{"id":353,"date":"2026-07-09T23:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=353"},"modified":"2026-07-09T23:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:11:08","slug":"why-is-the-dea-targeting-kratom-an-opioid-replacement-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=353","title":{"rendered":"Why Is the DEA Targeting Kratom, an Opioid Replacement Drug?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tEarlier this month, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued two Notices of Intent to temporarily ban substances derived from kratom, an herbal stimulant used by many Americans for relief from anxiety, pain, and opioid withdrawal. The move was commended by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services, with officials framing it as a victory for public health.<\/p>\n

Read more The U.S. Military is Almost Out of Money (or So They Say)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe action would classify the compound 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and three other kratom-related substances in the same category as heroin and LSD, under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning they have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Natural leaf kratom, which dodged a scheduling attempt from the DEA in 2016, would not be affected by the ruling.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe DEA announcement has been brewing ever since the FDA recommended classifying 7-OH as Schedule I in July 2025, and issued warning letters to seven companies marketing 7-OH products. A Schedule I status would effectively wipe out the potent kratom derivatives that have flooded gas stations and smoke shops across the country, earning them the nickname of \u201cgas station heroin.\u201d It\u2019s a win for natural kratom manufacturers who have been aggressively lobbying the Trump administration to ban 7-OH products, claiming they\u2019re unsafe.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn a statement issued by the HHS, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the DEA\u2019s action would \u201chold bad actors accountable, and protect American families.\u201d But according to reports on the war between natural kratom suppliers and their 7-OH rivals, the concern isn\u2019t only public health; the fight could also determine who gets to control a billion-dollar industry.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tKratom and 7-OH\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tDerived from the leaves of an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia, kratom has been used for decades in Thailand as a way to wean addicts from opium. It gained traction in the U.S. during the opioid crisis as a less deadly, less addictive alternative to fentanyl and other opioids, with users saying it helped ease their withdrawal symptoms.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite a campaign to brand it as an alternative wellness supplement, kratom use carries serious risks, including liver damage, seizures, and overdose; the Tampa Bay Times<\/em> reported that public health officials recorded more than 2,000 fatal kratom-related overdoses between 2021 and 2023. A CDC report revealed that the National Poison Data System showed hospitalizations and poisonings involving kratom combined with other substances skyrocketed nearly 1,300 percent from 2015 to 2025.<\/p>\n

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\nLast Week Tonight <\/em>host John Oliver recently aired a clip of podcaster Joe Rogan, a vocal proponent of kratom use, in an episode about the dangers of unregulated \u201cgas station\u201d drugs. \u201cThe first time I took it, I took two [pills],\u201d Rogan told journalist Hamilton Morris. \u201cFeels like a mild stimulant. But then when you get into the range of eight to 10 pills, it\u2019s like, oh, this will fuck you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBotanical kratom is composed of alkaloids including mitragynine, which has biphasic effects, meaning it acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at higher doses. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, says this isn\u2019t unique to kratom. \u201cTramadol is widely abused because it has stimulating effects in low doses,\u201d he says. \u201cEven opium was used by agricultural workers historically because it can have a stimulating effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen ingested, mitragynine is metabolized by the liver to 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), which is pharmacologically far more potent. Laboratory-concentrated 7-OH can be up to 13 times stronger than morphine. In 2024, after manufacturers discovered how to synthesize 7-OH, products exploded onto the market with tablets, capsules, drink mixes, and gummies. Detractors claim that 7-OH products are addictive and unsafe; advocates say their potency makes them an effective alternative to prescription painkillers.<\/p>\n

