7-OH: A Warning

Hello! I haven't posted about drugs in a while, but with my city recently banning 7-OH, I feel like I should make a post. Many of you may have read my kratom guide, after abstaining from almost all drugs for nearly a year with some occasional kratom use, I still stand by everything in that guide. I'm not going to say kratom is risk free, but for me weed had more side effects. There's one part of that guide I want to re-iterate though. I don't recommend extracts. When I wrote that guide, I didn't know about 7-OH but it makes that point even more important.

So what is 7-OH? 7-OH is a synthetic extract of kratom that appears in low doses in powder kratom. Unlike kratom which only works on one or two of your opiate receptors, 7-OH acts on all your opioid receptors. Meaning it causes respiratory depression, especially mixed with other drugs. In other terms, 7-OH has more potential to kill you than kratom. It is also substantially more addictive than powder kratom, or even regular kratom extracts. It feels like normal opiates but it's shorter lived. The rush only lasts for an hour or two, which leads to compulsive redosing. It is also substantially more expensive than powder kratom. When I was using it before I went to rehab, it was a minimum of $20 a day. I have total control over my kratom use, I can pick it up and put it down with no real effort. 7-OH had me hooked worse than the alcohol. Alcoholic me would buy the cheapest liquor possible so I could afford to stay out of withdrawal for the week. When I added 7-OH to the equation, I'd spend my entire paycheck in two days and be withdrawaling from alcohol all week. 7-OH has caught many people in my recovery network and thrown them back into active addiction. It often gets advertised as kratom, but it's not kratom.

On the other hand, if you're someone who can control their opiate dose and don't have addiction issues with opiates, I've heard good things about the pain management aspect of 7-OH. I do know people who use it as intended at low doses when they can't get prescribed opiates. I've also heard success stories of people using 7-OH to detox from real opiates, for people at such high doses (fent users typically) that regular kratom doesn't touch the withdrawals. However like I said, if you have addiction issues with opiates/downers, I'd avoid 7-OH like the plague.

I've never been the type to demonize drugs, even after getting sober. Like most drugs, this drug has a use for some people, and it's upsetting to see it totally banned from my city. I hope I don't see the 7-OH users in my life turn to street opiates to get their fix, I hope they use this as an opportunity to detox or switch to regular kratom, but I know that may not be the case.

Stay safe, carry narcan, and take care of yourself and others ❤️