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Trump Administration Delivers Lucrative Win for Its Kratom Allies
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plans to temporarily ban supplements containing 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a synthetic compound related to kratom, classifying it alongside heroin and LSD as illegal substances.
- Government scientists have warned that 7-OH has significant potential for abuse and associated harms, making the DEA's move a public health victory.
- The ban benefits makers of natural kratom supplements, who have been losing market share to 7-OH products but whose natural kratom remains legal despite health risks such as addiction and liver damage.
- The campaign to ban 7-OH has been driven by natural kratom supplement makers with connections to the Trump administration, including Botanic Tonics founder Jerry W. Ross and allies like Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- This influence effort has sought to portray 7-OH as a dangerous "gas station heroin," leveraging political donations and relationships to shape federal drug policy.
