Government Needs to Think Before It Acts
Derek Hunter
The government’s first instinct when something scares people is to rush out bad policy before it’s checked the facts. Whether that be for gun control, COVID-19 lockdowns and forced vaccines for kids, or, well, you name it. Conservatives rightly criticize that impulse. Good policy is never made in the midst of panic.
Yet now Washington risks making the same mistake in another area. This time, it’s considering the most extreme federal action available against 7-OH, not because the science has suddenly changed, but because powerful interests are demanding it.
You’ve probably never heard of Kratom or 7-OH, but 7-OH is derived from the Kratom plant and is used as an alternative to opioids in the fight against addiction. It’s a legal substance from the leaves of a common tropical plant. You’d think, in the war on addiction, anything that could help would be cheered, but that’s not how reality works.
This isn’t a new fight. Washington already tried this once. The Obama Administration pushed to make it a Schedule I drug, like bath salts, in 2016. President Trump’s first administration took a second look and concluded the science didn’t justify it. President Trump's judgment was right in 2018. Before reversing it in 2026, the administration should explain what scientific evidence has changed.
more
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/07/23/government-needs-to-think-before-it-acts-n2679969
