NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL \u2014 Florida’s attorney general has imposed a new rule targeting highly concentrated forms of 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, a chemical compound derived from kratom, amid concerns over overdose deaths and risks to young people.<\/p>\n
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Florida cracks down on highly concentrated kratom and its alternatives, but traditional products may be safe<\/p>\n
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the rule Monday<\/a>, placing high-concentration 7-OH products on the state’s Schedule 1 drug list \u2014 a move that allows for arrests and supplier shutdowns.<\/p>\n “What this is doing is preventing these super concentrated chemical compounds that lead to morphine like opiates at the fingertips of kids. We’re not going to stand by and let our kids suffer,” Uthmeier said.<\/p>\n The FDA<\/a> has found that in concentrated amounts, 7-OH can be more potent than morphine.<\/p>\n State medical examiners have linked at least 587 overdose deaths to the product since 2013.<\/p>\n The rule establishes three specific restrictions: \u201cno product may contain more than 1 milligram\u201d of the chemical per gram; any product containing 7-OH must contain \u201cat least 100 times more regular mitragynine by mass\u201d; and high-concentration 7-OH is now classified as a Schedule I drug.<\/p>\n 7-OH naturally occurs in kratom \u2014 a tropical tree native<\/a> to Southeast Asia \u2014 in trace amounts.<\/p>\n Because the rule targets high concentrations, businesses that serve traditional kratom and kava teas say they do not expect to be affected.<\/p>\n William Rizzardi, chief financial officer of Snowman Holdings Group, co-owns Midtown Kava Lounge<\/a> and Kameleon Kava & Coffee<\/a> and says the distinction matters.<\/p>\n “These pills are so concentrated that you’d have to ingest a product from our, one of our shops. You’d have to take kilograms on kilograms. We’re talking about 40 or 50, and yeah, it’s a lot, and to get the same effects,\u201d Rizzardi said. Rizzardi says his business has no interest in selling dangerous products and sees the rule as a protection for the traditional kratom industry.<\/p>\n He also welcomed the crackdown on what he called \u201cbad actors\u201d in the industry.<\/p>\n “We want this because we want a nice, safe product, and we want to make sure that in Florida, Kratom is being protected, and it seems like with this, the baseline product is protected,” Rizzardi said.<\/p>\n While he supports the state-level action, he expressed concern about potential federal regulation that may not draw the same distinction between highly concentrated 7-OH and traditional kratom products.<\/p>\n “Traditional Kratom tea and other products should not be confused, I think, with the 7-OH. That’s a good thing. It’s hard to, though, because not everybody knows about this,” Rizzardi said.<\/p>\n He called for broader collaboration to shape future legislation.<\/p>\n “I think bringing individuals that are on the business side of this, as well as doctors and chemists, and lawmakers, and sitting down and really just chopping it up and seeing, \u2018Hey, how would this affect this? How would this affect that?\u2019 That would get us the legislation that would keep bad actors away,” Rizzardi said.<\/p>\n ***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***<\/p>\n Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. <\/a><\/p>\n Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Like us on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram <\/a>and X.<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, people are dying from this.\u201d<\/p>\n