My column upset the American Kratom Association
I shared my column yesterday in this sub about how banning 7-oh will ruin my life. In the column I specifically called out the AKA for their role in pushing for the 7-oh ban.
The AKA was NOT happy, and they wrote a response letter, which PNN published yesterday.
(Here’s a link to my original column).
I’m honestly happy to learn that I at least annoyed them. And they ARE scared that consumers will boycott the companies that support them, which I called for in my column.
The person who the AKA had write the response is Mac Haddow, a “Senior Fellow on Public Policy with the American Kratom Association.”
Haddow IS responding to comments on the actual article — so I encourage everyone to go there and comment about why this ban is so horrible. The AKA is reading them!
The AKA needs to know that people are blaming THEM for this ban and that we will not support products made by the companies that support them.
I always say if you can’t win, at least make them have to put up a fight.
Here’s the AKA’s full response to my column:
Banning 7-OH Will Save Lives
July 06, 2026
(Editor’s Note: Last week the DEA said it would classify concentrated versions of the kratom alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as illegal Schedule One controlled substances. In response, PNN’s Crystal Lindell — a 7-OH consumer — wrote an op/ed sharply critical of the DEA’s decision and the role played by the American Kratom Association (AKA), which lobbied for the move. The column below is the AKA’s response.)
By Mac Haddow
I do not question the sincerity of Ms. Lindell in her Op-Ed describing her personal experience or the seriousness of the pain she describes. No one should minimize the suffering of chronic pain patients, and no one should dismiss the fear that comes when a person believes the product they rely on may no longer be available.
But that does not change the core issue: the Controlled Substances Act was enacted to protect consumers from dangerous drug products — not to punish consumers. When manufacturers create, market, and sell products that present a significant threat to public safety, federal law exists to intervene.
That is exactly what has happened with chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products.
The blame for this situation does not rest with the American Kratom Association, natural kratom leaf consumers, regulators, or anyone advocating for responsible consumer protections. The blame lies entirely at the feet of the 7-OH manufacturers who deliberately bypassed federal law and basic safety requirements in pursuit of profits.
These companies did not follow the required pathways for market entry. They did not submit lawful safety data. They did not comply with the federal requirements that exist to protect consumers from dangerous drug products.
They took a naturally occurring trace alkaloid found in kratom leaf and chemically manipulated it into highly concentrated 7-OH-dominant opioid products, then pushed those products into the marketplace without the guardrails that would apply to any legitimate opioid drug product.
Worse, they deceived hundreds of thousands of natural kratom leaf consumers into believing they were purchasing ordinary kratom products. They traded on the reputation of natural kratom leaf while selling products that are fundamentally different in formulation, potency, pharmacology, and risk.
That deception has harmed consumers, undermined legitimate kratom regulation, and placed the entire natural kratom community at risk.
The American Kratom Association does not advocate for the purchase of any kratom product. The AKA advocates for consumer protection. That means support for policies requiring safely formulated natural kratom leaf products, proper labeling, age restrictions, contaminant testing, responsible manufacturing standards, and clear limits that prevent dangerous adulteration or chemical manipulation.
The companies you criticize for supporting the AKA are not being defended because they sell products. They are companies willing to support lobbying efforts to protect consumers through rational regulation. That is very different from the 7-OH manufacturers who chose to evade federal requirements, push chemically manipulated opioid products into gas stations and smoke shops, and then claim that enforcement against them is somehow an attack on personal freedom.
It is not.
No responsible public health policy would support allowing consumers to buy opioids from drug dealers on a street corner simply because some adults may want access to them. The same principle applies here.
Chemically manipulated 7-OH products are opioids. They should not be easily available to anyone through retail channels with no medical supervision, no lawful drug approval, no verified safety profile, no abuse-liability controls, and no meaningful consumer protections.
This is not a debate over bodily autonomy in the abstract. It is a debate over whether manufacturers can bypass the law, create concentrated opioid products, market them as “kratom,” and sell them broadly to consumers without meeting the same safety standards that apply to other opioid products.
Alcohol and tobacco are not a justification for repeating another public health failure. The existence of dangerous legal products does not mean the government should ignore a new class of chemically manipulated opioid products being sold without adequate oversight. It means policymakers should act before the harm becomes larger.
The most important distinction is this: natural kratom leaf products and chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products are not the same. The AKA has fought for years to protect access to natural kratom leaf for responsible adult consumers. That work is directly threatened by 7-OH manufacturers who blurred the line between kratom and opioids for profit.
Ms. Lindell's anger should be directed at the companies that created this crisis. They put consumers like her in this position. They entered the market unlawfully. They misled consumers. They ignored safety standards. They gambled with public health. And now they want natural kratom advocates to absorb the blame for the consequences of their own conduct.
The AKA will continue to support access to properly regulated natural kratom leaf products. But it will not defend chemically manipulated opioid products masquerading as kratom. Protecting consumers means drawing that line clearly — and enforcing it.
That is not betrayal.
That is responsible advocacy.
Mac Haddow is a Senior Fellow on Public Policy with the American Kratom Association.