Hillsborough moves to ban kratom byproduct
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Kratom derivative products. Photo: Mindy Schauer/MediaNewsGroup/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Hillsborough County will take the first step Wednesday toward banning sales of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a potent compound found in kratom supplements.
Why it matters: Products containing 7-OH are banned statewide only under a temporary emergency rule, and the county wants its own ban ready if that rule lapses.
Driving the news: The County Commission voted in June to have county attorneys add 7-OH to the county's synthetic drug ban.
- Products with 7-OH act like opioids and could be highly addictive. Before Florida banned them by emergency rule in August, they were often sold in smoke shops and gas stations.
- The state's rule expires June 30, 2027, unless lawmakers make it permanent. Violating the county's ban would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to $500 and 60 days in jail.
Threat level: Intoxication involving mitragynine, the main active ingredient in kratom, contributed to 34 deaths in the county over the past two years, according to the medical examiner.
Between the lines: The ordinance would not affect the dozens of coffee shop-style retailers in Hillsborough County that serve drinks often in the form of tea brewed from the plant.
- It exempts whole-leaf kratom and any product not "chemically enhanced, chemically altered, or otherwise concentrated for increased potency."
- Researchers have compared kratom leaf products to a "light beer." Extracting and concentrating 7-OH makes the potency closer to the grain alcohol Everclear, which can be 95% alcohol by volume.
Yes, but: Retailers selling kratom in any form, including whole leaf, would have to post a sign next to it warning that kratom "may cause serious adverse health effects."
- Code Enforcement could fine businesses that don't post the sign up to $500 per violation.
What's next: If commissioners sign off on the ordinance Wednesday, it will return for a public hearing and final vote on Nov. 10.