TALLAHASSEE — Companies that sell a byproduct of kratom, known as 7-OH, and users of the substance are challenging an emergency rule banning its sale and manufacture in Florida.

Attorney General James Uthmeier on Aug. 15 issued an emergency rule prohibiting the alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, and adding it to the list of the state’s most dangerous drugs. The ban on the concentrated byproduct of kratom , which was sold in smoke shops throughout the state, went into effect immediately.

The compound — available in such products as drinks, gummies and powders — has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years. Doctors say 7-OH acts on the same parts of the brain and is as addictive as opioids.

An administrative complaint filed Monday alleges that the emergency ban is in

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