Florida officials have now seized about 18,000 packets of 7-OH across 30 counties following executive action banning the substance.

Florida officials held a joint news conference at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office updating their work eradicating 7-OH from Florida retailers.

The latest update is an increase from the official estimate earlier this week that accounted for about 17,000 confiscations in 23 counties since Attorney General James Uthmeier took action to ban 7-OH last month.

Officials said some 67 schools were within a half-mile of retailers selling the substance. In Jacksonville, two schools were across the street from retailers selling it.

“We won’t let 7-OH sneak into our communities disguised as a supplement,” Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said. “This is about keeping Florida families safe and protecting consumers who think they are buying something natural, but are really buying … narcotics.”

While it was Uthmeier who imposed the emergency executive rule banning 7-OH, he’s urging state lawmakers to consider legislation that would permanently outlaw the substance in the Sunshine State. It is a derivative of the plant Kratom, which is cultivated generally in Asian countries and has been drawing increasing attention as use of the substance is growing.

“When extracted and when chemically enhanced, it can be 13 times more potent than morphine. And this is what’s been on shelves of gas stations and retail stores, 7-11s right next to candy,” Uthmeier said.

“We’ve got to get this stuff away from our kids. I’m a big believer that government should let businesses do their thing, stay out of the way, except in the most extreme circumstances and that is what this is.”

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also joined in denouncing 7-OH.

“7-OH quietly entered our communities, but its impact has been loud and destructive,” Waters said. “This dangerous substance has threatened the health and well-being of Jacksonville families, and it has no place on our streets. I commend our leaders for taking swift action to remove this poison from store shelves, demonstrating true leadership in protecting Floridians and keeping our communities safe.”

The Florida ban has drawn sharp criticism from the industries that use and develop 7-OH. Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) officials said the decision to ban the drug in products was an overreaction in Florida. Officials with that organization issued a statement shortly after Thursday’s news conference in Jacksonville.

“Chemically, 7-OH is an alkaloid found in kratom. It is not an opioid-like morphine, oxycodone, or fentanyl. Those are derived from the opium poppy or synthesized in a lab. Kratom, by contrast, is a plant in the coffee family,” read the HART response.

Meanwhile, Uthmeier fielded some questions from media on the open-carry law in Florida after an appellate court last week ruled the state can no longer restrict gun owners from openly transporting, possessing or holstering firearms in the state. He said he’s fine with the overturning of Florida’s original prohibition.

“I agree with the opinion. I think it’s consistent with our constitutional rights and the meaning the Founders intended when they wrote the document,” Uthmeier said. “What does it mean today? It applies to all firearms. However, you cannot take firearms into schools or classrooms and you cannot hold a firearm in a way that is threatening.”

Uthmeier added there’s likely some legislative clarification still necessary in Florida.

“I think there’s probably some cleanup needed.”

Uthmeier was also asked about the migrant detention center that was opened for operations at the beginning of this month in North Florida. He said the so-called “Deportation Depot” migrant detention facility at the former Baker Correctional Institution just west of Jacksonville is fully functional now and is operating as a companion facility to “Alligator Alcatraz,” which opened earlier this year in the Everglades.

“It’s up and running, it’s receiving detainees and everything’s going very well. Alligator Alcatraz, (in South Florida) which never shut down and continues to operate with several deportation flights leaving multiple times a week,” Uthmeier said.

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