Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary are urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to classify a compound known as 7-OH, or 7-hydroxymytragynine, as a Schedule I substance, placing it in the same legal category as heroin. This move would criminalize its use and block scientific research.
The compound is a naturally occurring alkaloid derived from the leaves of kratom trees. Mitragyine, the parent compound of 7-OH, is the more abundant alkaloid in the kratom plant. Mitragynine is extracted from the kratom plant and converted into 7-OH supplements that have pain-relieving properties similar to opioids. Products containing 7-OH can be purchased online and in smoke shops and gas stations.
While many consumers use it for pain management or to help them through opioid withdrawal, others use it recreationally. The risk of overdose from 7-OH alone appears to be low, but deaths can occur when it’s combined with other substances, especially fentanyl.
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Like leaf kratom, 7-OH is not federally regulated, meaning there are no age restrictions and no national safety standards. This is particularly troubling given the growing number of 7-OH products marketed in ways that appeal to minors.
The legal grey area the compound occupies certainly raises valid safety concerns, but locking it into a Schedule I status would not mitigate those concerns — it would worsen them. Instead of rushing toward prohibition, policymakers should pause and carefully weigh the broader consequences of an outright ban.
Demand for 7-OH is high and continues to climb. Some experts say that up to 20 million doses are sold each month, though its regulatory status makes it difficult to track. That level of demand won’t suddenly vanish with a legal ban — it will simply move into the shadows. And bad actors will exploit the unregulated market to make a profit.
If we have learned anything from the prohibition of other drugs, it’s that underground markets make products more dangerous. Without regulatory oversight, there’s nothing stopping sellers from lacing the drugs they sell with powerful substances like fentanyl or from selling it to minors. 7-OH purchased from an underground market would be a far greater threat to public health than regulated access and responsible oversight.
In addition, criminalizing those who use 7-OH would increase incarcerations that exacerbate substance use problems, disrupt employment, and fracture families. And devoting law enforcement resources to chasing down 7-OH users would only divert attention away from tackling more pressing public safety threats.
A Schedule I classification would also cut off the potential for desperately needed research. Opioid addiction and overdose continue to devastate communities across the country, claiming 87,000 lives in 2024 alone. If 7-OH holds promise for safer pain management or supporting recovery from opioid dependence, we owe it to those we’ve lost and those still struggling to find out.
Indeed, for some, that promise has already been realized. Terry Blevins, a friend of mine and a former police officer, was seriously injured while working with the U.S. Army in Iraq. Following his injury, he struggled with an addiction to prescription opioids that were intended to manage his chronic pain. After overcoming his addiction, he turned to 7-OH when other pain relief options began to fail.
Today, Blevins leads a successful security company and occasionally uses 7-OH to manage his pain. He’s aware that it can be habit-forming and is careful to minimize his risk of developing an addiction. He recently told me, “If 7-OH gets put on Schedule I and I am unable to source it, it will drastically change my life. I can never go back to opiates because of the problem that I had with them in the past, and there’s absolutely nothing else that I have found that gives me the kind of relief that 7-OH does.”
If 7-OH is banned under Schedule I, we may never fully understand its potential as a resource in the fight against opioid addiction.
Today, 7-OH is largely sold legally but without regulations. That’s a dangerous middle ground — no quality control, no age limits, and no safety standards. A legal, regulated market would allow us to control where 7-OH is sold, who can sell it, and what goes into it. That’s how we ensure basic quality and safety standards.
We already apply this model with tobacco and alcohol. We can take the same thoughtful, measured approach with 7-OH.
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Nearly all drugs carry risks. The challenge is how to minimize that risk while preserving the potential for good. And decades of experience with prohibition tell us that banning drugs does not eliminate risk — it amplifies it.
Prohibition is simple, but ineffective. Regulation is more complex, but it gives us tools to protect consumers, ensure quality, and conduct research. That is how we prioritize public health. And it’s how we reduce harm without shutting the door on hope.
Christina Dent is the author of Curious: A Foster Mom’s Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction, the founder of End It For Good, and is passionate about health-centered solutions to drugs and addiction.