Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
August 26, 2025
7-HOPE Alliance Debunks AKA Claims, Backs 7-OH with Science and Law
TLDR
- 7-HOPE Alliance counters AKA's misleading claims, protecting 7-OH market access and highlighting its competitive advantages over traditional kratom products for consumers.
- Legal experts confirm 7-OH is lawful under FDCA, while researchers from top institutions find no evidence of overdose deaths or widespread dependence.
- Preserving access to 7-OH supports harm reduction, offering safer alternatives to opioids and preventing a return to dangerous illicit markets for patients.
- Research shows 7-OH demonstrates stable binding as potential HER2 inhibitors in breast cancer, suggesting future pharmaceutical breakthrough possibilities beyond current uses.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it highlights a critical debate over consumer access to alternative health products, with implications for public health, regulatory integrity, and market competition. If misinformation leads to the scheduling of 7-OH as a controlled substance, it could deprive millions of Americans of a potentially safer alternative to opioids, exacerbating the opioid crisis and limiting future medical research. Evidence-based decisions are essential to avoid repeating past mistakes where fear-based policies restricted beneficial substances, ultimately impacting individuals' health outcomes and freedom of choice.
Summary
The 7-HOPE Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to science and public education on 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), has issued a strong rebuttal to claims made by the American Kratom Association (AKA) that 7-OH products lack a lawful market basis. Legal experts confirm that 7-OH is not unlawful under the US Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and the FDA has not disputed this position. The alliance emphasizes that if AKA's logic were applied consistently, many kratom products already on the market, including those sold by AKA members with concentrated mitragynine levels, would also be deemed unlawful, revealing what they call an inconsistent and disingenuous campaign aimed at eliminating competition rather than protecting consumers.
Leading researchers from prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and UCLA have rejected safety claims by the AKA and FDA, finding no evidence of overdose deaths, respiratory depression, or widespread dependence linked to 7-OH. Experts like Dr. Kirsten Smith and Dr. Edward Boyer stress that 7-OH should not be considered a public health crisis, with toxicologists confirming no safety signals in national poison control databases despite millions of estimated adult exposures. Recent research highlighted in Pharmacy Times and Current Research in Structural Biology shows 7-OH's potential as a HER2 inhibitor in breast cancer, underscoring its promise for future pharmaceutical breakthroughs rather than being a reckless synthetic compound as portrayed by opponents.
Through its Save7OH.org campaign, the 7-HOPE Alliance is mobilizing consumers, scientists, healthcare providers, and policymakers to share real stories and science, advocating for evidence-based regulation over fear-based prohibition. The organization warns that banning 7-OH could harm individuals who rely on it for harm reduction, pushing them back toward unsafe opioids and illicit markets. With community meetings across the country and ongoing research efforts, 7-HOPE aims to ensure accurate information guides policy decisions, protecting access to what they describe as a safe and effective alternative for veterans, chronic pain patients, and others in recovery.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by NewMediaWire. Read the original source here, 7-HOPE Alliance Debunks AKA Claims, Backs 7-OH with Science and Law
