An opioid-like could aid deadly opioid abuse, according to Kansas research.
An opioid-like drug on the shelves of Lawrence smoke shops could aid deadly opioid abuse, according to Kansas research.
The Kansan reported warnings from health professionals and researchers who said the substance, called 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, is dangerous to public health. But some researchers believe 7-OH has more benefits than risks, and could safely replace deadly opioids like fentanyl.
Phillip Gao is one of them. He is a researcher at KanPro, a research organization located on west campus. He said his short-term studies of concentrated 7-OH prove it can not cause death by itself.
The Kansan's previous article quotes University of Florida researchers who are not necessarily concerned with fatality, but the potential for 7-OH products to harm wellbeing. According to the Food and Drug Administration, these harms include anxiety, depression and addiction.
Gao said though he is not an expert on experiences after using 7-OH, he believes in its power to wean opioid users off toxic drugs and advocates this in meetings with legislators in Washington D.C. He is a board member of Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust, an organization that lobbies for 7-OH not to be banned in the U.S.
Gao said it is dangerous to ban a substance simply because it is addictive, especially when the substance is safer than opioids. To do so would be like banning alcohol, he said.
The government is interested in banning 7-OH products. The U.S Marshals Service recently seized about $1 million worth of 7-OH products from three Missouri businesses, according to a Dec. 2 press release. The seized products are dietary supplements, as 7-OH is illegal in supplements and foods, according to the release. Currently, no 7-OH product is approved by the FDA.
Another Kansas researcher is working toward a version of 7-OH that is not addictive, only pain relieving.
Shyam Sathyamoorthi is a University of Kansas associate professor and researcher at a west-campus lab privately funded by Unio Biotech. KanPro is a major owner of Unio Biotech that is funded by the 7-OH industry, said Gao, though this funding dynamic is common.
Sathyamoorthi is in the early stages of studying the enantiomer, or mirror-image, molecule of mitragynine, the molecule that 7-OH derives from. He is trying to understand the properties of the mirror molecule and methods to recreate it. If its effects, like addiction, are less than mitragynine, this research could lead to a healthier pain relief drug than 7-OH and opioids, he said.