Ohio weighs kratom legality as DeWine calls for ban
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Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves are processed into a powder. Louis Anderson/AFP via Getty Images
Calls to ban sales of kratom and its derivatives in Ohio are growing louder as the state weighs how to handle the increasingly popular drug — or supplement, depending on who you ask.
Why it matters: Ohio does not currently have laws regulating kratom or its usage, meaning local shops can sell kratom and its derivatives over the counter.
Driving the news: Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine announced he would call on the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate all natural and synthetic forms of kratom as illegal drugs.
- The board scheduled a special meeting two days later to discuss the topic, but quickly canceled it without comment.
How it works: Kratom, or mitragyna speciosa, is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia.
- Its leaves are processed into a powder, which can be smoked or added to products like pills, gummies or drinks.
- The substance has been marketed as a mood booster, pain reliever or method of weaning off of opioid addiction, similar to buprenorphine.
Threat level: Processing kratom creates traces of the chemical 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, which can be "more potent than morphine" in high doses.
- Natural kratom leaf products contain just trace amounts of 7-OH, but experts warn that more potent and concentrated products could be addictive and dangerous.
What they're saying: DeWine says kratom products are "an imminent public health risk."
- "These modified kratom products, sold online and in stores, are essentially legal, over-the-counter opiates that anyone — including kids — can buy with just a few bucks."
The other side: Mac Haddow, senior public policy fellow for the American Kratom Association, agrees with DeWine — but only regarding concentrates.
- The AKA supports states scheduling concentrates and synthetics as illegal drugs, but wants them separated from the natural product, which it calls a "safe herbal supplement."
- "Our battle, starting in 2019, has been trying to block these highly concentrated and semi- or fully synthesized products from the marketplace."
Zoom in: Spokespeople for Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus Public Health declined to comment.
- Pharmacy board representatives did not return calls requesting comment.
The big picture: The FDA is cracking down on kratom at the federal level, focusing on scheduling 7-OH (not the herbal supplement kratom) as a controlled substance.
Zoom out: As of March, 24 states regulate kratom or its components in some manner, per the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.
- In states with kratom age restrictions, seven states set the minimum age at 18, while 11 require buyers to be 21+, LAPPA reports.
What's next: The pharmacy board's next scheduled meeting is Oct. 6.