COLUMBUS — Kratom sellers and manufacturers may face stricter regulations on the products they can produce or sell if Senate Bill 299 passes — a move that is supported by local healthcare providers.
The bill, which some lawmakers are calling the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, was introduced in the Ohio Senate by Senator Louis W. Blessing, III (R-8) on Oct. 21.
If Senate Bill 299 passes, it would:
- Require manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of kratom products to register their products with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which includes a registration fee.
- Prohibit the sale of synthetic kratom compounds and sets a limit of no more than 1% of the alkaloid composition for naturally occurring 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH).
- Require a product label on the kratom product to state the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, contained in the product.
- Prohibit the sale of kratom products to individuals under 18 years of age.
- Create civil penalties for manufacturers and sellers who violate the new rules.
Who supports the bill?
Dr. Joseph J. Bocka, who works in the Catalyst Life Services Mansfield withdrawal unit, supports restrictions on kratom.
This year, Bocka treated five patients who were experiencing withdrawal from kratom products with enhanced levels of 7-OH — a concentrated byproduct of kratom that is “increasingly recognized as having potential for abuse because of its ability to bind to opioid receptors,” according to the FDA’s website.
He said since the beginning of 2025, 6 percent of patients came into the unit with kratom alkaloids in their systems.
Bocka also works at OhioHealth’s Balgreen Drive office where he treated three patients experiencing kratom withdrawal through an outpatient program.
He shared that the withdrawals are “rougher” than other opiate withdrawals. “It’s certainly a very concerning substance,” he said.
Bocka also believes kratom marketing targets younger people, and that labels don’t make clear distinctions about which kratom products are natural or synthetic. He believes shops that sell kratom want customers to purchase 7-OH-enhanced products because people can become addicted to the substance, meaning they will purchase more.
One of his patients was spending $4,000 a month on 7-OH products, Bocka said.
Kratom is not tested for in standard urine drug tests, Bocka said, so it is hard to monitor kratom usage unless patients report using it.
Although Lucas Lowe, a Crawford County resident and former Lucas resident, did not have a concrete stance on Senate Bill 299, he supports a ban on 7-OH extracts.
Lowe believes people who are against kratom use don’t understand it. He said that is partially to blame on 7-OH. “7-OH is a synthetic opioid at the end of the day,” he said.
He said 7-OH is what people abuse and potentially become addicted to, not kratom. For Lowe, kratom is the reason he can play with his son, enjoy outdoor recreation and perform simple tasks without pain, such as carrying and lifting things.
Lowe has used kratom daily for six years after he underwent several shoulder surgeries to address his chronic pain.
His doctors prescribed him oxycodone to manage the pain, but after seeing pain medicine “destroy lives,” he said taking the medicine was a risk he was not willing to take.
But without the oxycodone, Lowe was in pain, so his friend recommended kratom. Lowe was skeptical at first, but after trying kratom powder in tea form, he suddenly wasn’t focused on his shoulder pain anymore.
He takes kratom like medicine: two grams at a time, three times a day, every five to six hours.
Bocka said natural kratom still induces side effects, but when used with caution, it is much safer than 7-OH-enhanced products.
What is 7-OH? And why does the Ohio Senate seek to regulate it?
Kratom is a plant that is native to Southeast Asia. Natural kratom contains trace amounts of 7-OH — typically less than 0.05% of the dried leaf mass.
But many of the kratom products that can be found at gas stations and vape stores, are synthetic, enhanced with high levels of 7-OH.
The American Kratom Association calls kratom an “herbal supplement,” but opponents to the substance’s legality refer to it as “gas station heroin.”
Lowe said those opponents really refer to 7-OH, not natural kratom.
One of those opponents is Gov. Mike DeWine, who called on the Ohio Board of Pharmacy on Aug. 25 to designate all natural and synthetic kratom compounds as illegal drugs.
After speaking with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the ban, DeWine paused the initiative
“These modified kratom products, sold online and in stores, are essentially legal, over-the-counter opiates that anyone – including kids – can buy with just a few bucks,” DeWine said in a press release.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns the public against using kratom for medical treatment and said it is not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement, according to its website.
Kennedy and the FDA announced at the end of July that they recommend scheduling 7-OH, to control products under the Controlled Substance Act. The recommendation applied only to synthetic kratom.
“Many of the products available today, which are often associated with or advertised as kratom, no longer resemble botanical kratom. Instead, they contain ‘enhanced’ or concentrated amounts of 7-OH and are formulated as powders, capsules, and liquid extracts”
FDA assessment on 7-oh
An estimated 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
The Ohio Department of Health found kratom to be a cause of death in more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths in Ohio from 2019 to 2024, according to preliminary data cited in DeWine’s press release.
Neither Ashland County Health Department nor Richland Public Health have data specific to kratom addiction or overdoses.
Ashland County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Executive Director and Counselor Rick Ford said he has not encountered any overdoses from kratom in Ashland County. He said almost all overdoses come from synthetic fentanyl.
Ford said he has worked with many patients with opiate use disorders who turned to kratom, a commonly cited reason why people begin using kratom products.
He said kratom products can have similar effects as opiates. So if a patient is regularly using kratom, Ford would not classify that patient as entering full recovery.
“If someone is already dependent on something, to prevent withdrawals from that… it’s easy for them to step into something like kratom,” Ford said.
Ford said he contacted State Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) in December, asking if there was legislation to make kratom illegal. He said her office was supportive of that idea.
Miller previously said she did not know enough about kratom to offer comment when DeWine proposed the emergency ban.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy previously considered classifying kratom as a schedule one substance in 2018, but kratom advocates and the American Kratom Association pushed back — some testified before the board.
The association has expressed favoring the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which has been enacted in 17 states already.
