Ohio Pharmacy Board moves to ban natural kratom

Natural kratom would be classified as an illegal Schedule I drug under rules approved by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy this week (Source: “Pharmacy board moves to ban natural kratom in Ohio,” Toledo Blade, Jan. 6).
 
The rules banning mitragynine, the primary psychoactive alkaloid found in kratom, will not be finalized for at least a few months. They still need to be reviewed by the Common Sense Initiative in the governor’s office and the Ohio General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. 
 
Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed an executive order immediately banning synthetic kratom from being sold in Ohio after the pharmacy board approved an emergency rule to prohibit mitragynine-related compounds. On Tuesday, the board also approved regular rules to schedule synthetic kratom as an illegal drug.
 
There will be opportunities for the public to testify on natural and synthetic kratom during the rulemaking process.