DeWine pushes to ban kratom in Ohio again
Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate kratom as an illegal drug once again.
“In reviewing this issue over the past few weeks, national experts, including the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], agree that synthetic kratom compounds should be scheduled as illegal,” DeWine, a Republican, said.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, DeWine also opposed the natural kratom because it is also very dangerous.
“However, while there is a clear path to take action on synthetic kratom, I still have deep concerns about natural kratom, given the harms, including fatalities, attributed to it,” he said.
Citing an imminent public health risk, DeWine previously urged the OBA to designate all kratom compounds — natural and synthetic — as Schedule I illegal drugs, making Ohio the first state to do so.
“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,” he said.
DeWine criticized “clandestine chemists” for altering kratom’s natural chemical compounds into potent, synthetic versions that mimic opioid-like effects and fuel addiction, often packaged to attract children.
Kratom, a natural botanical native to the coffee family and found in Southeast Asia, has gained significant popularity across the United States.
Retailers sell it as powders, gummies and drinks, with proponents saying it aids chronic pain, opioid dependence, anxiety, energy boosts, focus and overall well-being.
However, Preliminary Ohio Department of Health data revealed that because of kratom, there were over 200 accidental overdose deaths from 2019 to 2024, with national poison control centers logging 1,690 exposure cases in the first seven months of 2025 alone—surpassing all of 2024.
The Food and Drug Administration also recently recommended classifying kratom as an illegal drug.
State Reps. Mike Odioso, R-Green Twp., and Brian Lorenz, R-Powell, didn’t go as far as DeWine, offering a compromise in their House Bill 587, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which would protect Ohioans from the drug while allowing its use as long as an Ohio resident buys it from licensed distributors and retailers.
“Ohioans from my district and across the state who consume kratom deserve to know the products they purchase are safe and sold in regulated venues,” Odioso said.
Lorenz also said that “this bill will keep Ohioans safe because it ensures any kratom product sold in Ohio meets quality standards established by this bill and the Ohio Department of Agriculture,” he said.
