COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Mike DeWine is calling on Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy to take immediate action against kratom, an herbal supplement sold in vape and smoke shops across the Valley and online.

Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia. It is often marketed in powders, gummies, pills and drinks as a way to manage pain, anxiety and even opioid withdrawal. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved kratom for medical use, warning instead of serious health risks.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, kratom was listed as a cause of death in more than 200 unintentional overdoses between 2019 and 2024. Nationally, poison control centers reported 1,690 kratom exposure cases in the first seven months of 2025—already more than the total for all of 2024.

“These modified kratom products, sold online and in stores, are essentially legal, over-the-counter opiates that anyone – including kids – can buy with just a few bucks,” DeWine said in a statement. He called the drug “an imminent public health risk” and urged immediate action.

The FDA has also raised concerns, noting cases where babies were born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome after mothers used kratom during pregnancy. Officials say synthetic versions of kratom’s compounds are being sold in colorful packaging aimed at young people and have been linked to seizures, psychosis, hallucinations and death.

DeWine’s request goes further than federal recommendations. He is asking the Board of Pharmacy to classify not only natural kratom compounds, such as mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, but also synthetic derivatives, as Schedule I drugs—the strictest classification, alongside heroin.

Angela Barrett, with First Step Recovery, said her agency has seen the growing popularity of kratom among people struggling with addiction. “It’s basically a psychoactive and addictive substance that mimics opiates. And because the substance is legal and so cheap and easily accessible, we’re finding that it’s becoming very popular,” she said.

Barrett added that while some people believe kratom relieves stress or tension, “it’s not safe. And because many drug tests don’t catch it, people on probation or in treatment are using it to slide under the radar.”

21 News contacted several vape and smoke shops across the Valley that sell kratom products, but all declined to comment on the governor’s proposal.

If the Board of Pharmacy approves the change, Ohio would be the first state in the nation to outlaw all kratom compounds, requiring shops to remove products from their shelves.