By Pat Anson\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
With 7-OH consumers still awaiting final word from the DEA on whether the concentrated kratom alkaloid will be classified as an illegal Schedule One controlled substance, individual states are pursuing regulatory action of their own. \t\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state\u2019s enforcement efforts have so far resulted in nearly 8,000 \u201cdeadly kratom\/7-OH items\u201d being removed from store shelves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trace amounts of 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine) alkaloid occur naturally in whole leaf kratom, but manufacturers have developed ways to concentrate 7-OH in tablets, gummies and shots, which are potent pain relievers with \u201copioid-like\u201d effects.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the DEA is only considering a ban on 7-OH \u2013 leaving natural leaf kratom alone \u2013 California says kratom and 7-OH products both pose \u201cserious health risks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
California\u2019s crackdown<\/a> began last October, when state health officials issued a consumer warning claiming that kratom and 7-OH are dangerous and resulted in several overdose deaths. Enforcement actions stepped up in January, with state agents seizing millions of dollars worth of kratom and 7-OH products<\/a>. To date, they\u2019ve issued 181 citations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The state also warned vendors they could lose their licenses to sell alcohol if they sold kratom and 7-OH. That threat \u2013 in effect saying it was safe to sell beer, wine and other intoxicating beverages but not kratom and 7-OH \u2013 has resulted in a 98% compliance rate by Alcoholic Beverage Control licensees.\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cIf a product is sold in California, people should be able to trust that it follows the law. We\u2019ve made the rules clear, giving businesses the opportunity to comply, and we\u2019re holding accountable those who don\u2019t. That\u2019s how you protect kids and consumers while standing up for responsible businesses doing things the right way,\u201d Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release.<\/a><\/p>\n But California\u2019s enforcement efforts are uneven because they mainly target brick-and-mortar stores. Some online vendors are still shipping kratom and 7-OH products directly to California consumers, even though the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said it has taken \u201csignificant enforcement action\u201d against out-of-state kratom distributors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCDPH has taken enforcement action on multiple orders of kratom shipped from out-of-state to California distribution facilities,\u201d the agency said in a statement to PNN. “CDPH continues to monitor and enforce compliance with state law, including when products are sold or shipped directly to consumers in California. When CDPH becomes aware of unlawful kratom shipments, CDPH may take appropriate regulatory or enforcement action in coordination with local partners.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The CDPH says it has the legal authority to ban kratom and 7-OH because they are \u201cadulterated and misbranded\u201d products that violate the California Health & Safety Code.<\/a><\/p>\n North Dakota Amends Kratom Ban<\/p>\n Dozens of other states, counties and cities have enacted laws banning or regulating kratom and 7-OH sales.<\/p>\n On Friday<\/a>, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong signed legislation that bans the sale, possession and use of 7-OH and other synthetic kratom products, and restricts the sale of natural kratom products to adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Armstrong signed an executive order last month banning all kratom products, but under the new law passed by the North Dakota legislature during an emergency session, it will be legal again to sell natural leaf kratom as long as there are accurate labels and age restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a victory for public health and safety, keeping dangerous synthetic kratom products off the shelves and protecting our young people from the adverse and unknown long-term effects of natural kratom, which is not regulated by the FDA but will now be subject to strict state regulations,\u201d said Armstrong, who preferred a total ban on kratom.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the DEA continues to slow walk enforcement action against 7-OH, even though it\u2019s considered \u201can imminent threat to public health.\u201d It\u2019s been over a year since the FDA asked DEA <\/a>to classify concentrated 7-OH as an illegal Schedule One substance, explicitly saying such a ban should not include natural kratom leaf.<\/p>\n DEA finally began the formal scheduling process for 7-OH <\/a>in July, but federal health officials recently extended the public comment period until September 10.<\/a> It\u2019s not clear when DEA will act once that deadline passes or if it will make any changes in its scheduling order.\u00a0<\/p>\n As currently written, the order limits the amount of 7-OH to no more than 0.05% of a product by weight or volume, the equivalent of about 1 mg per tablet or gummie. That is well below the current dosage levels of 7-OH products.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Pat Anson With 7-OH consumers still awaiting final word from the DEA on whether the concentrated kratom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-456135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}