Lawmakers Urge FDA to Crack Down on Kratom, Opiod-Like Substance Sold in Gas Stations, Online

Lawmakers are urging the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the rapidly expanding market for opioid-like products commonly sold online and in gas stations, calling on regulators to classify both 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and the kratom leaf as controlled substances.

The letter sent to the FDA Wednesday, led by Senators Pete Ricketts (R., Neb.) and Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), calls on the FDA to consider not only scheduling the 7-OH derivative as a controlled substance, which the administration has already suggested, but the entire Kratom leaf, present in some of the “most accessible and addictive products,” according to the letter.

About the Author

Kamden Mulder

Kamden Mulder is a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College.

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Lawmakers are urging the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the rapidly expanding market for opioid-like products commonly sold online and in gas stations, calling on regulators to classify both 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and the kratom leaf as controlled substances.

The letter sent to the FDA Wednesday, led by Senators Pete Ricketts (R., Neb.) and Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), calls on the FDA to consider not only scheduling the 7-OH derivative as a controlled substance, which the administration has already suggested, but the entire Kratom leaf, present in some of the “most accessible and addictive products,” according to the letter.