KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability, solutions and consumer advocacy. Share your story with Isabella.
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Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday an investigation into kratom and 7OH retailers and manufacturers statewide.
The investigation includes known 7OH producer and retailer, American Shaman, in the Kansas City metro.
Kratom is a natural herb hailing back from southeast Asia that has been used as a remedy for centuries. It contains a small percentage of seven hydroxymitragynine, or 7OH.
American Shaman and its founder, Vince Sanders, learned how to produce concentrated synthetic 7OH in a pure tablet form. Local experts have reported the effects to be 25 to 40% stronger than morphine, providing an opiate like high.
7OH is being sold in gas stations, smoke shops and retail fronts across the metro and country. Some have coined it as 'gas station heroin.'
I've been going in-depth into the impact kratom and 7OH has had in the metro, in the series Strong High Weak Laws.
"I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between someone being on fentanyl and someone being on 7OH," addiction recovery advocate Joey Thomas at Healing House KC said. "How come I can go buy a Gatorade at the same place I can buy something that can get me high?"
Since 7OH's launch two years ago, products have been flying off of gas station shelves. The University of Kansas Health System and Healing House KC have reported an uptick in patients seeking addiction recovery services from 7OH.
"I have a patient who has told me they have used up to $1,600 a month trying to buy these 7OH capsules from the street," Dr. Roopa Sethi at The University of Kansas Health System said. "There is no regulation. They don't know how much to use."
Across the Kansas City metro, you can buy 7OH tablets for less than $10. Neither kratom nor 7OH are regulated at the federal level or in Missouri and Kansas.
"We are deeply concerned that Missourians are being sold drug-like substances under the guise of harmless supplements, with no FDA approval, no safety testing and in some cases no meaningful disclosure of what these products actually contain," Attorney General Hanaway said in Thursday's announcement. "Companies that mislead consumers or place them at risk will be held accountable."
American Shaman is the metro's largest producer of 7OH, though it is sold in numerous gas stations and smoke shops in a variety of forms, including gummies, candies and drinks.
The company's founder, Sanders, denies claims of serious addiction or harm to recovering addicts. It's marketed as a safe alternative to pain killers.
Sanders explained demand has skyrocketed in the last few months.
“We did an addiction study with the beagles, and we didn't see anything,” Sanders said. "It works and that's why people come."
The Missouri Attorney General's Office issued six Civil Investigative Demands to companies believed to be manufacturing, distributing or selling kratom products that may violate Missouri law. The demands were served on MNG 2005 Inc (CBD Kratom), The Green Dragon LLC, The Green Dragon CBD, Emporium Inc., Emporium Smoke Shop, Moonlight Smoke Shop and CBD American Shaman LLC And Shaman Botanicals.
The demands require each company to disclose how their products are manufactured, labeled and marketed, including any ingredients used; any representation regarding safety, health effects or "safe" dosage levels; communications with consumers about adverse effects and any materials showing whether the company sold unapproved new drugs in violation of federal or state law.
"This Office exists to safeguard the public, Attorney General Hanaway said. "When businesses peddle unregulated, addictive substances and hide the risks, they violate the trust of Missouri consumers. We will follow the facts and take whatever action is necessary to ensure that families are protected from products that threaten their health and safety."
The Missouri Poison Center has received 47 reports involving kratom and 7OH from January 2025 to September 2025.
Missourians who believe they were misled or harmed by kratom products are encouraged to file a complaint at ago.mo.gov.
KSHB 41's Isabella Ledonne reached out to Sanders for a comment regarding the investigation but did not hear back by the time of this story's publication.
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