitor that the FDA’s own databases have shown
to have far fewer adverse events.
Despite Zero Confirmed Deaths from 7-OH, Federal Officials Push Ban While Ignoring Science and Consumer Voices
This week, hired actors were spotted protesting 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) outside the CHAMPS Trade Show in Las Vegas in a desperate attempt by Big Kratom to manufacture support for their campaign to pit kratom and 7-OH customers against each other. This ridiculous incident reveals just how far industry insiders will go to manipulate public perception and protect their own profits, even if it means faking public outrage and dividing the very community they claim to serve.
In a recent letter to The Star (July 6, 18A), David Bregger spoke out against 7-OH, a natural compound in kratom used to manage pain. He suggested it might have played a role in his son’s death. What happened to the Bregger family is every parent’s worst nightmare. No parent should ever experience that loss.
