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California Authorities have banned its sale KratomA popular supplement that is often used to treat Pain And WorryThis was linked after searching six deaths in Los Angeles County, but what role the supplement played remains a mystery.
Kratom A tropical tree native to Southeast Asia; 7-OH is a natural psychoactive component found in small amounts in Kratom leaves. But the popularity of concentrated versions is increasing – offered as tablets, gummies and liquid extracts – which are artificialaccording to fda,
According to the FDA, neither kratom nor 7-OH is regulated or approved for use as a pharmaceutical product, dietary supplement, or food additive in the US. fdaIn July, the agency issued Warning letters to companies that were “illegally marketing products” containing 7-OH.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that since the spring, six people ages 18 to 40 have died after consuming products containing 7-OH. department this month advised Retailers must stop selling products that contain kratom and the synthetic kratom compound 7-OH.
LA County health officials said these products, often marketed as dietary supplements, are used to ease pain, anxiety and mood disorders, including opioid withdrawal.
“At low doses, 7-OH acts like a stimulant and at higher doses, it acts like an opioid. Mixing or using it with alcohol, prescription drugs or illicit substances can slow breathing and lead to death,” Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement. “The safest option is to avoid all 7-OH products.”
The county is not alone. As of 2023, some local governments have banned kratom products and at least six states – Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin – have banned 7-OH. report By the Congressional Research Service.
The FDA warned consumers to avoid using kratom “due to the risk of serious adverse events” such as seizures, noting that it has been linked to deaths “in rare cases.” But, the agency noted that in these cases, “kratom was usually used in combination with other drugs, and the contribution of kratom to the deaths is unclear.”
This was true of the deaths linked to kratom use in LA County this year. health officer noted That alcohol, drugs or illegal substances were also found along with 7-OH. Medical examiners’ reports, obtained by Los Angeles TimesThe cause of five deaths shown was listed as the result of “mixed drug effects”. The sixth death was caused by a cocaine overdose.
toxicologists told LA Times There was insufficient research to show what concentration of kratom could be toxic if not mixed with another substance.
Craig Smolin, medical director of the San Francisco division of the California Poison Control System, told the newspaper, “I don’t claim to have investigated all reports about deaths from kratom, but I haven’t seen very many reports of death from single-drug ingestion of kratom.”
Experts say that in addition to the lack of research, the testing methods may not be effective. There is a test to show how much kratom is in the body, but no such test exists for 7-OH. According to, the current test only shows whether 7-OH was present or not. Times,
Perhaps more complicating matters, when the body metabolizes kratom, part of the breakdown involves 7-OH, making the compound more likely to show up in medical trials with kratom, Donna Papson, a forensic toxicologist at NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, told the outlet.
Test results may also be complicated because 7-OH is also “incredibly unstable,” Papson said, noting that it may be detected at the time of death, but by the time that passes by the time samples are collected, it may have already broken down.
Robert Powers, a forensic toxicologist at the University of New Haven, told the newspaper that while the deaths are “not an easy picture,” he told the newspaper he understands why health officials have taken steps to ban kratom and 7-OH.
“I think it’s fair to recognize that in these cases, kratom can really play a supportive role. And I understand the interest in trying to limit the potential effects of this drug in those mixed cases, so I understand why people would be interested in controlling this drug,” Powers said.
But not everyone is supporting the ban. Consumers and sellers argue that kratom products should be regulated.
De Macaluso, a 74-year-old woman who has trouble breathing and fatigue due to chronic lung disease, sought the help of specialists to help her return to the active lifestyle she once had, but they did not offer any suggestions for improving her health. LA Times Informed. So after watching a documentary he turned to Kratom.
“I didn’t use it very often, but when I did I found it helped a lot of my problems,” Macaluso told the outlet. Now she depends on it every day.
When the county announced it was going to remove kratom products from the shelves, she recalled: “I told my husband, I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t have it and then I won’t be able to get out of bed, or paint or do whatever I do.”
Macaluso educated himself on how to use the products, experimenting with different dosages, and said he thinks the government should allow the public to do so, regulating them, not banning them altogether. “There will always be people who will abuse it but I don’t think those of us who are using it responsibly and benefiting from it should be penalized,” he said.
Abdullah Mamun, who started the Authentic Kratom business in 2013, tells LA Times While he understands that 7-OH is a danger, he says banning all kratom products is a mistake.
Their customers say that their products have helped them deal with pain. Mamun supports regulating kratom products: “We want them to be labeled appropriately for consumers because people should know what they’re putting into their bodies.”