Florida is expanding its crackdown on a byproduct of kratom, known as 7-OH, which can be stronger than morphine, highly addictive and even deadly, officials said Monday.
The state limited sales of 7-OH last year in an emergency rule that outlawed over 0.04% concentrate, but new products emerged that skirted the restriction.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier signed another emergency measure with new series of restrictions on Monday during a press conference at Tampa General Hospital.
"We are going to make sure that new chemical compounds that are being used to blend or substitute 7-OH derivatives will be included," he said. "Florida medical examiners have linked at least 587 overdose deaths to 7-OH and related chemical compound drugs."
The chemicals covered include 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, 7-acetoxymitragynine, 9-hydroxycorynantheidine, 10-hydroxycorynantheidine, MGM-15 and MGM-16.
The new emergency rule says no product may contain more than 1 milligram of these chemicals per gram or milliliter. It also says any product containing 7-OH or related compounds must contain at least 100 times more mitragynine by mass. This ensures that super concentrated formulas won't be sold.
These products are sold in gas stations, vape shops,or online. They include gummies, tablets, drink mixes, shots, teas and concentrated liquid extracts.
Brands include Hydroxy, 7Tabz and 7-OHMZ. They are sometimes marketed as pain relief, and some people who take them believe they can help them stop misusing drugs or alcohol, doctors said.
"They perceive it sometimes as a safer alternative," said Dr. Thomas Nappe, the medical director of inpatient addiction medicine at Tampa General Hospital. The highly concentrated ingredients can be risky, he warned.
"These products become more potent, they become more dangerous, they become much more addictive. (Users) are finding themselves suffering from severe dependency, severe tolerance in just a couple of days, and overdose and death is a very real risk," Nappe said.
Users may experience tremors, hypertension, elevated heart rate, severe anxiety and even seizures, doctors said.
All ages are affected, from 3-month-old babies who are accidentally exposed to people as old as 97, according to Dr. Cory Howard, an emergency physician at TGH.
"7-OH is deliberately designed to hide its dangers. It's often labeled natural or made from a botanical extract. It's marketed as a remedy for pain and anxiety, and it appeals to children with bright packaging and fruit flavors," Howard said.
"In recent years, we've seen a rising trend of exposure to these 7-OH products," Howard added. "In the first four months of 2026, Florida Poison Control has already received 95 cases of calls of 7-OH and other derivatives. At this pace, we're going to surpass our last year's numbers."
Patti Wheeler said she lost her son to the products. He died having a seizure, just weeks after she learned he was consuming a powder, which he'd told her contained a harmless herbal supplement.
"My son Wyatt died after using a kratom concentrate product, something that was 50 to 100 times more powerful than the powder he was taking," the Jacksonville woman said.
"I do not believe that Floridians should be a part of a nationwide experiment involving products that can be purchased in convenience stores and gas stations without the level of scrutiny that we expect from a substance that affects our bodies and minds."
