Global Kratom Coalition Praises Riverside County for Common-Sense Natural Kratom Regulations and Prohibiting Concentrated Synthetic 7-OH Products
News > Politics & Government News
Audio By Carbonatix
8:24 PM on Friday, October 31
The Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, CA, October 31, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- The Global Kratom Coalition (GKC) today commended the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for taking decisive action to protect public health by banning concentrated synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) opioid products while preserving adult access to safe, natural kratom leaf products. Riverside County is another voice in a growing chorus of local, state, and federal regulations taking action against concentrated synthetic 7-OH while maintaining access to natural kratom leaf.
The Riverside Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve an ordinance regulating the sale and marketing of natural kratom products and prohibiting concentrated synthetic 7-OH products. The new rules will establish a minimum age of 21 for the legal sale of natural kratom products and impose penalties on businesses that market or package these products in a manner intended to appeal to youth. Furthermore, it restricts the sale of products that contain synthetic and semi-synthetic kratom alkaloids, including those containing more than 2% 7-OH to the total alkaloids, which is above the level naturally occurring in leaf.
“This is a model for how local governments can act responsibly by distinguishing between natural kratom leaf products, which 23 million Americans use safely, and the illicit concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products that the U.S. FDA recommended for scheduling,” said Matthew Lowe, Executive Director of the Global Kratom Coalition.
Lowe added that the Global Kratom Coalition continues to see policymakers at the federal, state, and local level relying on science and evidence, not misinformation, when addressing natural kratom policy. Collectively, these state and local regulations protect 196 million consumers across America, covering 58% of the population. It also reflects a growing national consensus around responsible regulation, not prohibition, of natural kratom and strong enforcement against concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products.
On July 29, 2025, U.S. Health and Human Services Commissioner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary recommended the urgent scheduling of concentrated synthetic 7OH to the DEA. They also made it clear that natural kratom leaf is not the focus of this scheduling recommendation, as natural kratom leaf has been consumed for centuries and has minimal negative health concerns.
Following this Federal action, on August 13, 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, joined by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, took action to emergency schedule concentrated synthetic 7-OH. Again, a clear line was made between concentrated synthetic 7-OH and natural leaf kratom, with natural kratom leaf explicitly not being the target of this action.
Seventeen states have already enacted Kratom Consumer Protection Acts (KCPAs) that ensure safe, regulated adult-only access to natural kratom leaf products while targeting dangerous concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioids. Rhode Island also repealed its kratom ban in 2025, with a KCPA taking its place beginning in January 2026.
Additional states, including Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania are now considering similar legislation to distinguish natural kratom leaf from concentrated synthetic 7-OH products.
Meanwhile, state Departments of Health and Attorneys General are taking decisive enforcement actions against synthetic 7-OH products, as seen in Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas, each of which has issued warnings or bans to curb the spread of these potent, concentrated synthetic 7-OH opioid products and specifically distinguishing these products from natural kratom leaf.
The Riverside County ordinance follows similar actions in Orange County, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Niguel — all of which enacted restrictions on concentrated synthetic kratom 7-OH products while maintaining regulated, legal access to natural kratom leaf. Irvine and Santa Cruz also recently voted to consider regulations based off Orange County’s ordinance. Beyond California, cities are adopting ordinances with the same distinction. Jackson, Tennessee, advanced a resolution that explicitly targeted synthetic kratom. Sulphur Springs, Texas, also passed a ban on concentrated synthetic 7-OH that explicitly exempts natural kratom. Other municipalities, such as Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, passed age-gate regulations to keep natural kratom products as adult use. This is the common-sense, science-based approach that should be considered at all levels of government.
“By delineating between natural kratom leaf and dangerous concentrated synthetic 7-OH products, Riverside County is appropriately risk-stratifying and leading the way toward a rational, science-based approach to natural kratom policy,” Lowe said.
The Global Kratom Coalition is an alliance of kratom consumers, experts, and industry leaders dedicated to protecting access to natural leaf kratom while advancing scientific research, driving consumer education, and developing robust regulations to protect consumers. For more information, visit globalkratomcoalition.org.Media Contact
Matthew Lowe
Global Kratom Coalition
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SOURCE: Global Kratom Coalition (GKC)
