For beginners with kratom extract, initiate with a low dose, incrementally adjusting for desired effects. “I recognize that kratom will continue to be sold online, in other cities and counties, but this ordinance makes it clear where our community stands on this drug,” Ziel-Dingman said. Many said they still support the regulation of kratom but not a full ban on sales. 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.

“After the last wave of the opioid epidemic, we cannot get caught flat-footed again.” A national ban wouldn’t kick in until new rules are drafted and finalized. Next up, the DEA will review 7-OH and decide whether to officially label it an illicit drug. The agency wants 7-OH classified as Schedule I, a category reserved for illicit drugs with no medical use and a high potential for abuse — alongside heroin and LSD. “7-OH is an opioid that can be more potent than morphine,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement.
A panel of lawmakers approved the permanent ban on synthetic kratom, which is not regulated but is marketed as a dietary supplement and sold at specialty shops, convenience stores and gas stations. A ban on synthetically modified versions of the Asian botanical herb kratom will take effect May 14, replacing a temporary ban set to expire in June. Products range from powdered leaf, which most closely resembles the traditional use of kratom, to isolated extracts of active ingredients in the plant.
The FDA hasn’t approved kratom for pain relief, anxiety, depression, or as a treatment for withdrawal from opioids or other substances. On the other hand, kratom has similar effects as opioids, such as pain relief and relaxation, in high doses. Sometimes, people who use opioids replace the drug with kratom to lower their opioid use and ease withdrawal symptoms. The two most active compounds found in kratom — mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine — work on opioid receptors but with fewer side effects. “You have things like mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, which is not found in the kratom leaf,” he said.
These schedules mimic the federal controlled substances schedule that was created by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, where substances are scheduled depending on their medical usefulness and potential for addiction or abuse. While the federal government has floated the idea of scheduling 7-OH without any additional concrete action, states have been scheduling kratom much more quickly. Kratom bans have also been the most frequent tool employed by localities, such as Albuquerque (NM), Kansas City (MO), Nassau County (NY), and Spokane (WA), to try to limit the presence of kratom in their communities.

You can find kratom leaves, powder, and capsules in some health food stores, vape shops, and online specialty stores. Hospital workers and public health officials say new combinations of street drugs, traumatic brain injuries and other health issues could be driving the uptick in seizures. As kratom and 7-OH use grows, clinicians are Alt Law developing protocols for addiction treatment And that’s led a growing number of people to move on to 7-OH and the stronger, but less prevalent, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl. Others seek out kratom or its derivatives to help deal with mental health symptoms, or for energy.