Missouri Settlements Shut Down KC Companies’ 7-OH Kratom Sales
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway secured settlements from two Kansas City companies, shutting down in-state sales of the concentrated kratom compound 7-OH.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI — Two Kansas City-based companies have agreed to stop selling a concentrated kratom compound in Missouri following settlements with state Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, ending a legal battle over whether the substance should be treated as a dangerous, unregulated opioid.
Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC and CBD American Shaman both reached separate agreements with Hanaway’s office, suspending all in-state sales of 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, along with other kratom alkaloids. The settlements resolve litigation filed by the attorney general’s office against both companies.
Two Separate Settlements, One Outcome
Dustin Robinson, owner of Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, agreed to halt Missouri sales of 7-OH last week. His settlement came roughly six days after Hanaway reached a similar agreement with Vince Sanders, owner of CBD American Shaman, which the attorney general’s office described as the largest distributor of 7-OH products in Missouri.
Robinson, who completed a paralegal certification program while serving seven years in a Kansas prison for marijuana offenses, said he was initially resistant to entering the 7-OH market. Both of his parents struggled with addiction, and he described his early reaction to Sanders’ proposal as one of moral hesitation.
“I was against it, too,” Robinson said. “I was like, ‘Well, it could be addictive. I can’t morally do this.'”
Robinson said he eventually changed his position after reviewing research suggesting that 7-OH could potentially serve as an alternative for people struggling with addiction or chronic pain, offering them a less dangerous option than other substances. Hanaway reached a different conclusion in court.
At the Center of the Fight: What Is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynine is a concentrated alkaloid derived from the kratom plant. The legal dispute centered on a fundamental disagreement: whether concentrated 7-OH should be classified as a dangerous, unregulated opioid or whether it could be regulated and sold legally as a consumer product.
Hanaway’s office filed the lawsuit against CBD American Shaman in a press conference outside her office on March 31, 2026, framing the compound as a public health concern warranting legal action.
Settlements Halt Sales Statewide
With both agreements now in place, the combined effect is a suspension of Missouri sales for the two companies at the heart of the attorney general’s enforcement effort. The settlements do not appear to address sales in other states, according to reporting by the Missouri Independent.
Sanders and Robinson had been working together on the distribution and wholesale side of the 7-OH market through their respective companies before the attorney general’s office intervened. The litigation brought by Hanaway’s office concluded with both businesses standing down from in-state sales while the broader regulatory and legal questions around kratom alkaloids remain unsettled in Missouri.
