A variety of kratom and 7-OH products \u2014 including capsules, cartridges and wellness shots \u2014 are on display at a smoke shop in Buffalo, N.Y. States have led the way in regulating kratom, and now federal officials want to ban 7-OH, a powerful compound found in some kratom products. (Photo by Amanda Hern\u00e1ndez\/Stateline)<\/p>\n
The New Mexico Department of Justice\u2019s Consumer Protection Bureau on Friday issued a warning to residents about the herbal supplement kratom due to its \u201creportedly addictive, opioid-like effects,\u201d a news release stated. The agency also asked residents to share information about their experiences with the substance.<\/p>\n
Kratom products have received increased scrutiny from both the federal government and states, Stateline reported last summer, and are used for pain relief, anxiety and opioid withdrawal symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in July<\/a> it was seeking to restrict 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH \u2014 a compound found in small amounts in kratom.<\/p>\n In addition, at least seven states have either banned or restricted kratom sales in some way.<\/p>\n In New Mexico, the NMDOJ news release noted, kratom is unregulated and kratom products \u201ccan be easily purchased at convenience stores, smoke shops, or online.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, the news release continued, kratom \u201cis marketed as a product that boosts productivity, enhances focus, lifts moods and alleviates pain, while critics say it can be \u201chighly addictive in the way it binds with the same brain receptors as opioids while stimulating chemicals like serotonin.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration<\/a>, risks from kratom use include: addiction, anorexia, insomnia, withdrawal symptoms, psychosis, overdose and death.<\/p>\n Stateline\u2019s report noted that officials and addiction medicine specialists have noted that kratom and 7-OH products \u201coften come in flavors and packaging designed to appeal to younger buyers, with few controls over where or how they\u2019re sold. In some states without clear regulations, kratom and 7-OH products are available at gas stations or online, sometimes without any age verification.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez called the \u201cthe information about kratom\u2019s impact, particularly on young people\u201d extremely concerning. \u201cConsumers should understand that these products can have highly addictive effects similar to opioid narcotics. We also want to hear directly<\/a> from New Mexicans about their experiences with kratom, including those who have already been harmed or sought rehabilitation. Our goal is to ensure families have the facts they need to protect their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A variety of kratom and 7-OH products \u2014 including capsules, cartridges and wellness shots \u2014 are on display…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[103,61,60,77727,371,77729,77728,68073],"class_list":{"0":"post-133374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-kratom","12":"tag-medication","13":"tag-new-mexico-department-of-justices-consumer-protection-bureau","14":"tag-opioid-withdrawal-symptoms","15":"tag-products"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}