The United States Department of Justice announced this Friday updates to its emergency scheduling actions for four opioid substances related to kratom: 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), MGM-15, and MGM-16.
The central measure consists of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issuing two new Notices of Intent that incorporate updated scientific recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), aiming to draw a clearer line between botanical products that contain natural traces of these substances and formulations that are deliberately enriched or concentrated.
The regulatory status of each substance is not identical, and that distinction is key to understanding the actual scope of the announcement.
For the MGM-15 and MGM-16, the DEA only reissues the Notice of Intent without changing the existing classification approach.
Both substances, along with MGPI, were temporarily placed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act on August 26, 2026. Those controls remain in effect during the new 30-day notice period and until the DEA issues a new temporary order.
For 7-OH, the situation is different: the DEA had not yet issued any temporary scheduling order. The new Notice of Intent includes the updated scientific recommendation from HHS, but it does not constitute a prohibition that is currently in effect.
The HHS recommended that 7-OH and MGPI be classified as List I controlled substances when either of the two substances, or their combined quantity, exceeds 1 milligram per gram in solid products or 1 milligram per milliliter in liquid products. Control would also be activated when the ratio of mitragynine to 7-OH, MGPI, or their combined quantity is less than 100 to 1.
According to the official statement, HHS established these thresholds to "better distinguish between products intentionally enriched or concentrated with these opioid substances and those whose alkaloid composition is more consistent with botanical kratom."
The HHS analysis confirms that 7-OH occurs naturally in botanical kratom at relatively low levels.
Regarding MGPI, the agency identified additional scientific evidence suggesting that it may also be present in trace amounts in some botanical products or kratom derivatives, although it acknowledged that "the science surrounding the presence of MGPI is still evolving."
This means that the lack of control over a product does not equate to a guarantee of safety: the thresholds define when federal regulation is triggered, not when a substance no longer poses a health risk.
The Attorney General Todd Blanche was direct in justifying the measures: “Dangerous and addictive opioids do not belong behind the counters of convenience stores. Our children and communities deserve protection from harmful substances like 7-OH and other potent synthetic drugs.”
The announcement comes at a time of increasing pressure from Congress. Just two days earlier, Republican Senators Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee, and Susan Collins sent a letter to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole and Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Kyle Diamantas, urging the Trump administration to finalize the emergency order for 7-OH and to evaluate the permanent classification of the harmful substances in kratom.
Public health data supports the regulatory urgency: according to U.S. poison control centers, reports of exposure to 7-OH increased from 593 cases in 2025 to 901 cases in just the first half of 2026, with a monthly average 102% higher than that of the second half of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the American Kratom Association is pursuing a federal lawsuit filed in August 2026 to prevent the order regarding the MGPI from being applied to botanical kratom that contains only incidental traces of that substance, indicating that the regulatory debate is far from being resolved with the notices published this Friday.
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