JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier held a news conference Thursday morning at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office headquarters to highlight the state’s efforts to remove illegal 7-OH products off the streets.
7-OH, short for 7-Hydroxymitragynine, is an extract from the kratom plant. Previously sold in smoke shops and convenience stores across the state, it was marketed as a wellness supplement and alternative painkiller. While available in liquid form, 7-OH was most commonly sold as pills, gummies, and even vapes.
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In August, Uthmeier announced an emergency action to classify isolated and concentrated 7-OH as Schedule I. Florida law now treats these products in the same category as heroin, LSD, and fentanyl analogs—substances with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.
“It can be 13 times more potent than morphine, and this is what’s been on shelves and gas stations, retail stores, 7-Elevens, right next to candy. We’ve got to get this stuff away from our kids,” Uthmeier said on Thursday. “I’m a big believer that government should let businesses do their thing, stay out of the way, except in the most extreme of circumstances, and that is what this is. It was an emergency.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters joined the attorney general on Thursday and talked about the importance of getting these products off the streets.
“For far too long, dangerous and unregulated substances like 7-OH have been allowed to creep into our neighborhoods, and while they may be sold under the guise of harmless products, the reality is that they pose a very real threat to the health and safety of our families and our kids,” Waters said.