TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday signed an emergency rule that took effect immediately, describing the move as a life-saving measure. The rule targets highly concentrated 7-OH and other chemical products that have been sold over the counter in stores across Florida.
Uthmeier announced the action at Tampa General Hospital, calling 7-OH a new form of warfare and saying Florida leaders intend to confront the threat directly.
“You never want to be a part of a club and I heard that, I just felt so much sadness for the people that were in that club, I never in a million years imagined to be a part of that club,” said Patti Wheeler.
Wheeler’s 27-year-old son, Wyatt, died in 2022. She said he had been using the substance for just six weeks before suffering an overdose.
“Wyatt was the friend that everyone wanted to have, he was beautiful,” she said.
Stories like Wheeler’s helped drive the attorney general’s emergency action, which classifies 7-OH and related compounds as Schedule 1 controlled substances.
“Which is a chemical extract from the Kratom plant where they remove and highly concentrate a product, selling it on the shelves. A product that our chemists have analyzed can be as potent as 13 times, or more, potent than morphine,” Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier had previously issued a ruling last year to reschedule 7-OH, and officials said the new emergency rule broadens that earlier action.
“We are going to make sure that new chemical compounds that are being used to blend or substitute 7-OH derivatives will be included,” he said.
With this new rule, criteria have been put into place.
“No product may contain more than one milligram of these dangerous chemicals per gram, and this will be 7-OH and related concentrates,” Uthmeier said.
For grieving parents like Wheller, she said passing these laws is going in the right direction, but the work does not stop there. She wants to prevent another family from the pain she continues to suffer.
“It just tore me apart, and no, I’ll never forget it. You can’t ever replace your child,” she said.
Uthmeier said they are going to be making examples out of these bad actors, and offenders can be looking at up to 30 years in prison.
Doctors at TGH said NARCAN can be used to help with an overdose, because 7-OH is essentially an opioid that gets to the same receptors, as long as the person is not having a seizure.
