We are urgently calling on the FDA and DEA to recognize the life-threatening dangers of 7-hydroxymitragynine, the potent active alkaloid in kratom-based extracts and enhanced products. Sold legally and over-the-counter in gas stations and smoke shops, this compound mimics the effects of opioids and leads to extreme physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and emotional destabilization. It’s time to stop pretending this is a “natural herbal supplement” and treat it like the powerful and addictive drug it truly is.

My name is Kaley, and I’m writing this with a heart full of grief, exhaustion, and hope. My partner has been using kratom for over six years. What started as a “natural” supplement—sold over the counter and promoted as safe—has now spiraled into full-blown addiction.

The version he now takes is called 7-hydroxymitragynine, a synthetic or extracted form of kratom’s most potent compound. It’s often sold in capsules, tinctures, or “shots” under innocent-sounding names, but what it truly is… is a legal opioid substitute.

And it has stolen the man I love.

He is now physically dependent on this drug, taking dangerously high doses daily just to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms—nausea, vomiting, panic attacks, insomnia, deep depression, and intense pain. He has become emotionally unstable, increasingly angry, and even though he functions at work, he is deteriorating at home. I’m raising our children while watching him disappear behind this substance that no one is talking about.

We’ve tried to find help. But most rehab facilities don’t even know how to treat kratom dependency—especially when it’s this strong. Withdrawal is brutal, and unlike alcohol or traditional opioids, there is no medical protocol, no FDA-approved treatment plan, and no public awareness campaign.

This is being sold LEGALLY in every city in America, and no one is warning families what this really is.

I’m calling on the government, the FDA, and health leaders to:

Ban or regulate 7-hydroxymitragynine as a controlled substance
Require product transparency and labeling for kratom products
Fund research and medical training on how to safely detox and treat people addicted to kratom extracts
Create education campaigns to warn consumers and families about the risks

If my partner had been handed a bottle of pills marked “Schedule I synthetic opioid,” he would have thought twice. But because this was packaged as a “natural herbal supplement,” he didn’t question it. And now, I’m watching him try to climb out of a pit that should have never been legal in the first place.

Please help protect families like mine. Help protect our children. Help protect yourself and your community. Sign this petition and demand action before more lives are silently destroyed.

We, the people of Florida, believe our communities deserve to be safe from hidden, deadly threats.
7-Hydroxybutyrate (7HB) — a dangerous chemical closely related to GHB — is being sold with little regulation and devastating consequences.

Families are losing loved ones. Young people are falling victim to overdoses.
It’s time to act before more lives are shattered.

• 7-Hydroxybutyrate (7HB) is chemically similar to GHB, a federally controlled substance known for causing overdoses, comas, and deaths.

• In Florida and across the U.S., GHB and its derivatives have been tied to hundreds of emergency room visits and fatalities.

• Florida overdose rates remain alarmingly high, and substances like 7HB worsen this public health crisis.

• Unlike GHB, 7HB often slips through legal loopholes and is still accessible online and in shady shops.

• Without urgent regulation, these dangerous substances will continue harming vulnerable members of our communities — including teens and young adults.

We respectfully call on the Florida Legislature and Attorney General to:

1. Officially classify 7-Hydroxybutyrate and all its analogs as Schedule I controlled substances under Florida law.
2. .Ban the sale, distribution, and possession of 7HB outside of approved medical research.
3. Launch a public education campaign to warn families about the dangers of GHB derivatives.

Every life lost to preventable drug poisoning is a tragedy too great to bear.
Florida must lead the nation in protecting its children, its families, and its future.

We demand urgent action to ban 7-Hydroxybutyrate — before more lives are needlessly lost.

We, the undersigned, stand together for a safer, healthier Florida,