Lawmakers Urged To Separate Natural Kratom From Potent Synthetic 7-OH

As Michigan lawmakers weigh a blanket ban on kratom, experts warn the state is conflating traditional plant products with dangerous synthetic opioids. Natural kratom leaf, derived from the Mitragyna speciosa tree and used safely for decades, contains only trace levels of the alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine. Illicit labs now synthesize concentrated 7-OH products with more than 100 times those levels, acting in the brain like powerful prescription opioids and driving spikes in addiction cases.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended scheduling concentrated synthetic 7-OH as a Schedule I substance while explicitly excluding natural kratom leaf. Advocates say Michigan should follow states like Florida and Kentucky by targeting synthetic 7-OH and instead regulate natural kratom with age limits, testing, and labeling, rather than banning it outright. Read the original analysis at Michigan Advance.