Kratom and 7-OH should be regulated, experts agree. They’re split on how
Kratom leaf products have been sold in the U.S. for decades and are often used to ease chronic pain, anxiety, or opioid withdrawal, but they have largely escaped regulatory restrictions despite a known risk of physical dependence. More recently, Americans have increasingly turned to newer, more potent products made with the semi-synthetic kratom derivative 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH. Clinicians and recovery advocates warn that highly concentrated 7-OH could be even more addictive than kratom, though research is scarce.
Most stakeholders agree that some guardrails are needed, but they disagree on what those regulations should be. In July, the DEA proposed temporarily designating 7-OH above a certain potency threshold as Schedule I, the category for drugs with the most risk and no medical benefit, which would allow milder natural kratom products to continue flying under regulatory radar. At a July 2025 press conference on 7-OH, then-FDA commissioner Marty Makary said, "We have a history of being asleep at the wheel," referencing public health threats like tobacco and OxyContin, and added, "For the sake of our nation's children, let's not get caught flat-footed again."
The agency has not yet finalized the law, but it has moved three less common kratom-related synthetics into Schedule I without a threshold caveat. Pressure for action on all types of kratom is mounting after two University of Mississippi students died this month, with kratom products found on the scene in both cases; authorities have not claimed that kratom contributed to either death.
Addiction experts say classifying 7-OH as a Schedule I drug is not a perfect solution. It leaves dependent users at risk of withdrawal if they cannot get the products anymore, and vulnerable to criminal prosecution if they do find a way to continue; it also starts a difficult game of whack-a-mole with synthetic innovations and makes needed scientific research much harder. Other approaches, such as a more rigorously regulated marketplace, may be difficult to accomplish.
"Even if we schedule 7-OH and kratom, are we really addressing the underlying conditions causing people to obtain these substances? I don't think we have great solutions on that," said Regina LaBelle, an addiction policy professor at Georgetown who served in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama and President Biden. "Often, the only tool we have in our tool belt is scheduling."
It is unclear when the DEA will finalize the 7-OH law after an extended public comment period ended on Sept. 10 with nearly 36,000 submissions. If and when finalized, the law could remain in effect for up to two years, with the possibility for another year extension if the agency decided to pursue permanent scheduling. In the meantime, states and local municipalities have begun to issue their own emergency bans.