Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan wants Pennsylvania to ban a potent kratom derivative sold at local smoke shops and gas stations. Khan says the products pose a threat to young people on par with opioids.

Khan appeared on WHYY's Studio 2 on Monday, Sept. 28, to make the case for stricter oversight. The appearance followed weeks of action by his office, including a first-of-its-kind civil lawsuit against a Buckingham Township smoke shop and a formal push to get the state to classify the substance as controlled.

In a Sept. 1 letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen, first reported by Central Bucks Now, Khan and Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe urged the state to use emergency powers to schedule 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). The compound is a concentrated alkaloid found in kratom that can produce opioid-like effects comparable to morphine or heroin, according to the district attorneys.

In the letter, Khan warned that children in Bucks County can easily buy kratom products sold as candy bars, vapes and gummies without being asked for ID. The products are sold without age restrictions at smoke shops and gas stations across the region, the district attorneys said.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) temporarily scheduled three related compounds on Aug. 26 but did not schedule 7-OH itself. That gap leaves local law enforcement without a state criminal statute to enforce, according to the DAs' letters.

CDC data published in March 2026 showed kratom-related calls to U.S. poison control centers jumped roughly 1,200 percent between 2015 and 2025, climbing from 258 reports to 3,434. The agency linked the 2025 surge to high-potency semisynthetic formulations, including 7-OH. The FDA has found that 7-OH produces respiratory depression more than three times as potent as morphine, according to the American Medical Association.

Khan's office has also taken direct enforcement action in Buckingham. On Sept. 3, prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against Zaza Vape & Cigar on Durham Road under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. It is believed to be the first time a Pennsylvania DA has used that statute to target a smoke shop, Patch reported.

Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge James M. McMaster granted an emergency petition on Sept. 3 and extended a preliminary injunction on Sept. 4, barring the shop from selling tobacco or kratom to minors and requiring digital ID scanners for tobacco sales.

The DA's office alleged that Zaza Vape was the only one of Bucks County's 580 licensed tobacco retailers to fail every single youth compliance check since opening. Between July 2025 and August 2026, undercover operations documented five illegal tobacco sales to minors without ID checks. On Aug. 12, eight days after a court conviction for selling tobacco to a minor, the store committed the same violation again, prosecutors said. An undercover 17-year-old was also sold a kratom-infused chocolate bar on July 10 without being asked for identification.

The lawsuit seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation and a permanent ban on the sale of controlled substances and kratom at the store.

At the federal level, the "End Gas Station Heroin Act" was introduced in the Senate on Aug. 8 and in the House on Sept. 3. Neither bill has been enacted. The DEA's proposed scheduling of above-threshold 7-OH remained at the notice-of-intent stage as of Sept. 23, with no final order published.

Whether Pennsylvania's health secretary will act on the DAs' request remains unclear. No public response from Dr. Bogen has been reported. Residents who suspect illegal sales to minors can contact the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.