Feds rush to ban synthetic kratom drug after Mississippi college student deaths
by Stephen Dinan · The Washington TimesThe Justice Department issued an emergency order Friday adding 7-OH, an increasingly popular synthetic drug, to its Schedule I list of the most severely restricted drugs, saying it has been sold in vape shops and gas stations despite serious concerns about its health dangers.
The order came after the deaths of two students at the University of Mississippi were preliminarily linked to packages of synthetic kratom, the herbal drug that 7-OH is derived from.
Schedule I drugs are those that have the highest potential for abuse and no medical use.
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Adding 7-OH, or 7-hydroxymitragynine, to the list will block it from the legal market.
“Dangerous and addictive opioids do not belong behind convenience store counters,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in announcing the new listing.
The Food and Drug Administration says 7-OH has no safe or effective use. The agency added there’s reason to worry it could become a new option for those with opioid addictions.
That’s particularly true, given the wide availability of the drug, which is sold in small markets, gas station minimarts and vape shops, as well as on the internet. Sold under names such as Kama, Happie Tabs, Fruity Perks and Hydroxie, they even come in chewable tablets and are often labeled as “botanical extracts.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration said that can fool consumers who don’t realize the power of the drug.
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“While sellers promote these products for their euphoric and opioidergic effects, evidence demonstrates they may also contain other opioid alkaloids, such as mitragynine pseudoindoxyl. These combinations, coupled with a lack of regulatory oversight, pose significant safety risk to unsuspecting consumers by exposing them to high doses of opioids,” the DEA said in a notice in the Federal Register announcing the emergency scheduling.
The new listing is a temporary order.
Reports of deaths linked to synthetic kratom and 7-OH have percolated for years, but the issue took on new urgency after the Sept. 21 deaths of the Ole Miss students.
Packages found near at least one of the students reportedly contained 7-OH, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15. Those latter two compounds were added to the Schedule I list this past summer.
The link between the packages and the deaths wasn’t confirmed, but action has been swift nonetheless.
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The DEA said reports of adverse reactions to the drug have been on the rise.
Poison control centers recorded 165 inquiries about adverse exposure from Jan. 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026.
The majority required medical treatment.
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Stephen Dinan
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