Kratom: what it is, what it does, and why it should be banned.
Kratom is sold in gas stations, smoke shops and online as a “natural” supplement for energy, pain and mood. Its active compounds act on the same opioid receptors as heroin and oxycodone. This page is the plain-language briefing FDPS gives to reporters, lawmakers and parents, with every claim sourced.
A tree, two opioids, and a marketing story.
Kratom is a tropical tree, Mitragyna speciosa, native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves contain dozens of alkaloids. Two of them matter: mitragynine, the most abundant, and 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH.
Both act on the brain’s mu-opioid receptors. That is the receptor heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone act on, and the one that controls breathing. At low doses kratom is described as a stimulant; at higher doses it is sedating and pain-relieving, the way opioids are.
Mitragynine becomes 7-OH inside the body. The liver converts it. That is why “7-OH is the dangerous one, natural leaf is fine” is a distinction without a difference: every kratom product delivers 7-OH to the brain, whether or not the label says so.
It is sold as a supplement, not a drug. Powders, capsules, gummies, shots, “energy” drinks and concentrated 7-OH tablets are sold in gas stations, vape shops and online in many states with no age limit, no dose standard, and no one checking what is actually in the package.
“The FDA should not separate 7-OH from kratom by referring to it as a synthetic derivative. 7-OH is in fact a natural constituent of kratom. The agency also should not allow the public to think that mitragynine, the other psychoactive constituent of kratom, is benign. Cocaine isn’t safe because crack is more dangerous.”
Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, FDPS, August 2025Names to know
Kratom, ketum, biak, thang. Mitragynine (the leaf’s main compound). 7-OH or 7-hydroxymitragynine (its stronger metabolite, also sold as concentrated tablets). “Kratom shots,” “kava-kratom” drinks and “plant-based energy” tonics that list mitragynine or Mitragyna speciosa on the label.
See the parent section below for what the packaging looks like.Addiction, withdrawal, seizures, and death.
It is addictive
Regular users develop tolerance and dependence, and report opioid-style withdrawal when they stop: muscle aches, insomnia, irritability, runny nose, craving. Kratom use disorder is now described in the clinical literature.
FDPS comment to DEA and HHS; FDAIt sends people to the hospital
Poison center reports rose from 258 in 2015 to 3,434 in 2025. Reported effects include seizures, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, agitation, liver injury and respiratory depression, especially when kratom is combined with alcohol, benzodiazepines or other drugs.
CDC MMWR via The Drug ReportIt kills
CDC’s overdose surveillance system recorded at least 5,208 deaths involving kratom from 2020 through 2024. In many, kratom was one of several substances. In others it was the only one. Both matter: kratom is rarely taken alone, and it is sold with no warning about that.
CDC SUDORSThe honest caveat, because the industry will raise it: most kratom deaths involve other drugs too. That is true of fentanyl, alcohol and nearly every overdose in America. It is an argument for not selling an opioid next to the energy drinks, not an argument for it.
Banning half a molecule.
In 2025 the FDA recommended, and in July 2026 the DEA temporarily ordered, that 7-OH and three synthetic kratom compounds be placed in Schedule I. FDPS supported that. It was also the outcome the kratom lobby wanted.
Here is why. The industry’s biggest products, the leaf powders, capsules and mitragynine-based drinks sold in convenience stores and smoke shops nationwide, contain little or no added 7-OH. A 7-OH-only rule leaves every one of them legal. The American Kratom Association spent years arguing that concentrated 7-OH was the “real” problem precisely so that the plant itself would be left alone.
The body does not respect that line. Mitragynine converts to 7-OH after ingestion. A “natural leaf” product is a 7-OH delivery system with a slower fuse.
That is why FDPS, in its formal comments to DEA and HHS and in the bipartisan Senate letter it helped draft, asked regulators to schedule the whole kratom leaf. In Dr. Sabet’s words, “they should not stop at half a molecule.”
What the July 2026 order covers
7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16, placed temporarily in Schedule I.
DEA press releaseWhat it leaves legal
Mitragynine and every product built on it: leaf powder, capsules, extracts and drinks. Sold in most states with no federal standard.
The Drug ReportTen years of warnings. One lobbying campaign.
Washington has known what kratom is since 2016. The record since is a case study in how an addiction-for-profit industry keeps a product on the shelf.
See the campaign- August 2016
DEA announces it will schedule kratom.
The agency filed notice of intent to place mitragynine and 7-OH in Schedule I as an “imminent hazard to public safety.”
