Washington, DC—The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) today announced that it has filed formal comments in two federal drug scheduling dockets, urging the Department of Health and Human Services and the Drug Enforcement Administration to place two dangerous gas station opioids — 7-hydroxymitragynine (“7-OH”) and tianeptine — in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
7-OH is a semi-synthetic compound of the kratom plant that is thirteen times more potent than morphine. While FDPS applauds the federal government’s scheduling of 7-OH, the government is declining to schedule the entire kratom leaf. Crucially, “natural” kratom, known as mitragynine, will remain legal as an addictive gas station drug. FDPS supports a full ban on kratom, not just its synthetic components.
“These are opioids. They are sold next to the candy aisle, in flavors built for kids, to people who have no idea what they’re taking,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, President & CEO of FDPS and SAM, and a three-time White House drug policy advisor. “We have watched this movie before. In 2016, a lobbying campaign — not a scientific finding — stopped the federal government from acting on kratom. Thousands of Americans have died in the years since. Regulators should follow the science this time, and they should not stop at half a molecule.”
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