TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he signed an emergency rule to control concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and related chemical products during a conference at Tampa General Hospital on Monday.
Uthmeier spoke at the Valdes Auditorium at 11 a.m. on June 22. Florida Department of Agriculture and Human Services Commissioner Wilton Simpson, State Rep. Dean Black, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, and Tampa General President Melissa Golombek were also at the event.
Tampa Bay 28 was at the event and streamed it live on the website and Facebook.
WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
“Today I signed an emergency rule because these dangerous concentrated 7-OH products present an imminent hazard to the public safety of Floridians—especially our children and teens,” said Uthmeier. “By expanding the rule to include new 7-OH related compounds to Schedule I, we are removing these addictive poisons from store shelves, protecting families, and holding manufacturers and sellers accountable.”
The attorney general's office said in a press release that the rule covers 7-hydroxymitragynine, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, 7-acetoxymitragynine, 9-hydroxycorynantheidine, 10-hydroxycorynantheidine, MGM-15, and MGM-16.
According to the press release, the rule says no product may contain more than 1 milligram of the chemicals per gram (solids/pills) or per milliliter (liquids), any product containing any amount of 7-OH or its related compounds must also contain at least 100 times more regular mitragynine by mass, and includes "full Schedule I placement, enabling felony-level arrests, prosecutions, product seizures, and shutdowns of illegal manufacturers and sellers."
Officials said violations can carry criminal penalties, including up to 30 years in prison.
Investigative Reporter Kylie McGivern spoke with a man who overdosed on a product labeled as kratom that he bought at a gas station. He later discovered what he took was 7-OH.
7-OH exists in trace amounts in the kratom plant, and McGivern spoke to experts who say the derivative has a high potential for addiction and abuse.
'It's either eat or pay bills': Florida families desperate for answers after losing SNAP benefits to fraud
Florida families are losing hundreds of dollars in SNAP benefits to fraud, with multiple victims in the Tampa Bay area saying unauthorized charges on their accounts are being traced to the same California address — and the state is offering no way to get that money back.
