You can find the brightly packaged products in vape shops, liquor stores, and convenience stores across San Diego. But now, the federal government is looking to crack down on products containing a component of the kratom plant known as 7-OH .

Some local substance use disorder experts tell NBC 7 they are already seeing serious consequences of these products on the frontlines of the fight against drug addiction.

“Nobody's putting eyes on it, nobody's putting laws on it. And it's hurting people,” said hospital social worker Dena Stark.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is urging the Justice Department to classify 7-OH as an illicit drug , as part of the fight against the evolving opioid crisis.

“All of our families are touched, every American family, the financi

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