As federal cannabis rescheduling looms on the horizon and more states across the country begin rolling out regulations for legal psychedelic therapy, health officials have increasingly been targeting a centuries-old psychoactive plant from Southeast Asia with newly introduced measures of prohibition.
Kratom is a leafy green botanical native to Southeast Asia that acts on the opioid receptors and is noted for its ability to offer pain relief and euphoria to the more than 2 million Americans who are estimated to use it each year. It is this ancient plant medicine that is being increasingly scrutinized as a key issue in the often contradictory framing of drug policy reform.
While many have looked to the current administration for movement on federal cannabis rescheduling and broader natural medicine policy reform, increasing restrictions on hemp products and rising scrutiny of kratom suggest that drug policy may be shifting in more complex—and in some cases more restrictive—directions. Since it has not been federally scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, kratom has emerged as a prominent product in the legal psychoactive plant market.
The 7-OH Crackdown and Its Ripple Effects
Kratom contains several active alkaloids, most notably mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). While 7-OH occurs naturally in trace amounts, regulators have raised concerns about newer products that concentrate or synthesize this compound at much higher levels.
Over the last year, health authorities have launched a crackdown against 7-OH products in the wake of a series of unsettling reports about the addictiveness and potential dangers of the synthetic opioid. In communications from federal agencies, 7-OH has been described as significantly more potent than morphine in certain contexts, particularly when isolated or synthetically enhanced.
While 7-hydroxymitragynine occurs naturally in trace amounts in kratom, many of the products drawing regulatory scrutiny are synthetically concentrated versions.
The rising pushback …
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Author: Dennis Walker / High Times