- October 2016
The lobby wins. DEA withdraws.
After an industry-organized pressure campaign, DEA withdrew the notice. Thousands of overdose deaths have followed.
- 2018
FDA: kratom compounds are opioids.
The FDA published its own analysis concluding kratom’s compounds bind to opioid receptors and warned the public against using it.
- July 2025
FDA recommends Schedule I for 7-OH only.
FDPS applauded the step and asked the agency not to let the public believe mitragynine is benign. Correcting the record
- March 2026
Bipartisan senators ask for the whole leaf.
A letter led by Sens. Ricketts and Blumenthal, joined by nine colleagues, urged scheduling of both 7-OH and the whole kratom leaf. FDPS helped draft it. FDPS
- May 2026
The White House floats approving “natural 7-OH.”
President Trump: “We’re looking very seriously at natural 7-OH and getting that approved.” STAT News
- July 1, 2026
DEA temporarily schedules 7-OH. Not the plant.
FDPS files formal comments urging Schedule I for 7-OH, tianeptine, and the whole kratom leaf. Read the comment (PDF)
- August 2026
Massachusetts acts on its own.
Gov. Maura Healey takes emergency action to restrict kratom products statewide. FDPS statement
- September 2026
Two Ole Miss students dead. Fox News calls for a ban.
Packaged kratom was found in both death investigations; the cause has not been determined. Laura Ingraham: “This has got to be banned.” The Drug Report
A patchwork, not a policy.
Without a federal standard, whether a 16-year-old can buy an opioid at a gas station depends on which side of a state line the gas station sits. As of September 2026:
Banned outright
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut (2026)
- Indiana
- Kansas (2026)
- Louisiana (2025)
- Massachusetts (emergency, 2026)
- North Dakota
- Tennessee (2026)
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
Banned 7-OH only
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Virginia (2026)
“Consumer protection” laws
- More than 20 states have passed industry-drafted Kratom Consumer Protection Acts.
State status changes frequently. Confirm current law with the state before citing. Compiled from state statutes and legal trackers, September 2026.
What to look for, and what to say.
Most young people have never been told what kratom is. Most parents have never heard of it. Start there.
What it looks like
- Small bottles of “kratom shots” or “extract” near the register, often next to energy shots.
- Colorful pouches of capsules or powder labeled Mitragyna speciosa, “Maeng Da,” “Bali,” “red vein” or “green vein.”
- Canned “plant-based” tonics and kava drinks that list kratom or mitragynine in the ingredients.
- Tablets marketed as “7-OH,” “7-hydroxy” or “enhanced” products, now illegal federally but still turning up.
Signs of a problem
- Needing it every day to “feel normal,” or getting sick (aches, sweats, insomnia, irritability) without it.
- Nausea, constipation, weight loss, tremor, or unusual sleepiness.
- Combining it with alcohol or other drugs, which is when most serious harm occurs.
- If someone is unresponsive or breathing slowly after using kratom, call 911. Naloxone may help and cannot hurt.
One clear federal standard for the whole plant.
Schedule the kratom leaf, not just its most potent extract. Mitragynine and 7-OH in Schedule I until the science says otherwise, as DEA proposed in 2016 and as eleven senators asked for in 2026.
Enforce what is already illegal. 7-OH products are Schedule I today. They are still on shelves. The DEA and state attorneys general should treat them like any other controlled substance.
Stop the “natural” marketing. Opium is natural. Cocaine is natural. The FTC and state consumer protection offices should treat health claims for an unapproved opioid the way they would for any other drug.
Fund the research and the treatment. Kratom use disorder is real and growing, and clinicians need guidance on managing withdrawal and overdose.
Check our work.
- Overdose deathsCDC, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) dashboard
- Poison center reportsCDC MMWR, National Poison Data System, via The Drug Report
- DEA action, July 2026DEA press release · HHS and FDA statement
- FDPS comments7-OH scheduling comment (PDF) · Tianeptine comment (PDF)
- FDA recommendation, 2025FDPS: Correcting the record on kratom, 7-OH and mitragynine
- Senate letterRicketts and Blumenthal letter to FDA, via FDPS
- White House commentsSTAT News, May 2026
- State lawsState-by-state tracker, updated September 2026 (confirm against state statute before citing)
- MississippiNBC News · The New York Times
- ReportingThe Drug Report, September 2026 · The Drug Report, July 2026
Washington banned half of it.
Finish the job.
Add your name to the FDPS call for a nationwide ban on the entire kratom plant, and share this page with someone who still thinks “natural” means safe.
