Cara Brown McCormick
Tens of thousands of Americans buy Kratom products at gas stations and smoke shops every year, and a growing share of that market is now made up of 7-OH, a concentrated form.
Concentrated 7-OH is increasingly recognized as having potential for abuse because of its ability to bind to opioid receptors.
Many buyers are seeking a natural way to manage pain, anxiety, or opioid withdrawal, because that's how it's marketed: as an herbal supplement, not a drug. It comes in colorful, candy-like packaging.
In most states, there's no minimum age to buy it. California parents have said their teenagers were able to purchase 7-OH products at convenience stores, become addicted, and in some cases overdose.
To protect public safety, the DEA is moving to put concentrated 7-OH Kratom compounds in the same legal category as heroin and LSD.
On July 1, the DEA filed two notices to place 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. One notice covers 7-OH above a certain strength. The other covers three related lab-made compounds that don't occur naturally in kratom.
HHS reviewed the science first and found that these substances have no accepted medical use and a high risk of abuse, the standard needed to justify a Schedule I ban.
"Today's action targets highly concentrated, synthetic 7-OH products, which pose a growing threat to public safety and health," said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed: "7-OH, MP, MGM-15, and MGM-16 are dangerous opioids that fuel addiction and put American lives at risk."
Kratom leaves naturally contain a small amount of 7-OH. That's not so much the DEA's concern. The problem is products that concentrate the 7-OH far beyond natural levels.
One study found that concentrated 7-OH is 14 times more potent than morphine. Texas's attorney general says some products test as high as 96% 7-OH, and Pennsylvania has had more than 10 patients need ventilators after exposure.
California has been hit hard, too
The Los Angeles County medical examiner has linked seven deaths to kratom and 7-OH since January 2025, all of them otherwise healthy adults between 18 and 40. That led the LA County Board of Supervisors to approve a motion in February to find ways to prevent more deaths. Governor Gavin Newsom's office has also cited 242 kratom-linked deaths statewide between 2020 and 2022, with 27 blamed on kratom alone.
The state of California acted even before the DEA did. After a bill to restrict 7-OH failed in the Legislature in 2025, the state's health department declared in October that any kratom or 7-OH product sold for consumption is illegal, a stricter rule than the federal one since it makes no exception for natural kratom leaf. The state has seized more than $5 million worth of product.
DEA is in a waiting period
Filing a notice doesn't make anything illegal right away. DEA must wait at least 30 days after publishing the notices, which occurred on July 6, before the Attorney General can issue a temporary scheduling order, which would last two years if issued. Federal scheduling wouldn't preempt state law, so California's rules would remain in effect regardless of the DEA's process.
7-OH isn't the only unregulated intoxicant IVN has been reporting on.
Cara Brown McCormick
Congress recently closed a Farm Bill loophole that let "gas station hemp" products like delta-8 and THCA flower spread largely unchecked; that ban takes effect November 12.
A special FDA resource, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” provides more information on the risks of 7-OH.