Gov. Mike DeWine ordered the Ohio Pharmacy Board on Monday to categorize kratom, both the natural plant and any synthetic products, as an illegal drug.
Kratom, a botanical herb from Asia, has naturally occurring trace amounts of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), which can have both stimulant and sedative effects. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in July it would move to schedule 7-OH, an opiate that can be found at corner stores and gas stations across the state and country.
Preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health has documented more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths between 2019 and 2024 from synthetic kratom, which comes in everything from tablets to edibles to drinks.
“Many in the medical community have warned against using kratom at this time, because it can cause very serious harm, and it hasn’t been rigorously studied for safety and efficacy,” ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff said Tuesday.
Mac Haddow, American Kratom Association senior public policy fellow, said in early August the vast majority of kratom on the market currently has been manufactured to be as potent as possible.
“Overregulation of those very ethical businesses should be avoided, but for the bad guys, let’s get them out of there, because they’re ruining the integrity of the business in the kratom industry,” Haddow said in an interview.
The association has led efforts to regulate kratom in 18 states, and he said Ohio is one of its biggest targets for similar restrictions, rather than an outright ban. Federal efforts to schedule kratom have failed thus far, and Haddow and his association defend natural kratom, arguing it can have energy and health benefits. The FDA has not greenlit consuming kratom or using it medically.
“I’m against any business that is going to sell a product that doesn’t meet the criteria to protect consumers,” he said.
If DeWine gets his wish, Ohio would be the first state in the country to label kratom as a Schedule I drug.
Ohio lawmakers have considered bills further regulating both kratom and cannabinoid derivatives like delta-8 THC, both during this legislative session and sessions before it, but nothing has made it to DeWine’s desk.
