Blog
Unmasking 7-OH: Drawing a line between plant and illegal drug
August 20, 2025
Bold scheduling action of 7-hydroxymitragynine, a kratom metabolite, would offer an unprecedented opportunity for clarity, transparency and regulatory action.
Robert Marriott, AHPA Vice President of Regulatory & Government Affairs, for SupplySide Supplement Journal
Last month, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., announced that FDA had recommended placement of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) on Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which would ban it for virtually all uses in the United States.
This was cause for celebration among many in industry, not least the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), which recognized this action as a sign of renewed regulatory attention to drugs falsely labeled as dietary supplements. AHPA members have long expressed frustration at a lack of federal enforcement against companies selling 7-OH products under the guise of dietary supplements.
