Emily Kwong

Okay, complicated.

Oh, okay.

I can see why people are so drawn to it.

Because, of course, opioids are known for being really addictive.

You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

Okay, Rachel, so you've been looking into a whole suite of products sold under the names Kratom and 7OH.

What exactly do these products look like?

And like you said earlier, the term kratom can refer to a lot of different things, right, when people are talking about it?

Okay, so he's saying that it's a compound of kratom that's really worrying people because it's so potent.

Does it make those products more addictive?

Gotcha.

But what about 7-OH products?

Are there reports of addiction concerns?

Whoa, okay.

I mean, given that, how are 7-OH formulations affecting people?

Yeah, right.

So people don't always know then how much of these different ingredients they are taking.

That doesn't sound good.

OK, Rachel, at the beginning of our conversation, we talked about how the FDA wants to schedule 7-OH products, which would be a big deal.

It would regulate them.