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 ❤️

  • oscardejarjayes [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    8·
    6 months ago

    7-OH acts on all your opioid receptors

    Wikipedia still says it’s a partial agonist, and doesn’t activate the β-arrestin pathway though, so is it really true it acts on all of them? And my understanding is that β-arrestin is responsible for a significant amount of respiratory depression, so even if it’s a little worse, it’s nowhere near the danger of traditional opioids. You’d have to take like dozens of tablets, or take enough of another respiratory depressant that you’re already at high risk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Hydroxymitragynine#Pharmacology

    There’s also been no documented overdose with exclusively Kratom or 7-OH, all the ones listed publicly included other deadly substances.

    Researchers were unable to get mice to overdose on 7-OH, even at crazy high dosages, either: https://www.inverse.com/article/51089-can-you-overdose-on-kratom

    I agree it’s more addictive, which is a bit of a problem. I think the bigger issue, relative to 7-OH overdoses, is the dubious manufacture and testing, leading to the inclusion of RC’s that aren’t anywhere near as safe. There have been documented cases of people overdosing because stuff like O-DSMT was put into their Kratom. We see this with other legal drugs too, like when manufacturers put illegal psychedelics in their amanita mushroom concoctions. It’s not a well regulated industry at all.

    • Des [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.netMEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      Yeah I used to think the same thing about it as Layla until I read some more recent research paper. it’s still very potent by mg, like x20 morphine, but as a partial agonist

      i think all the deaths associated with it had multiple other drugs and/or alchol and they were all depressants.

      like if you are already totally out on alcohol and benzos the 7-OH could certainly push you over the edge by vomit asphyxia

    • LeylaLove [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.netOPMEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, thank you for correcting me. Definitely feels like a full opiate, I preferred it over stuff like hydros when I was using. I’ve not seen an overdose exclusively on 7-OH, but I’ve heard of it happening mixed with alcohol. This post was more just to warn about it not being kratom because I saw it advertised as kratom

  • corgiwithalaptop [any, love/loves]@hexbear.netEnglish
    7·
    6 months ago

    Worth noting - if you are currently using 7, there is both a stronger version of it called MGM15 to watch out for.

    On the bright side, a new drug named SR17 is coming out now, and by all accounts ive seen, helps people get off 7oh with absolutely 0 WDs, just by replacing their dosages.