COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine has signaled his desire to ban all forms of kratom — a plant-derived drug widely available at gas stations and convenience stores that can have opioid-like effects on the brain.
Last year, DeWine issued an executive order banning the sale of synthetic kratom, and in January — at DeWine’s request — the Ohio Board of Pharmacy recommended a rule change banning natural kratom as well.
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On Monday afternoon, during a hearing of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), the Pharmacy Board’s director of policy Cameron McNamee said the rule change is intended to protect the public from a drug that critics say can lead to addiction and possibly even death.
“We have parents come to us saying, ‘Hey my kid purchased this at a gas station, I’m concerned about other children’ or ‘Hey I purchased this supplement thinking it was an energy drink and it’s ruined my life and now I’m in rehab and I’ve lost my family and my home,’” McNamee said. “I think we as regulators and as people who have to safeguard the public have to take a long hard look at that and decide what authority we have to try and safeguard folks.”…