FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The state of Georgia is cracking down on some drugs that people could previously buy legally at places like gas stations.
The DEA says it’s now moving to ban 7-OH, a synthetic form of kratom.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan spoke to an emergency room doctor at Northside Hospital Forsyth, who said the product is dangerous and highly addictive
Dr. Douglas Olson, who is the director of the emergency department there, told Regan that they’re seeing a surge of patients who have overdosed on 7-OH. It’s still being sold in many stores.
Doctors say many people assume the drug is safe if they’re buying it over the counter. But it’s not.
“We have seen an increase in all opioid overdoses; the difficulty with kratom, with 7-OH specifically, is we can’t always tell what it is,” Olson said.
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Olson said synthetic 7-OH kratom is still widely sold in convenience stores in Georgia and is driving addiction and overdose cases.
“You can get respiratory depression, altered mental status. Respiratory depression is what we are most concerned about because that could lead to cardiac arrest,” Olson said.
7-OH is more potent than morphine.
Ashli Goodwin of Covington said her husband Brad was eight years sober before relapsing on 7-OH.
He purchased it from a local convenience store to treat anxiety and depression.
She said he spent $6,000 on the drug in just a few months, and when he couldn’t get it...
“I’ve seen him withdraw for days at a time. It was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” Goodwin said.
Steven Webb hasn’t tried 7-OH but said he became hopelessly addicted to kratom in liquid and powder form, and it cost him dearly.
“When I got to the end of it, my credit cards, I had charged $28,000-$29,000 on credit cards,” Webb said.
“It has to be banned from every single gas station, every counter. It has to be gone,” Goodwin said.
Olson said a number of patients have shown up to be treated for extreme withdrawal sickness from 7-OH.
7-OH is not completely banned in Georgia but strictly regulated.
Earlier this month, the DEA announced it will reclassify the drug as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, the same as LSD and heroin, effectively banning its manufacture, sale, and possession.
The federal action targets lab-enhanced and semi-synthetic products, not natural botanical Kratom.
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