Kratom: What You Need to Know About This Natural Opioid University of Utah Health

In 2022, the NIH released a study warning that nearly a third of kratom users met the diagnostic criteria for “kratom use disorder,” such as increased use, tolerance, withdrawal, and craving. If it becomes illegal, I fear we may never truly be able to study and treat ailments that kratom helps with,” wrote another survey respondent. I am a mother of 4 and have anxiety, depression, acute back pain, and I am an opioid addict. 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.

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HIGH RIDGE — Jessica Kupihea's husband had been clean and sober for years when he walked into his neighborhood gas station to buy cigarettes and energy shots. Our content does not constitute medical consultation. Some addiction support groups said the move is a step in the right direction but not enough.

Growing Crackdown: More states ban synthetic kratom or 7-OH before federal government

More recently, bills were introduced this 2025–26 legislative session in states like Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, South Dakota, and Tennessee that would prohibit kratom and kratom products within their boundaries. It is worth noting that states have generally considered several bills related to kratom in a single legislative session that offer different approaches to address the rising use of kratom and kratom-related products. Because of these effects and the ease with which the product can be purchased in retail settings, kratom has sometimes been referred to as “gas station heroin.” As concerns over the use of kratom continue to rise across the nation, the landscape of kratom policy has been evolving rapidly. Across the United States, state lawmakers are grappling with how—or whether—to regulate kratom, a plant-derived substance sold widely as powders, capsules, energy drinks, vapes, herbal supplements, and gummies in smoke shops, convenience stores, and online marketplaces.

These products may lead to addiction, serious harm, overdose, and death. “Without regulation, these bad actors push synthetic products onto the market without any legal or scientific justification,” Lowe said. It also would regulate the product’s chemical content, mandate labeling with alkaloid amounts and warnings that kratom may be habit forming as well as bar kratom sales to anyone under 21. 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. General physical side effects of kratom can include nausea, constipation, dizziness and dry mouth.

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• NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee lawmakers have passed a full ban on kratom, derived from a Southeast Asian plant, following a weeks-long debate over its safety and effects.
• At first, he says, he used kratom like an energy drink.
• There are increasing requirements for herbal medicines to list the actual amount of active chemicals, like echinacea for cold and flu, but kratom falls into this weird category now, because it’s neither a drug nor a dietary supplement.
• The ingredient is being used in products that are becoming increasingly available to purchase online and at smoke shops, the agency warned.
• During the first seven months of 2025, poison control centers nationwide received 1,690 reports of exposure cases involving kratom, which already surpasses the total number of cases for the entire year of 2024.

Kratom leaves or extract from its leaves have been used in alternative medicine for chronic pain and other conditions. Avoid concentrated 7-OH tablets, gummies, and shots — those are the formats under the regulatory microscope. The FDA’s warning letters, Missouri’s lawsuit, and Florida’s emergency rule all center on isolated or enriched 7-OH in tablet, gummy, and shot formats — not on conventional ground-leaf powder and capsules. Legislation Kratom Farms that would have made a permanent ban (including a proposed Schedule I status for 7-OH above a set threshold) did not pass during the 2026 session, leaving the future of the restriction uncertain heading into July. The FDA has stated repeatedly that 7-OH is not permitted in dietary supplements or conventional foods and that there are no FDA-approved drugs containing it. "Prohibition is not a public health strategy," Beckham said.

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• It doesn’t fall under the purity requirements for either herbal supplements or drugs.
• By harnessing the power of nature’s most potent botanicals, we’re redefining how you unwind, energize, and feel good—the REAL way.
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• Researchers have yet to examine whether side effects such as sedation can interfere with its purported benefits.

7-OH can be more potent than morphine, leading to the potential for abuse and drug-related symptoms like dependence and withdrawal, according to the HHS. It produces a stimulant effect at low doses and an opioid-like, analgesic effect when taken in higher amounts, according to Dr. Richard Clark, medical director of the San Diego division of the California Poison Control System. The leaves of the tree contain more than 40 different active compounds, with the most prevalent being mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine and speciofoline. A pile of kratom leaves is seen at a stall in the market in Bangkok on September 11, 2021, in Bangkok, Thailand. There are no FDA-approved 7-OH drugs, according to the health agency. "7-OH is an opioid that can be more potent than morphine. We need regulation and public education to prevent another wave of the opioid epidemic."

It’s possible that a brick-and-mortar kratom shop will be able to provide test results for its kratom or some other benchmark to prove its quality, but it’s unlikely. At brick-and-mortar kratom shops, it’s a little trickier. “There should be product formulation limitations, there should be strict labeling requirements, and there should be age restrictions on the use of any kratom product.”