‘Gas station heroin ‘ TN passes full kratom ban after weeks-long debate over effects

Synthetic and semi-synthetic 7-OH faces the strictest scrutiny. This makes Rhode Island the first state to move from a full ban to regulated access. The letters cited violations, including unapproved drug claims and marketing 7-OH as a dietary supplement, which the FDA considers illegal. The short answer is that it depends on where you live and what type of product you're buying.

Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program

Haddow said while it’s hard to get a “good read” on legislative consensus, the AKA is hoping for passage of regulation rules this year. “Unfortunately, Kratom Farms the reality is with opioids these days and despite the excellent treatments that we have, a lot of patients don’t want those treatments,” said Hill. “We have three excellent medications for opioid use disorder,” he said, referring to buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. “Kratom is really dangerous and harmful and there are case reports of people dying from it,” said Wakeman. “It is sometimes astonishing amounts that people are ingesting thinking that they are doing something that is better because they’re not using methamphetamines,” she said. She added that if those patients don’t work on their substance use disorder, they can “continue to elevate the amount that they take.”

How does it work for depression and anxiety?

To some, kratom offers relief from pain or opioid addiction. "Obviously, there are people who can pick up substances and put them down and be fine. But I don't think kratom is a miracle drug by any means. It's hippie heroin. That's all it is." Though kratom isn't as well known as other substances, addiction to it affects more people than many may realize.

I respectfully ask you to protect the community and support a ban on kratom.” She said her daughter didn’t use kratom extracts, only the loose leaf, and it still took her life. One individual from Meridian said her 23-year-old daughter died in Bonneville County in March 2025, from an overdose of mitragynine — the primary psychoactive alkaloid found in kratom. The ban does not prohibit the possession of kratom, only the sale.

Feds to Study Kratom as Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Bonita Cummings, who leads a Strawberry Mansion neighborhood organization, said the legislation was not just about "products or storefronts." These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research.

• Kratom is legal for adult use at the federal level, though the FDA hasn’t approved it for any medical purpose.
• So much of what we do, even in basic science, is we meet people who are suffering.
• A new, purified compound from kratom called 7-hydroxymitragynine (also known as 7 hydroxy or 7-OH) is now being sold in pill form.
• States with full kratom bans (Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Vermont, Wisconsin) prohibit 7-OH along with all kratom alkaloids.
• The kratom leaf is harvested from a tropical evergreen tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and imported into the United States.
• Most users aren’t seeking a caffeine-like boost—they’re looking for the opioid-like effects to manage pain or avoid prescription opioids.

7-Hydroxymitragynine is a potent kratom alkaloid designed for controlled, targeted effects for more experienced kratom users. “It’d be healthy, not just for the long line of constituents of Boston, but 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 chemical is naturally found in low concentrations in kratom, but when manufactured, 7-OH is exponentially more potent, binding to the body’s opioid receptors. City Councilor John FitzGerald told GBH News he’s particularly concerned about synthetic kratom containing high concentrations of a psychoactive chemical called 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH. It’s uncommon for kratom to cause major toxic effects, but when people ingest large amounts or combine it with other drugs, they may experience hallucinogenic reactions, convulsions, coma and, in rare cases, death, Clark warned.