Overview:
As kratom and high-potency 7-OH spread through Denver shops, families and officials warn of addiction risks and push for regulation.
For Cindy Marshall, kratom once felt like a second chance. It was a way to manage alcoholism, anxiety and depression without returning to alcohol. What began as a seemingly natural alternative ultimately took her life in 2021.
“For my sister, that was her hope,” Marci Walling said. “That it would keep her off the alcohol, that it would relax her, calm her and help with depression and stress.” Those promises, Walling said, turned out to be dangerously misleading.
Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia that contains psychoactive alkaloids and is widely marketed in the U.S. as a “natural” supplement for pain relief, energy and mental clarity. While often perceived as harmless, certain compounds in kratom can have powerful opioid-like effects.
In recent years, 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, has surged in popularity. This concentrated alkaloid, derived from kratom, is sold in smoke shops, gas stations and online in forms such as pills, liquids and gummies.
According to Colorado Politics, 7-OH binds to the same opioid receptors as morphine and can be significantly more potent, earning it the nickname “gas station heroin.”
“She could get it at head shops, and I think she ended up ordering it online,” Walling said. “When she passed, we found cases of different types of kratom: vials, pills and liquid forms.”
The ease of access played a major role in her addiction, family members said. Marshall’s niece, Brooklyn Miller, said kratom appeared at first to be an improvement over alcohol.
“I remember the last time I saw her before she died, she was pretty much off of the alcohol and fully on kratom,” Miller said. “She made me and my cousins dinner, she took her dog on a walk and she came back, so knowing she was on kratom versus alcohol, I guess at the time, I didn’t think it was that bad, because she was doing things she couldn’t do drunk.”
But that sense of stability was deceptive. “In smaller doses she could function,” Walling said. “But as I look back, she had to have been on much higher doses because it made her slow and made her lethargic, seeming kind of like she didn’t care.”
As kratom and 7-OH products become more common in Denver, public health officials are beginning to treat the issue with greater urgency.
In 2025, Colorado lawmakers passed Senate Bill SB25-072, which regulates the sale of kratom products in the state. The law prohibits the sale of kratom to anyone under 21, restricts products that contain more than 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine, bans kratom products that are marketed to children or resemble candy and outlaws kratom products that contain synthetic or semi-synthetic kratom alkaloids.
The legislation also requires clearer labeling, restricts how kratom products are displayed in stores and treats violations as deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. Despite these steps, families say availability remains widespread.
“Somebody thinks it’s so innocent because you can buy it at a head shop, and then you do it, and then you just want to try more stuff that is illegal,” Miller said. “After witnessing it firsthand, it seemed to me like a total gateway drug.”
State officials say the risk is real. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office has reported at least 91 kratom-related overdose deaths across 27 states, with many cases involving high-potency byproducts like 7-OH.
“What they said basically happened to her is it poisoned her blood,” Walling said, “and shut her organs down one by one.”
Federal regulators are now moving more aggressively. In July 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally recommended scheduling 7-OH under the Controlled Substances Act, citing its opioid-like effects, high abuse potential and growing availability in gas stations and vape shops.
The FDA emphasized that 7-OH products are not lawful dietary supplements and have never been approved for medical use. The agency also issued warning letters to companies selling 7-OH gummies, tablets and drink mixes, some marketed in flavors appealing to children and teens. Despite increased scrutiny, marketing remains a major concern for families affected by kratom-related deaths.
“When you walk into a gas station, you see these products labeled as ‘energy’ or ‘natural,’” Miller said. “That marketing is what draws people in. Just because they label it ‘natural,’ doesn’t make it not deadly.”
When approached by Bucket List Community Cafe, multiple kratom sellers declined to comment on why they sell, how much they sell or what their plans are if federal regulation is implemented. While most people have never encountered kratom’s darker side, Walling and Miller hope sharing Marshall’s story will prompt others to think twice before trying products that seem harmless.
“I just think it’s so sad because what she thought she was doing to be better for herself ends up killing her,” Walling said. “I hope it makes someone think twice about something that seems innocent out of a gas station or head shop, because it is not innocent.”
