Springfield committee moves to pursue 21+ age restriction on kratom amid calls to ban concentrated 7‑OH products

A Springfield City subcommittee on health and human services on Tuesday agreed to pursue a local 21+ age restriction for kratom sales as members and health experts urged action to remove concentrated 7‑hydroxy (7‑OH) kratom products from convenience stores.

The committee convened a panel that included Allison Smith, director of government affairs for the Global Kratom Coalition; Dr. Sharron Colgram of the Public Health Council; Dr. Ari Kriegsman, medical director of BHN’s Springfield opioid treatment program; and retail representatives. Smith said her group supports regulated adult access to natural kratom leaf while "prohibit[ing] concentrated synthetic 7‑OH," calling the concentrated product “gas station heroin” and saying it is "13 times more potent than morphine." Dr. Kriegsman described kratom and some derivatives as opioids at higher doses and cautioned that concentrated synthetics appear more…