The Brief

TAMPA - Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is holding a press conference in Tampa on Wednesday afternoon to discuss "7-hydroxymitragynine" – often called "7-OH".

This comes weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's action to classify it as a Schedule I controlled substance.

The backstory:

You can find the compound in some enhanced kratom products at gas stations or smoke shops in the form of candy-flavored gummies, shots and vapes.

While kratom is derived from a Southeast Asian coffee plant, 7-OH is a synthetic extract known to be far more potent.

One of the statewide leaders joining Uthmeier for the press conference, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, has called the compound "an opioid by scientific definition," saying it binds to neuro-receptors in the

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