Florida AG Uthmeier taking emergency action against new synthetic drug, 7-OH

7-OH now considered schedule one narcotic

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Wednesday during a press conference in Tampa that his office is taking emergency action to prohibit "7-hydroxymitragynine" ? often called "7-OH", in the state of Florida. Evyn Moon reports.

TAMPA - Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Wednesday during a press conference in Tampa that his office is taking emergency action to prohibit "7-hydroxymitragynine," often called "7-OH", in the state of Florida.

This move reclassifies it as a schedule 1 drug just weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action.

The backstory:

7-OH is a new synthetic material that is extracted from Kratom which is a Southeast Asian coffee plant.

Uthmeier says that 7-OH can be up to 13 times more potent than morphine and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says that the crisis is right in front of us.

"It is an opioid, it scientifically meeting the criteria of an opioid and yet you can go in a vape shop in America almost on any corner and buy it like a cup of coffee," Makary says.

You can find 7-OH at gas stations or smoke shops in the form of candy-flavored gummies, shots and vapes.

The other side:

Opponents of the recent FDA move say that some Americans could use it to recover from opioids.

The Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) says that the kratom-derived compound has a high consumer base across Florida and pointed to data showing a 30% drop in opioid overdoses last year.

Big picture view:

While kratom is derived from a Southeast Asian coffee plant, 7-OH is a synthetic extract known to be far more potent.

Makary says that he is not going after the Kratom leaf that has been shown to have health benefits for some people.

"Our focus is not on the Kratom leaf, our focus is not on Kratom. There is the Kratom leaf that has trace amounts of 7-OH and then there is synthetic concentrated Kratom which is popping up in vape stores across America," Makary said.

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Uthmeier says that these emergency actions don’t happen often, and the situation does need to truly be a public health emergency.

He hopes that the legislature will take a deep dive into the issue as they are the final step in the process when it comes to finalizing this action.

What's next:

A final ruling from the DEA could take several months, which includes a 30-to-60-day public comment period.

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