Los Angeles County health officials are inspecting smoke shops, convenience stores and gas stations for kratom and 7-OH products that can be addictive as opioids and are illegal, and must be removed from the shelves, the county reported.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) this week began cracking down on the sale of these products that are illegal dietary supplements and are being used as substitutes for opioid drugs, such as Oxycontin and fentanyl by addicts looking to get high.

Ingestion of the highly concentrated version of kratom, known as 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), has been tied to six overdose deaths of people between the ages of 18 and 40, county DPH reported.

“Kratom and 7-OH products are sold as natural remedies, but they are illegal and unsafe,” said

See Full Page