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\n\tKolodny says the majority of patients he treats for addiction started out using natural leaf kratom, and moved on to 7-OH products. \u200bThe move to regulate kratom derivatives, but not botanical kratom, is akin to differentiating between vodka and beer, explains Kolodny. \u201cYou\u2019ll sometimes hear the kratom industry refer to [7-OH] as synthetic, that it\u2019s completely made out of chemicals the way fentanyl is. That\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMichele Ross, chief scientific advisor to the 7-OH advocacy group 7-HOPE Alliance, emphasized this point to Colorado legislators debating how to regulate kratom and 7-OH in 2025. \u201cTo say 7-OH is not kratom is to say caffeine is not coffee or THC is not cannabis,\u201d Ross wrote. \u201cIt simply does not make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTrump Cabinet Ties\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u200bAn investigation by the New York Times<\/em> found that makers of natural kratom supplements with ties to Trump cabinet members were behind the aggressive campaign to outlaw 7-OH, with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin playing a key role.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u200bThe Times<\/em> reports that, as a Republican senator, Mullin urged the Trump administration to downplay concerns about botanical kratom while pushing for crackdowns on 7-OH in his home state of Oklahoma. He appeared at a 2025 news conference with RFK Jr. and FDA commissioner Marty Makary to announce proposed federal restrictions on 7-OH. It wasn\u2019t until he became Homeland Security secretary in March 2026 that Mullin disclosed his status as an investor in Oklahoma-based kratom company Botanic Tonics. , Mullin invested as much as $1 million in a company that could benefit from his push to sideline kratom byproducts and recapture the market.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u200bThe founder of Botanic Tonics, Jerry W. Ross, donated nearly $162,000 to RFK Jr. \u2018s defunct presidential campaign. In December 2025, a lawsuit filed by the FDA against Botanic Tonics for selling Feel Free, a drink containing a \u201cnew dietary ingredient\u201d (kratom) was dropped; months later, the company donated $1 million to Kennedy\u2019s MAHA political action committee. The Times<\/em> reports that Ross also used donations to secure a private audience with Vice President JD Vance to lobby for a ban on 7-OH products while extolling the benefits of kratom.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Times<\/em> reporters asked about Mullin\u2019s undisclosed investment in Botanic Tonics, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying that Mullin \u201cfollows all ethics and conflict of interest standards and has not lobbied for any individual or company.\u201d Nonetheless, Mullin\u2019s ties to the kratom industry remain under intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tKratom\u2019s Current Legality\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\u200bTo date, a number of states, including Vermont and Wisconsin, are ahead of federal prohibition with outright bans on 7-OH products; some, like Kansas, have also outlawed botanical kratom. At the federal level, the DEA is also targeting three synthetic derivatives that don\u2019t occur naturally in the kratom plant: a chemical rearrangement of 7-OH known as MP, and two lab-made compounds, MGM-15 and MGM-16. According to the HHS, MP and MGM-15 are sold online in products including candies, tablets, and liquid shots marketed as kratom extracts, despite containing synthetic opioid compounds.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile scheduling substances under the CSA isn\u2019t instantaneous, the clock is ticking: the HHS has opened a 30-day public comment period that ends on July 31. Submissions will then be presented to the Attorney General for review before a potential two-year ban is enacted. No matter what the outcome is, 7-OH manufacturers and the kratom industry at large are facing a reckoning over who controls the market.<\/p>\n

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The DEA announced it would seek to temporarily ban compounds derived from the herbal stimulant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-war-on-drugs"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is the DEA Targeting Kratom, an Opioid Replacement Drug? - Business Moving Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=353\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Is the DEA Targeting Kratom, an Opioid Replacement Drug? - Business Moving Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The DEA announced it would seek to temporarily ban compounds derived from the herbal stimulant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=353\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business Moving Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T23:11:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fea0d2fc6c4997d7397c8e2f526719f0\"},\"headline\":\"Why Is the DEA Targeting Kratom, an Opioid Replacement Drug?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T23:11:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353\"},\"wordCount\":1224,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/888afa511749a383bce7f51b377c7c02.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"War on Drugs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessmovingservicess.com\\\/?p=353\",\"name\":\"Why Is the DEA Targeting Kratom, an Opioid Replacement Drug? 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