Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing for a ban on a gas station drug tied to addiction, overdoses, and comparisons to opioids.
Kennedy wants the DEA to schedule 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a Schedule I drug.
It’s a compound found in kratom leaves and is being sold across the country in drinks, gummies, and powders, mostly in smoke shops and convenience stores.
“7-OH binds to the mu receptor, which means, scientifically by definition, it is an opioid,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said. He added that it’s not just similar to opioids in effect, it is one.
According to Makary, it’s 13 times more potent than morphine.
The announcement was made Tuesday at a press conference with Kennedy and Makary, where both officials warned of a coming “fourth wave of opioid addiction” if 7-OH stays on shelves, according to the Daily Mail.
Kennedy said the goal is to avoid a repeat of the 1990s and 2010s opioid crisis. He tied the threat to his own past struggles. “When there is availability that can become a crisis,” Kennedy said. “And my addiction started because of, let me say this, it was precipitated by availability.”
Makary emphasized that the