COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine is calling on Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy to classify all natural and synthetic kratom compounds as illegal drugs, citing what he calls an imminent public health risk.

Kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia, is sold in powders, pills, gummies, and drink mixes and is often marketed as a treatment for pain, anxiety, depression, and opioid withdrawal. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom for medical use. Officials said clandestine chemists have also created synthetic versions of kratom’s compounds, which they say produce opioid-like effects and have been tied to seizures, psychosis, and deaths.

Preliminary state data show kratom was linked to more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths in Ohio between 2019 and 2024. Nationally, poison control centers reported 1,690 kratom exposure cases in the first seven months of 2025, surpassing all of last year.

DeWine is asking the pharmacy board to schedule both natural compounds, including mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, and synthetic derivatives as controlled substances. If approved, Ohio would become the first state to ban all forms of kratom under Schedule I, the strictest drug classification, requiring stores to pull the products from shelves.