175 Melanie Returns to Celebrate a Year Off 7-OH

About this episode

Melanie (episode 110 from January 2025) returns to celebrate a year off 7-OH (quit date October 27, 2024). She is one of our first guests to discuss getting addicted specifically to 7-hydroxymitragynine products. Melanie also did not have any previous history of disordered substance use prior to this addiction. In follow-up questions after the interview, she texted Charlie the following responses - Melanie:

• Got up to spending $75 to $100 per day on 7-OH right before quitting.
• Took three and half days off of work during her detox.
• Never had withdrawals from mitragynine extract because she never took those daily. 
• Getting laid-off from work six months after quitting was not related to her 7-OH addiction, though she did temporarily drink a little more to cope the first month she was unemployed. 

Several Statement Clarifications & Sources from Episode

A. Charlie refers to 7-OH being “13 times more potent than morphine”

The often-cited idea that 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is “~13 times more potent than morphine” comes from receptor-level and animal data, not direct human dose equivalence. It refers to higher potency at the mu-opioid receptor and stronger analgesic effects in preclinical models. 

Source: Obeng S. et al. 7-Hydroxymitragynine Is an Active Metabolite of Mitragynine and a Key Mediator of Its Analgesic Effects. ACS Central Science, 2019.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.9b00141

B. Melanie and Charlie talk about 7-OH’s “half-life of 3 hours”

Human pharmacokinetic data show that 7-OH has a relatively short half-life (on the order of a few hours, depending on dosing and conditions), so “around three hours” is a reasonable simplification for listeners. 

Source: Obeng S. et al. Human Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine Pharmacokinetics after Oral Dosing of a Mitragynine-Rich Kratom Extract. Molecules, 2024; 29(5):984.
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/5/984

C. Melanie says “it’s basically like heroin / legal heroin”

This reflects Melanie’s personal subjective experience with high-potency 7-OH extract products. While 7-OH acts on opioid receptors and can cause dependence and withdrawal, kratom alkaloids differ from heroin in chemical structure, potency, and overdose profile. 

Source: Gorelick DA. Kratom: Substance of Abuse or Therapeutic Plant? Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 2022; 45(3):415–430.

https://www.psych.theclinics.com/article/S0193-953X(22)00027-2/fulltext

D. Charlie and Melanie discuss “synthetic kratom”

Kratom leaves naturally contain mitragynine, and after drying and oxidation, trace amounts of 7-OH. Many 7-OH products contain synthetic or semi-synthetic analogs not found in the plant. These products can be far stronger than traditional kratom powder and carry different risks.

Source: Prevete E. et al. A Preliminary Inventory of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) Products and Vendors on the Darknet and Cryptomarkets. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2024; 56(4):485–495.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2023.2242361 

E. Charlie compares 7-OH as “the cocaine of coca”

This analogy is meant to illustrate the difference between a traditional plant product and its purified, concentrated alkaloid such as 7-OH. Coca leaves contain low levels of cocaine alkaloids and have historically been used in relatively mild ways, while cocaine is a chemically isolated, highly potent derivative. By analogy, ultra-potent 7-OH kratom extracts/synthetics are to kratom leaf what cocaine is to coca leaf: a conceptual comparison, not a direct pharmacological equivalence. 

Source:
Naranjo PL. Social Function of Coca in Pre-Columbian America. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1981; 3(2–3):161–172.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378874181900520

 

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