Published: 08/21/2026 | Author: Courtney Myers

People who have been using concentrated kratom extracts to manage pain, withdrawal, or opioid addiction are finding the shelves empty in Casper, Wyoming.

Vape stores and other outlets have mostly sold off products containing over-threshold amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, after a new state law took effect and a temporary federal scheduling order approached. For anyone who has been taking these products daily, that is a practical problem worth planning for now rather than later.

What the New Rules Do

Wyoming’s law does not criminalize possession. It bars retailers from selling any kratom product to people under 21, bans the sale of products adulterated with any synthesized or semi-synthesized alkaloid, and bans products with a 7-OH composition over 2%.

A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. Enforcement falls to law enforcement and the state department of health.

The bill directs $115,000 from opioid settlement funds to the department of health and creates a full-time position in the department of agriculture to develop testing methods.

On July 1, 2026, the DEA issued a notice of intent to temporarily control 7-OH and the related compounds mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which would make producing, dispensing, and possessing them a federal crime.

The notice said the temporary order would publish and take effect in the Federal Register on or after August 5, 2026, and would remain in effect for two years. The federal order does not cover raw leaf kratom.

Wyoming’s Controlled Substances Schedule automatically reflects the federal schedule unless the state attorney general objects within 30 days of the federal classification taking effect.

Understanding 7-OH and Opioid Addiction Risk

Kratom is a tree native to Southeast Asia. 7-OH is one of its alkaloids, and it acts at the mu opioid receptor, which is why it produces opioid-like effects and can produce withdrawal symptoms when someone stops.

The dispute is about concentration. Kratom industry advocates say trace amounts of 7-OH are produced when the natural leaf is metabolized, and that this is different from a synthesized product.

They note the FDA said in 2025, when it recommended scheduling, that the action was not focused on natural kratom leaf products. Industry figures cited in coverage of the Wyoming rollout say synthesized products can contain up to 500% more 7-OH than raw kratom.

Public health officials in the region take a harder line on the concentrated products. Hailey Bloom, community prevention program manager of the Casper-Natrona County Health Department, said that from working with behavioral health institutions she understood the substance to be highly addictive, and that many of these products, like others in the unregulated supplement industry, can contain unknown additives.

Nine states have banned kratom outright. Approaches differ widely across the country, and reasonable people disagree about whether regulation or prohibition is the better tool.

If You Have Been Using These Products Daily

Physical dependence on a mu receptor agonist does not care whether the product came from a vape shop or a pharmacy. Stopping abruptly after regular high-dose use can produce a withdrawal syndrome that resembles opioid withdrawal, and losing your supply because a store stopped stocking it is not the same as a planned taper.

Talk to a clinician before you run out. Opioid withdrawal is rarely life threatening on its own, but it is miserable enough to drive people back to use, and reduced tolerance after any period without the substance sharply raises overdose risk if someone returns, especially given how much of the illicit supply now contains fentanyl.

Medication for opioid use disorder, including buprenorphine and methadone, is an option worth asking about. Do not attempt to manage withdrawal alone on the assumption that a supplement product is somehow different.

Harm Reduction and Peer Support

Naloxone reverses opioid overdose and is available without a prescription at pharmacies nationwide. Carry it if you or someone close to you uses opioids. Fentanyl test strips can detect fentanyl in a substance, though they cannot measure how much.

Never use alone. If you do, arrange for someone to check on you. Tolerance drops fast after any break. A dose that was routine before is not safe after.

Peer support is free and does not require insurance or a referral. Narcotics Anonymous meetings are held across Wyoming, in person and online, with formats including open and closed meetings, discussion meetings, and beginners meetings. NA is one path among several, and it works alongside medication for opioid use disorder rather than in place of it.

Finding Help for Opioid Addiction

Search NA meetings in Casper, Cheyenne, and other Wyoming cities by day, format, and meeting type. If you want treatment rather than or in addition to peer support, ask providers whether they offer medication for opioid use disorder on site. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) for opioid addiction treatment options.