RFK Jr launches crackdown on kratom, ‘legal morphine’ often found in smoke shop products

Susan Ash, the founder of the AKA, used kratom as a substitute for Suboxone, a medication used to treat OUD. Kratom comes from the leaves of a tropical tree that grows in Southeast Asia, where it has been used for centuries as a natural stimulant and pain reliever. Although the main purpose of the placebo-controlled trial is to test the safety and tolerability of mitragynine – not whether it can treat OUD – the fact that NIH is even conducting such a study is being hailed as a “major milestone” by kratom advocates. Hopefully this work will lead to a new treatment option for people with opioid use disorder and support a path to recovery,” Joni Rutter, PhD, Director of the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, said in a press release. In a small Phase One clinical study, NIH and University of Florida researchers will test a purified formulation of mitragynine on 32 healthy volunteers with a recent history of opioid use.

• This product is not for use by or sale to persons under the age of 18.
• Neither kratom nor 7-OH can lawfully be marketed in the United States as a drug product, dietary supplement or food additive.
• It is not known if kratom passes into breast milk.
• Boston could soon join a growing list of Massachusetts communities that have moved to regulate kratom, a psychoactive substance native to Southeast Asia that has gained popularity in the U.S.
• Our kratom deals and promotions are designed to give customers more value, whether we’re running a seasonal special, clearing inventory, or rewarding loyal fans with exclusive coupon codes.

A lesser known therapeutic use of kratom is to reduce cravings for opioids and other substances. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced plans to crack down on kratom, a plant ingredient whose opioid-like qualities have rattled health officials. We started Club13 over 25 years ago with one goal, making kratom and kava products people can count on. “It’d be healthy, not just for the long line of constituents of Boston, but sids 2014 also helping the state look at overall what folks are saying and taking the proper action to do a statewide ban on synthetic kratom.” The group would also support a ban on synthetic kratom, he said, as long as it’s “properly defined” to capture the production of 7-OH and other chemical compounds.

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Beginning July 1, however, Tennessee will join two dozen other states in banning or restricting kratom. She can't even drive on the same street as shops that sell kratom − the pull of addiction is that strong. The pain of withdrawal has kept many people trapped in the cycle of addiction.

What’s New? A More Potent Form of Kratom

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom to be used for any purpose and warns consumers of “serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.” The kratom leaf is harvested from a tropical evergreen tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and imported into the United States. Clarke’s arrest and subsequent death has put a spotlight on kratom, they said, at a time when lawmakers in many states are deciding whether to regulate or ban it. Industry insiders and kratom critics say they are closely watching the medical examiner’s findings. The office would not disclose whether it will test for kratom, though it has screened for the plant’s active components in past death investigations. There, the 235 grams of kratom and 7-OH deputies said they found inside Clarke’s duffel bag carried the weight of a felony drug trafficking charge, one prosecutors put on par with heroin possession.

The FDA itself has warned consumers about concentrated 7-OH products, and both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary have emphasized that federal enforcement efforts are focused on chemically manipulated 7-OH products rather than properly manufactured natural kratom leaf products. Current federal and state actions specifically target concentrated 7-OH products, not natural kratom leaf. According to recent news, Florida’s AG Attorney General banned concentrated 7-OH products, although kratom remains mostly legal. Despite their wide availability, kratom-derived and 7-OH products are not legally approved for sale for consumption online or in stores and are often misleadingly labeled and promoted as “safer" alternatives to opioids for the relief of pain and other issues.

Herbal supplement Kratom linked to serious side effects, deaths: study

• Paula Savchenko, an attorney representing 7-0H companies, says that there is not enough evidence of harmful effects to support scheduling it.
• Maloney believes her addiction would have taken her life too, had she not gone to rehab in 2024.
• If you switch to a new bottle or a different brand, you may not have the same effects or side effects because of this variability.
• “In South America, people chew coca leaves (used to make cocaine) for a stimulant effect,” says Michael Moss, MD, the director of the Utah Poison Control Center.
• These are frequently small molecules that happen to act on human opioid receptors – especially the mu opioid receptor, which is a key mediator of addiction and pain relief.
• “Vape stores are popping up in every neighborhood in America, and many are selling addictive products like concentrated 7-OH,” Makary warned.

Feel free® contains only noble kava root and natural whole leaf kratom — no synthetic ingredients, no alcohol, and no chemical extracts. CDPH is collaborating with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to educate and inform California retailers about kratom and 7-OH products, which are not legally approved to sell or manufacture for consumption. These products, often sold in smoke shops and gas stations, are labeled with terms such as “plant alkaloids" or “alkaloid," and may be marketed as dietary supplements to address issues such as chronic pain, anxiety and depression, and opioid withdrawal. “Consumers who responsibly use natural kratom leaf fear losing access because of the reckless actions of those selling dangerous synthetics falsely marketed as natural kratom.” In July, the FDA recommended that the synthetic ingredient 7-OH, not the plant itself, be placed on the federal government’s restrictive list of illegal drugs. In the absence of regulation, last week the Orange County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale, distribution or possession of synthetic kratom products in any form in the county.

And just as 7-OH is like kratom on steroids, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl is like 7-OH on steroids. “So what they did is they increased the amount of a very potent ingredient in kratom, which is 7-OH.” “Vendors got smarter and they noticed, ‘OK, maybe we can enhance kratom,'” Stanciu said.

“You see tons of people that have returned to a normal life for years by using that instead of dope, and then several get off it. Chaparro said he did not like the sedating effects of prescription opiates, so he turned to Kratom, which targets the same receptors. So, I constantly stay in pain on this side,” he said gesturing toward his body. While addiction is not a problem for everyone, some rehab centers said the potential for abuse is real. Experts also said there is a misconception that since it’s plant-based, it’s not addictive. “It’s so much stronger and the intoxicating effects can be so much more dangerous,” said OBN spokesperson Mark Woodward.

The substance can act as both a stimulant, increasing energy, and a sedative, helping users feel calmer and less anxious. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. WHYY provides trustworthy, fact-based, local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community. The free WHYY News Daily newsletter delivers the most important local stories to your inbox. “And this is really almost like in the beginning of the prescription opioid epidemic, except you don’t need a prescription. And that’s led a growing number of people to move on to 7-OH and the stronger, but less prevalent, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl.

We are clear that we make a powerful product and that it is not intended for everyone. Noble kava root is at the heart of all our pairings and is the primary ingredient in feel free® and the newest addition to our product portfolio, Kava Maté. Botanic Tonics uses botanicals rather than synthetic alternatives.