COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Mike DeWine is calling on Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy to take immediate action against kratom, an herbal supplement sold in vape and smoke shops across the Valley and online.

Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia. It is often marketed in powders, gummies, pills and drinks as a way to manage pain, anxiety and even opioid withdrawal. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved kratom for medical use, warning instead of serious health risks.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, kratom was listed as a cause of death in more than 200 unintentional overdoses between 2019 and 2024. Nationally, poison control centers reported 1,690 kratom exposure cases in the first seven months of 2025—already more than the total for all of 2024.

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