A synthesized compound of the kratom plant is gaining national attention.
In July, with the support of U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Federal Drug Administration called for 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, to be categorized as a Schedule I drug — making it illegal.
Some states are already following suit, like in Florida, where the Attorney General scheduled 7-OH with an emergency order this week.
Utah was an early regulator of the compound. In 2019, the Legislature passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which bans substances made up of over 2% 7-OH. The law leaves room for plant-based kratom products to remain for sale, registered with the state’s Department of Agriculture. But there are still supplement stores, gas stations and smoke shops that sell synthesized and concentrated 7-OH.
The kratom plant is native to Southeast Asia and used for its psychoactive properties. At low doses, it produces a light, energetic buzz. That effect comes in part from 7-OH, found in the leaves in trace amounts — but the chemical can be extracted and concentrated.
Brandon Forsyth, director of the Specialized Products Division at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said synthesized 7-OH is highly addictive.
“It basically acts like an opioid, according to what we know at this time,” he said. “So, similar to heroin.”
Forsyth said that when Utah stores sell 7-OH, they’re likely skirting state regulations.
“It's kind of a Wild West-type product,” he said. But Forsyth stressed that while 7-OH originates in kratom, the plant and the opiate compound are not the same.
“Think of having a piece of chocolate with a very small amount of caffeine, versus an energy drink,” he said. “When you concentrate it down and put a whole bunch of it in one food product, suddenly it could start having negative health effects.”
He encouraged Utahns who find 7-OH for sale to report it to the Department of Agriculture. And while the department is cracking down, that tough regulation does not mean a ban on kratom as a whole.
In the Legislature, former state Sen. Curtis Bramble, a Republican who represented Provo’s District 24, sponsored the 2019 regulations. They ensure that plant-based kratom remains available to Utah consumers, who Bramble said can use it for energy, relaxation and rehabilitation.
“I have hundreds of emails from individuals saying that kratom helped them break their addiction to opioids,” he said.
Since retiring from the Senate, Bramble has become a lobbyist for kratom regulation and a consultant with the American Kratom Association.
He said claims of kratom’s dangers, including reported deaths, are because of adulterated or synthetic byproducts like 7-OH, improperly marketed as kratom. He said separating the plant from the byproduct is a positive, and he supports the FDA’s recommendation to reschedule 7-OH.
“I applaud their actions,” he said, “and believe that there needs to be a very clear distinction between kratom and the synthesized chemical that people are calling kratom.”
