Easy access, misleading marketing and potentially serious health risks are driving concerns surrounding concentrated 7-OH products.

Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Executive Director Dan Neill addressed 7-OH during a recent Excelsior Springs Substance Abuse Free Environments (SAFE) meeting, explaining the differences between natural kratom and concentrated 7-OH products as well as concerns surrounding their availability, potency and potential for abuse.

Natural kratom contains only small amounts of 7-OH, but the concentrated products drawing concern are substantially different from the compound’s natural presence in the plant, according to Neill. Mitragynine is the primary alkaloid in kratom, while 7-OH occurs naturally at much lower levels. Because those levels are so small, Neill noted concentrated 7-OH is typically produced through the chemical conversion of mitragynine rather than directly extracted from kratom leaves.

Neill also addressed overdose tracking and il…