LA County’s kratom sales ban hurts others who use it for pain and opioid withdrawal

About four months ago, Los Angeles County banned the sale of kratom, along with 7-OH, a synthetic version of the alkaloid that is its active ingredient. The idea was to end what at the time appeared to be excessive deaths related to this drug.

It’s too soon to say whether kratom-related deaths are over — or, indeed, whether there was ever an epidemic to begin with. But many LA residents have come to rely on kratom as a panacea for debilitating pain and opioid withdrawal symptoms, and new laws have made it harder for them to get what they say is a life-saving drug.

Robert Wallace started using kratom a few years ago for his knees. He’s had the pain for decades, which he says dates back to his days as a physical education teacher in the Glendale Unified School District between 1989 and 1998, when he and his students exercised primarily on asphalt.

In 2004, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, followed by varicose vein surgery on both legs. Over the next few decades, he saw pain management specialists regularly. But the main result was a growing dependence on opioid-based painkillers. “I found myself looking for doctors to prescribe me,” he said.

He was dependent on opioids when he could get them and alcohol when he couldn’t, which caused difficulties in his marriage.

When Wallace was scheduled for his first knee replacement in 2021 (he had another knee replaced a few years later), his brother recommended he take kratom for post-surgery pain.

It seemed to work: Wallace said he takes a quarter teaspoon of powdered kratom twice a day, and it allows him to manage his pain without painkillers and ease opiate withdrawal symptoms.

He is one of many Angelenos frustrated by recent efforts by the state health department to limit access to the drug. “Kratom has only impacted my life in positive ways,” Wallace told The Times.

For now, Wallace can still get his kratom powder, called Red Bali, by ordering from a company in Florida.

However, advocates say the state’s crackdown on kratom could significantly affect the ability of many Angelenos to access what they say is an affordable, safer alternative to painkillers.

Kratom comes from the leaves of a tree that lives in Southeast Asia called Mitragyna speciosa. It has been used for centuries to treat chronic pain, cough and diarrhea and to improve energy – at low doses, kratom appears to act as a stimulant, although at higher doses, it can have opioid-like effects.

Although advocates note that kratom has been used in the US for more than 50 years for all kinds of health applications, there are limited research that suggests kratom may have therapeutic value, and there is no scientific consensus.

Then there is 7-OH, or 7-Hydroxymitragynine, a synthetic alkaloid found in kratom that has similar effects and has only been on the US market for about three years. However, due to its ability to bind to opioid receptors in the body, it has a higher abuse potential than kratom.

Public health officials and advocates are divided on kratom. Some say it should be heavily regulated – and 7-OH banned entirely – while others say both should be accessible, as long as there are age restrictions and proper labeling, like alcohol or marijuana.

In the US, kratom and 7-OH can be found in all sorts of forms, including powder, pills and liquids – although it depends on where you are in the country. Although the Food and Drug Administration recommended that 7-OH be listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, it has not been made legal. And the plant itself remains unplanned at the federal level.

That left states, counties and cities to decide how to regulate things.

California failed to pass the Assembly bill in 2024 that would have required kratom products to be registered with the state, have labels and warnings, and be prohibited from being sold to anyone under 21.

There may also be banned products that contain synthetic versions of kratom alkaloids. The state Legislature is now considering it another bill that basically does the same thing without banning 7-OH – while also limiting the amount of synthetic alkaloids in kratom and 7-OH products sold in the state.

“Until kratom and its active pharmaceutical ingredients mitragynine and 7-OH are approved for use, they will remain classified as adulterants in drugs, food additives and food,” a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health previously told The Times.

On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state’s efforts to reduce kratom products have resulted in the removal of more than 3,300 kratom and 7-OH products from retail stores. According to a press release from the governor’s office, there was a 95% compliance rate for businesses in removing products.

Newsom compared these actions to federal efforts by 2024 to stop the sale of hemp products that contain cannabinoids such as THC. Under emergency laws two years ago, California banned certain hemp products and agents with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control seizing thousands of products nationwide.

Since the beginning of 2026, there have been no reported violations of the ban on the sale of such products.

“We’ve shown with illegal hemp products that when the state sets clear expectations with partners and businesses, compliance follows,” Newsom said in a statement. “This effort builds on that model — education first, enforcement where necessary — to protect Californians.”

Despite the state’s actions, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is still considering whether to regulate kratom, or ban it altogether.

The decision of the Department of Public Health in the region to ban the sale of kratom did not come out of nowhere. As Maral Farsi, deputy director of the California Department of Public Health, noted during a state Senate hearing on February 18, the agency “identified 362 deaths from kratom-related overdoses in California between 2019 and 2023, with a further increase from 38 in 2019 to 92 in 2023.”

However, some experts say those numbers are not as clear as they seem.

For example, a Los Angeles Times investigation found that in many of the recent deaths in LA County that were thought to be caused by kratom or 7-OH, there was insufficient evidence to say that those drugs alone caused the deaths; it is possible that the danger is in mixing with other things.

Meanwhile, the actual implementation of this new policy seems to be the best part.

The state’s Department of Public Health told The Times it conducted 2,696 kratom-related tests between Nov. 10 and January 27, found 352 places selling kratom products. The Department of Health said that many stopped selling kratom after that test; there were nine locations that ignored the warnings, and in those cases, inspectors seized their kratom products.

But the reality is that people who need kratom will buy it on the black market, drive far enough to get to a legal outlet or, like Wallace, order it online from another state.

Meanwhile, vendors selling kratom products continue until they are investigated by county health inspectors.

Ari Agalopol, a decorated pianist and piano teacher, saw his performances and classes suddenly disappear in 2012 after a car accident that resulted in severe spinal and knee injuries.

“I tried my best to do traditional acupuncture, physical therapy and hydrocortisone shots in my spine and everything,” she said. “Finally, after nothing worked, I gave myself up to being a pain management patient.”

He was prescribed oxycodone, and while taking the medication, he struggled with depression, anhedonia and suicidal thoughts. He felt like he was in a fog when he took the oxycodone, and when it wore off, “the pain reared its ugly head.” Agalopol struggled to get out of bed every day and could only manage to teach five students a week.

Then, looking for alternatives to opioids, he found a Reddit thread where people were talking about the benefits of kratom.

“I was skeptical at first because there are so many horror stories about 7-OH, but then I researched and realized that the natural plant is not the same as 7-OH,” she said.

He went to a local store, Authentic Kratom in Woodland Hills, and spoke with a sales associate who helped him decide which 47 varieties of kratom sold will better suit his needs.

Agalopol is currently taking a dose of 75 milligrams of mitragynine, the main alkaloid in kratom, if necessary. It enabled him to get back to where he was before his injury: teaching 40 students a week and playing every weekend.

Agalopol believes the region has not done its homework on kratom. “They are only taking these steps because of public pressure, and public pressure happens because of ignorance,” he said.

At the time of reporting this story, Authentic Kratom has closed three of its locations; it is not clear if the closure is temporary. The business owner declined to comment on the matter.

Upon hearing the news of the recent closure, Agalopol was on fire. He told The Times that he has enough kratom pills for now, but when he runs out, his options will have to be Tylenol and ibuprofen, “which will slowly kill my liver.”

“A ban is not a public health strategy,” said Jackie Subeck, executive director of the 7-Hope Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes safe and responsible access to 7-OH for consumers, at a Feb. Senate hearing. 18. “[It’s] it will make things worse, possibly causing a new health problem for Californians. “