DeWine Wants to Ban Sales of Synthetic Kratom in Ohio

Gov. Mike DeWine, fresh off his pursuit of curtailing the sales of intoxicating hemp in the state, is now looking to ban all forms of synthetic kratom and schedule it as an illegal drug.

The governor announced the new aim as an emergency rule request made to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. The state had recently scrutinized 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, which is available for sale at smoke shops and gas stations.

DeWine doesn’t want to stop at synthetic. Backed by data from the state health department, which has attributed “more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths” to kratom in the past five years, the governor is considering a possible a ban on all kratom in the near future.

“In reviewing this issue over the past few weeks, national experts, including the FDA, agree that synthetic kratom compounds should be scheduled as illegal,” DeWine said in a press release.

“However, while there is a clear path to take action on synthetic kratom,” he added, “I still have deep concerns about natural kratom, given the harms, including fatalities, attributed to it.”

Popular amongst some dealing with opioid or alcohol addiction, kratom gives uses a strong high for hours in most doses. But kratom’s catch, in both pill and powder form, has been oft-reported: withdrawal symptoms that leave users prone to nausea, headaches, heart flutters, psychosis and—as the state claims—death.

Leading kratom advocacy groups have worked to urge governments to separate 7-OH—often compared to legal morphine—from its more natural form. The FDA recommended in November that 7-OH be scheduled an illegal drug.

But DeWine doesn’t seem to see a difference between the synthetic and natural forms. In his press release, he cited a national increase in kratom-related calls to poison control centers in the early months of 2025, compared to call data last year.

The DEA is currently entertaining public testimony on 7-OH. It will make a final decision on its scheduling next spring. DeWine said he wants the same “deliberative process” for natural kratom.

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