As a follow up to my March 11th blog the opioid epidemic continues to evolve and new threats keep emerging that demand our urgent attention. One of the latest is the rise of kratom-derived opioids, which remain largely unregulated at the federal level despite increasing concerns about their dangers.
For more than six years, I have been proud to serve on the FED UP! Advisory Committee, and I have seen firsthand the important work this organization has done - and continues to do - to advocate for meaningful, commonsense solutions to help end the opioid epidemic. Below is a recent letter that went out to supporters about the urgent need to address kratom-derived opioids. I hope you will take a moment to sign the petition and share it with others who support this common-sense position.
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by Dan Busch, M.D., M.P.H.
Chair, FED UP! Coalition
Kratom-derived opioids remain largely unregulated by the federal government. At the same time, poison control center calls involving kratom have increased more than ten-fold over the last decade.
At last week’s Drug Summit in Nashville, a steady stream of attendees stopped by the FED UP! booth to share their concerns about kratom-derived opioids.
This simply cannot continue.
In July 2025, the FDA asked the DEA to schedule 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine). But banning one compound alone will not be enough. Stronger kratom-derived opioids — including mitragynine pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15 — have already entered the market. We have seen this dangerous “whack-a-mole” pattern before with fentanyl analogues, and we cannot allow it to be repeated with kratom opioids.
That is why FED UP! is petitioning the FDA to ask the DEA to address kratom-derived opioids as a class — not one drug at a time.
- Click HERE to see our petition
- Sign HERE to show your support of our FDA petition
- To read more about kratom and its opioid derivatives, click HERE
Thank you for your continued support.