I'm angry, and I'm going to tell you exactly why.
Someone I care about deeply is suffering because of an addiction to these products, and while they are dealing with the consequences, Peace Novelty continues making money selling products that can feed and fuel addiction.
And this isn't some made-up concern.
The CDC recently reported that kratom-related calls to poison centers increased roughly 1,200%, from 258 in 2015 to 3,434 in 2025. During that same period, there were 233 reported kratom-associated deaths.
The FDA is warning about concentrated 7-OH specifically, saying it has potent opioid-like effects and raising concerns about abuse, addiction, withdrawal, respiratory depression and death.
And before anybody tells me I'm just attacking a business, let's talk about the business.
Peace Novelty isn't some innocent little store that has no idea what it's selling.
In 2023, the FDA sent a formal WARNING LETTER to Milu 1 Inc., doing business as Peace Novelty, at their Rockford address. The FDA said Peace Novelty was selling vaping products that did not have the required FDA marketing authorization and specifically stated that those products were being marketed unlawfully. The FDA called the products adulterated and misbranded under federal law.
That's not my opinion. That's an actual FDA warning letter.
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/milu-1-inc-dba-peace-novelty-661388-06162023
And now we're dealing with 7-OH.
Rockford banned 7-OH because of the concerns surrounding these highly concentrated products. Yet instead of asking why a business would want to keep selling products this potent, we're apparently seeing concentrated forms of kratom being sold after the city took action against 7-OH.
If the answer to a city ban is simply, "Let's find another way to concentrate the product and keep selling it," then what exactly was the point of the ban?
And this is where I get really angry.
I've watched the deterioration.
I've watched the addiction.
I've watched the pain it has caused.
And Peace Novelty's own manager, Steven Johnson publicly acknowledged that 7-OH can be addictive while arguing against a ban. He also described Peace Novelty as the "number one spot in the Midwest for kratom products."
https://www.rockfordnewsfirst.com/2025/11/13/rockford-leader-hopes-ban-dangerously-addictive-kratom-products-sold-local-stores/
And when the evidence of harm is growing, when poison-center reports are skyrocketing, when deaths are being reported, and when federal health officials are warning about concentrated 7-OH, I don't want to hear about how great your selection is or how friendly your employees are.
I want to know why the hell you're still selling this shit.
So let's stop pretending nobody knows what they're selling.
They know.
They know these products can be highly addictive.
They know people are buying them repeatedly.
They know there are people who are struggling with them.
And yet the answer seems to be finding another product, another formulation, another way to keep the money coming in.
That's what I find disgusting.
This reminds me of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, not because I'm claiming Peace Novelty is legally equivalent to Purdue Pharma, but because the underlying question is the same:
How much suffering are you willing to tolerate when there is money to be made from it?
Someone many love is hurting.
A family is hurting.
And while we're dealing with the consequences of addiction, somebody is counting the money.
I'm not going to shut up about it.
People aren't dollar signs.
Addiction isn't a business opportunity.
And if you knowingly sell products that can feed an addiction and then look for ways to keep selling increasingly concentrated versions after the city has taken action, I have every right to question what your priorities really are.
Because from where I'm standing, it sure as hell looks like profit comes before people. read more
