Health officials warn about the hazardous substance available in stores throughout the country

Health officials are taking measures against a substance that some call “heroin of the service station.” The FDA recommends that 7-hydroximitraginine (also known as 7-OH), a byproduct of the Kratom plant, is classified as a medication in Annex I.

The secretary of the HHS, RFK Jr. and the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, emphasized the importance of anticipating another wave of addiction before he can sweep the country. Makary compared the 7-Oh distribution with the first days of opioid recipes, before doctors understood the addictive nature of analgesics.

Medical groups urge Kennedy, the FDA to reexamine a wide approval of abortion medicines

“Vape stores are appearing in all neighborhoods in the United States, and many are selling addictive products such as 7-Oh concentrated. After the last wave of the opioid epidemic, we cannot be trapped again,” Makary said in an FDA statement. “7-Oh is an opioid that can be more powerful than morphine. We need regulation and public education to avoid another wave of opioid epidemic.”

During a press conference on Tuesday, Makary suggested that the public health community often comes late against dangerous substances due to a “disconnection between ivory towers and the streets.” Then he reflected aloud if the experts had been in vape stores, since “it affects what we see in the operating room.”

According to the FDA, 7-OH is beginning to be recognized for its potential to be abused due to its ability to join opioid receptors. In addition, the substance is widely available and can be attractive for children and adolescents, since it is sold in fruits flavor and even ice cream cones. The FDA also warns that 7-OH products “may not be labeled clearly or precisely in terms of 7-OH content and sometimes disguise or market as Kratom.”

“I am in favor of this movement due to the relationship of 7-Oh with opioid receptors. This is essentially an opioid. It is semi-setic and derived from the Kratom plant whose leaves are stimulating. There are no drugs or approved diet supplements of 7-OH,” said News senior medical analyst, Dr. Marc Sigel, said News Digital. “Bravo to the FDA for this movement: it must appear as a controlled substance.”

The FDA says that the ‘dangerous’ substance known as ‘heroin of the service station’ raises an important risk for young people

Kennedy talked about his own battle with heroin addiction. The secretary of the HHS described his “iron will of iron” and how he renounced sweets and desserts for years, making him feel as if he could do something, until he had his hands in heroin.

“I felt that I could do anything with my willpower, but this compulsion was absolutely impermeable to my will, and part of the problem was only the availability. It was too easy to get this drug for me,” Kennedy said.

He also pointed out that President Donald Trump’s family has also dealt with addiction. Although the president has been sober his life, his brother, Fred Trump Jr., fought with alcoholism for much of his life and died at the age of 43.

“He had a brother, Fred, a great guy,” Trump said about his brother in 2017. “But he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol. And he said: ‘Don’t drink. You don’t drink.”

Trump said at that time that he listened to his brother because he “respected him,” adding that “until today, I have never had a drink.”

Fentanil’s law signed by Trump will end with ‘cat and mouse’ with traffickers, state general prosecutors say

Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-OKLA., Who attended the press conference, supported the recommendation based on his family’s experience with addiction, although he did not detail exactly to who referred.

“It’s an addiction that is ruining lives,” Mullin said at a press conference on Tuesday. He went to thank Kennedy on behalf of his own family and “every family who has dealt with this” for acting against the powerful drug.

Click here to get the News application

CDC reported in May that drug overdose deaths in the country fell in 2024. United States saw “80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2024, a decrease of 26.9% of the 110,037 deaths estimated at 2023.” In addition, CDC found that “overdose deaths involving opioids decreased from an estimated 83,140 in 2023 to 54,743 in 2024”.

Kratom, the plant from which 7-Oh is derived, is a native tropical tree of Southeast Asia. The FDA notes that Kratom is often used to treat a variety of conditions, such as pain, anxiety and depression. The agency indicates that it has not approved any recipe product or free sales medications containing Kratom or its two main chemical components: Mitragynine and 7-OH.

Serafin Gómez de News contributed to this report.