1,200% in the last 10 years<\/a>, as 7-OH \u2014 nicknamed \u201cgas station heroin\u201d \u2014 flood the market, according to the CDC.<\/p>\nAn infographic from the Food and Drug Administration comparing 7-OH to heroin and fentanyl. FDA<\/p>\n
A raw kratom plant, which is used in Southeast Asian traditional medicine and the source of hyper-refined 7-OH. Jeffrey A McDonald \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s still legal in most states \u2014 packaged in gummies, drinks, and even ice cream warns the Food and Drug Administration, which called 7-OH drug \u201cthe next wave of the opioid epidemic. <\/p>\n
Kratom, particularly 7-OH, is especially dangerous when mixed with alcohol and other drugs, which is the case in around 80% of kratom-linked fatalities, the CDC reported.<\/p>\n
Worse, users often have no idea if they\u2019re buying normal kratom or a potentially addictive narcotic, as manufacturers aren\u2019t required to reveal 7-OH on product labels in many states.<\/p>\n
Kratom powder in capsules. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Pharmacist influencer Grant Harting discusses a kratom pill he bought at a gas station. Grant Harting \/ TikTok<\/p>\n
\u201c[7-OH] is sold as \u2018kratom,\u2019 but is not the leaf material. It is a lot more potent, meaning you need less of it to achieve the desired effect,\u201d warned Dr. Oliver Grundmann, a kratom specialist at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n
The full extent of the danger is still a mystery \u2014 which is a problem when people can buy 7-OH at vape shops and truck stops with little guidance on how much they\u2019re actually supposed to take.<\/p>\n
The pill Harting studied technically contained two doses, but it was too tough for the TikToker to break in half \u2014 even when he took a razor to it.<\/p>\n
Dr. Oliver Grundmann of the University of Florida School of Pharmacology. University of Florida Health<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be sold as one tablet, but a quarter of a tablet is one serving size. Who\u2019s doing that? Who\u2019s cutting a tablet into a quarter with a kitchen knife?\u201d Grundmann said.<\/p>\n
Another problem is the 7-OH manufacturing process creates mystery side chemicals that get added to the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no idea about the effects of these side products,\u201d Grundmann said.<\/p>\n
Kratom products that may contain 7-OH, a dangerous, opioid-like chemical manufacturers aren\u2019t required to list on product labels. MediaNews Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Indeed: Harting\u2019s gas station pill analysis showed \u201csome additional chemicals, that we don\u2019t really know what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lobbyists for the kratom industry \u2014 including the American Kratom Association \u2014 have fought federal bans on the product, calling instead for a crackdown on 7-OH specifically.<\/p>\n
Other kratom advocates claim 7-OH could be a powerful remedy for normal opioid addiction.<\/p>\n
Bundles of raw kratom leaves. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cRushing to ban 7-OH without solid research could push people toward more dangerous substances,\u201d writes the 7-Hope Alliance, a 7-OH advocacy group.<\/p>\n
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But even if 7-OH can help people wean themselves off stronger opioids, it has no business being peddled at bodegas, Grundmann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should be appropriately labeled and also only available in the hands of someone who can provide professional guidance, like a licensed pharmacist. Not a clerk at a gas station.\u201d<\/p>\n
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