Workit Health Launches Telehealth Treatment for Kratom Addiction Using Buprenorphine

Workit Health, one of the nation's largest telehealth addiction treatment providers, announced April 1, 2026 that it now offers evidence-based care for kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) dependence through its app-based platform—filling a critical treatment gap as thousands of Americans struggle with addiction to substances marketed as natural wellness products but capable of producing severe withdrawal and overdose.

The Ann Arbor-based company, which has served more than 35,000 members since its 2015 founding, will prescribe buprenorphine to manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms in patients dependent on kratom or its concentrated derivative 7-OH. Because these substances act on the same opioid receptors in the brain as heroin and prescription painkillers, buprenorphine—already proven effective for opioid use disorder—can address kratom dependence through the same pharmacological mechanism.

"The good news is that buprenorphine, which is a remarkably safe and effective treatment for opioid use disorder, can also be used to treat kratom or 7-OH use disorder," said Dr. Justin Coffey, Workit Health's Chief Medical Officer. "This is not an off-label experiment; the mechanism is well understood and directly supported by clinical pharmacology."

The Hidden Scale of Kratom Dependence

Kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia, has been sold widely across the United States in gas stations, supplement stores, and online marketplaces as an energy supplement, mood booster, or "natural" alternative to opioids. None of these marketing claims have scientific support, and the absence of federal regulation means products contain unpredictable concentrations of active compounds—leaving consumers with no reliable way to know dosage, potency, or side effects.

At lower doses kratom produces stimulant-like effects, but at higher doses it binds to opioid receptors producing pain relief, sedation, and euphoria similar to prescription opioids. This dual mechanism has allowed kratom to evade regulatory scrutiny while creating physiological dependence in users who often have no idea they are developing an addiction.

7-hydroxymitragynine represents an even more severe threat. This concentrated extract can be 15 to 40 times more potent than leaf kratom, creating dramatically higher addiction risk in shorter timeframes. US Poison Centers are actively tracking serious health effects tied to 7-OH exposure, including withdrawal symptoms, mood swings, rising tolerance, intense cravings, and in severe cases overdose and death.

One Workit Health member described discovering the addictive potential too late: "I was in quite a bit of pain when someone told me I should try this new, stronger kratom. I stupidly believed that that's all that 7-OH was. I had no idea how addictive it can be. By June, I was taking upwards of 240 mg of 7-OH per day. I tried to wean down on my own, but the withdrawals were so bad I couldn't function normally."

The impact extends beyond individual users. One woman described watching her husband's dependence deepen: "As his dependence on kratom deepened, I saw the spark fade from his eyes. At his lowest point, he contemplated suicide. He told me he felt trapped."

Regulatory Vacuum and Treatment Desert

In July 2025, the FDA took steps to restrict availability of 7-OH products following mounting evidence of harm. However, leaf kratom remains entirely unregulated at the federal level, creating a fragmented landscape where state, county, and municipal governments have moved at different speeds and in different directions—some jurisdictions restricting or banning sales, others taking no action.

This regulatory inconsistency means consumer exposure to high-potency kratom products varies significantly by geography, and treatment options remain virtually nonexistent. Most addiction treatment providers have not developed protocols for kratom dependence, leaving people who seek help facing dismissive responses or referrals to general substance use programs ill-equipped to address this specific substance.

Dr. Coffey emphasized the absence of legitimate medical use: "These products may be marketed for general wellness, energy, or mood benefits, or as a safe, natural form of high. But there is no evidence-based indication for medical use of either kratom or 7-OH."

Virtual Care Reduces Barriers and Stigma

Workit Health's fully virtual model removes the barriers that most frequently prevent people from accessing addiction treatment—transportation, scheduling constraints, geographic isolation, and stigma. Through the Workit Health app, members attend video appointments with licensed clinicians, connect with a peer recovery community, access therapeutic and psychosocial support, and receive e-prescriptions for medications including buprenorphine.

This approach proves particularly crucial for kratom users, many of whom do not think of themselves as having a drug problem because kratom is sold legally and marketed as a supplement. Seeking in-person addiction treatment at a specialized facility carries significant social stigma, especially for people in professional roles or with family responsibilities.

"Someone can schedule an appointment during a lunch break, attend a video visit from their car or their living room, and receive a prescription without anyone else needing to know," the company noted. "This level of discretion is not a secondary feature—for many people in this population, it is the difference between seeking treatment and not seeking it at all."

The program accepts most insurance plans and offers self-pay pricing for uninsured patients, extending access far beyond what traditional clinic-based models can reach. Workit's clinical philosophy centers on harm reduction: meeting people where they are, lowering barriers to entry, reducing shame, and supporting sustainable long-term recovery rather than demanding immediate abstinence.

Studies show that Workit members stay in treatment longer and report better outcomes than those in traditional care settings—a pattern that reflects broader evidence demonstrating telehealth's effectiveness in addiction treatment, particularly for geographically isolated or stigmatized populations.

Buprenorphine's Proven Mechanism for Kratom Recovery

The pharmacological rationale for using buprenorphine to treat kratom dependence is straightforward: both substances act on opioid receptors in the brain. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning it activates these receptors but produces weaker effects than full agonists like heroin, fentanyl, or 7-OH. This mechanism allows buprenorphine to eliminate cravings and withdrawal symptoms while blocking the euphoric effects of other opioids.

For patients dependent on kratom or 7-OH, buprenorphine provides immediate relief from the severe withdrawal symptoms—anxiety, muscle pain, insomnia, irritability, sweating—that make self-directed tapering nearly impossible. The medication's safety profile is well-established through decades of use in opioid addiction treatment: unlike full opioid agonists, buprenorphine does not produce dangerous respiratory depression at typical therapeutic doses.

This evidence base means patients navigating kratom recovery do not face an untested experimental pathway. Instead, they benefit from research and clinical experience accumulated over more than twenty years of buprenorphine use for opioid use disorder, including robust data demonstrating the medication reduces overdose mortality by more than 50 percent and significantly decreases non-prescribed opioid use.

Ahead of Growing Clinical Demand

Workit Health's decision to launch a dedicated kratom treatment program positions the company ahead of what is likely to be expanding clinical need as regulatory scrutiny increases, more patients seek help, and more providers recognize the severity of kratom use disorder.

The company was founded in 2015 by two women in recovery who recognized that traditional addiction treatment models excluded large portions of the population needing care. Its app-based platform, which delivers medical care alongside peer support and psychosocial interventions, has grown into one of the country's most established online addiction providers.

The virtual-first approach aligns with broader shifts in healthcare delivery accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when temporary regulatory flexibilities demonstrated that remote prescribing of controlled substances including buprenorphine could expand access without compromising safety. Although some of those flexibilities have been rolled back or remain uncertain, telehealth for addiction treatment has become an established care model supported by extensive evidence.

For the thousands of Americans currently dependent on kratom or 7-OH—many of whom began using these substances believing they were safe, natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals—Workit Health's program offers a pathway out of dependence that previously did not exist. Whether this represents the beginning of broader recognition that kratom requires medical treatment infrastructure, or remains an isolated response from a single provider, will depend largely on how federal and state regulators address the substance in coming months.

What is clear is that people struggling with kratom addiction no longer have to navigate recovery alone or attempt dangerous self-directed tapers. Evidence-based medication, peer support, and clinical care are now accessible from home—removing the barriers that have kept too many people trapped in dependence while the healthcare system debated whether kratom constituted a crisis worth addressing.