(The Center Square) – Some health products containing dangerous chemicals are allegedly still being sold in stores and by online retailers in California, according to recent warnings from public health officials.
The California Department of Public Health issued a press release in October that warned of kratom, an herbal product that can produce opioid-like effects, and 7-hyrdroxymitragynine, or 7-OH. Both chemicals are used in certain health products that have caused severe reactions, according to health departments in the state.
“Kratom is a supplement that is sold as an energy booster, mood lifter, pain reliever and remedy for the symptoms of quitting opioids, called withdrawal,” according to the Mayo Clinic’s website. But the clinic, which has locations in several states, warns kratom is unsafe and ineffective. The clinic noted poison control centers in the U.S. received more than 3,400 reports about kratom use from 2014 to 2019. The clinic said these included reports of death, along with side effects such as high blood pressure, confusion and seizures.
Kratom is banned by various counties and cities in California and other states. It is legal in other areas. There is no federal law against kratom and 7-OH, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently does not have any approved uses for either substance.
“Kratom and 7-OH products are marketed as natural remedies and sold illegally in gas stations, smoke shops, online and other retailers,” said Dr. Gary Tsai, the director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Bureau at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in an Oct. 10 press release. “It’s critical that the community understand that these products are dangerous and can result in fatal overdoses.”
According to the Fresno County Department of Public Health, kratom is derived from the Mitragyna speciosa tree, and contains chemicals, including 7-OH, that have opioid-like effects on the brain. The county’s warnings note kratom and 7-OH can have serious side effects, which include withdrawal symptoms, trouble sleeping, anxiety, seizures and slowed breathing.
According to the California Department of Public Health, kratom and 7-OH can’t be sold or marketed as a drug product, dietary supplement or food additive in the United States.
“Although illegal to sell or manufacture, we are still finding kratom and 7-OH products for sale in gas stations, smoke shops, online and other retailers,” said Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH director and state public health officer. “While these products are sometimes marketed as natural remedies, they are dangerous and can result in fatal overdoses. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid using 7-OH and kratom-related products.”
The FDA issued a letter to several companies this summer that sell kratom and 7-OH products. Those companies included Shaman Botanicals LLC; My Smoke Wholesale; Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, which does business as RRR Trading or EDP Kratom; Thang Botanicals, Inc., which does business as 7-OHMZ; Royal Diamond Imports, which does business as Roxytabs.com; Hydroxie LLC and 7Tabz Retail, LLC.
The letters these companies received from the FDA warned about illegally marketing kratom products, according to a press release from the agency.
“7-OH is not lawful in dietary supplements and cannot be lawfully added to conventional foods,” the FDA wrote in the press release. “Additionally, there are no FDA-approved drugs containing 7-OH, and it is illegal to market any drugs containing 7-OH. Consumers who use 7-OH products are exposing themselves to products that have not been proven safe or effective for any use.”
Despite the warnings against using kratom or 7-OH, the National Institutes of Drug Abuse said it still conducts research about the potential medicinal uses of kratom. The institute states on its website that people who have used kratom reported experiencing psychiatric, cardiovascular, fatigue and mental health problems, even if they took the drug to manage health problems like drug withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
The National Institutes of Drug Abuse also says that some who took kratom died from their exposure to the drug, but added the number of deaths caused by the drug was very small and that the kratom was often consumed with other drugs.
Still, local health officials up and down California have warned that kratom is still dangerous, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Pasadena Public Health Department. Just last month, health officials in Los Angeles County found that three people died from 7-OH overdoses, bringing the county’s 7-OH overdose death toll to six. The three people who died from 7-OH last month were between 18 and 40 years old, health officials there said in the October press release.
Public health officials warn members of the public to avoid products that contain both kratom and 7-OH.
“The safest thing to do is avoid using 7-OH and kratom-related products all together,” Tsai said in a Los Angeles Department of Public Health press release.
A kratom advocacy group, the American Kratom Association, states kratom is not an opiate, but does bind to the same receptor sites in the brain that opiates bind to.
“Naturally occurring Kratom is a safe herbal supplement that behaves as a partial mu-opioid receptor agonist and is used for pain management, energy, even depression and anxiety that are common among Americans,” the website for the American Kratom Association reads.
Officials with the association were unavailable for comment on Monday.
Companies that sold kratom and 7-OH products that The Center Square reached out to were not available to answer questions on Monday. Officials from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were also unavailable. Officials with public health departments in Los Angeles County, Pasadena and Fresno County could not be reached for comment.
