The Public Record · Updated July 1, 2026
What you need to know.
01 — The Filing
On July 1, 2026, the DEA issued two Notices of Intent to begin temporary (emergency) scheduling. One targets 7-OH above a set concentration threshold — the government's own words say this is aimed at concentrated and synthetic 7-OH, allowing the trace amounts of 7-OH that occur naturally in kratom leaf products to remain outside the scheduling action. The other Notice of Intent outright schedules three lab-made derivatives — MP, MGM-15, and MGM-16 — that do not occur in the plant at all. HHS and FDA publicly commended the move the same day.
We believe enhanced kratom alkaloid products should have sensible regulations rather than an outright ban: rigorous lab testing, educational materials packaged with every product, child-proof containers, a 21-and-up purchase age, removal from gas stations and stores that don't check ID at the door, removal from stores that sell alcohol, mandatory age verification on websites, regulated and consistent product naming, and a ban on advertising these products online or otherwise — since ads for enhanced alkaloid products can reach vulnerable populations and youth.
Whole-leaf kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) contains only trace 7-OH. The filing says it is not meant to capture the botanical leaf.
High-concentration 7-OH above a threshold, plus lab-made derivatives MP, MGM-15 and MGM-16 — sold as tablets, gummies, and shots.
02 — The Record
Every entry links to a primary source. This didn't come out of nowhere — it was a year in the making.
At a joint press conference, FDA recommends scheduling 7-OH and releases a report. The Commissioner calls concentrated 7-OH a possible "fourth wave" of the opioid epidemic.
FDA sends warning letters to seven companies selling 7-OH products, dated June 25 and announced July 15. In December, FDA, DOJ and the U.S. Marshals seize roughly $1M of 7-OH product from three firms in Missouri.
Senators and House members send letters urging the DEA to move fast on emergency scheduling, repeating the "13× morphine" and "fourth wave" framing.
The emergency scheduling process officially begins. A public comment window (an OASH Request for Information on the threshold) opens alongside it.
03 — The Mechanism
Two tracks exist. The DEA chose the fast one.
Under 21 U.S.C. § 811(h), the DEA can temporarily place a substance in Schedule I to address an "imminent hazard." A notice must run at least 30 days before an order can issue, and a temporary order lasts up to two years. The slower permanent path — the full eight-factor analysis, formal notice-and-comment, and judicial review — is a separate process the agency can pursue later.
DEA publishes its intent to schedule and the grounds for it.
Published 7/1/26A 30-day window for the public to weigh in on the threshold.
Opens 7/6/26Comment window closes 8/6/26; comments go to the Attorney General for consideration.
Starts 8/6/26A Schedule I order may issue some unknown amount of time after the comment window closes — this timing can't be predicted.
Timing unknown04 — The Scrutiny
This is where the story is. Not a conspiracy — a process that may not have met its own standard. Every point below is sourced.
The emergency track is meant for a genuine "imminent hazard," and past emergency actions rested on patterns of deaths, seizures, and law-enforcement data. Independent legal analysis of the 7-OH action notes a thinner record: no confirmed fatalities from 7-OH alone, about 53 poison-control calls over a three-month period, and little seizure or trafficking data — with the case leaning heavily on animal studies and receptor-binding data rather than real-world harm.
Emergency scheduling lets the DEA act without completing the eight-factor analysis, and such orders are generally not subject to judicial review.
A supportive industry group (AHPA) publicly urged FDA to release its eight-factor analysis in the name of "radical transparency." Has it been released?
05 — Your Move
This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do. And how you do it changes everything.
Quality beats quantity — this is not a numbers contest. In federal rulemaking, a hundred copy-pasted identical comments get bundled and counted as basically one. A single specific, personal, substantive comment carries real weight. And the math that actually moves the needle is simple:
Write one meaningful comment. Then get one other person to write theirs. That's worth more than you leaving a hundred. Here's a framework that keeps a comment specific enough to count — write it in your own words, never copy-paste:
A real person, in a real place. "I'm a [job] in [state]." No form-letter openings.
Concrete and yours — what changed, over what timeframe. Specifics are what reviewers can't dismiss.
The comment window is about the concentration threshold. If you have data or a view on where that line should sit, say so.
Ask the government to show its work: the full evidence and analysis behind an emergency finding.
Comments become public record. No personal info you don't want public. Respectful and specific always outperforms angry and vague.
06 — The Playbook
The last time the DEA tried this, the public won. Here's exactly how.
On August 31, 2016, the DEA filed to place kratom's alkaloids into Schedule I — effectively banning the plant — and it did so without a public comment period. The response was fast, organized, and bipartisan. Six weeks later, the DEA blinked.
A Notice of Intent to place mitragynine and 7-OH into Schedule I — bypassing public comment.
A White House petition passed 142,000 signatures. Roughly 400 people rallied at the White House. A bipartisan letter from 51 House members — 28 Democrats, 23 Republicans — called the move "hasty" and demanded a comment period.
Citing the volume of public input, the DEA withdrew its notice and opened a formal comment period. By 2018, HHS had pulled its scheduling request entirely.
07 — The Action Stack
In order. Each step multiplies the last.
Use the framework above. Specific, personal, in your own words. Do it before the window closes.
Walk one other person through filing theirs. One good comment plus one recruit beats a hundred of your own.
When the advocacy groups publish toolkits and graphics, post them — and get them to people outside the community.
Submit your experience to the orgs collecting testimony so it can be used in the official record and in media.
If you use 7-OH, get on stable footing now rather than at a deadline. See the support section below.
08 — Work Together
You don't have to build this alone. These organizations are already producing advocacy materials and collecting testimony — the highest-leverage move is to use what they publish, share it, and add your story.
Runs an action hub, a media toolkit, a "reach out to the DEA" guide, and a story collector. Share their materials and submit your testimony.
Federal and state action pages, an education hub on 7-OH, and the #WeAreAllKratom testimony drive. Add your story and amplify the campaign.
Advocacy and support organization focused on the recovery and consumer-safety side of the enhanced-alkaloid conversation. Share their materials and add your story.
09 — Take Care of Yourself
Whatever happens with the ruling, being on stable footing protects you. This is support, not a schedule.
7-OH acts on opioid receptors, and stopping suddenly can be rough. If you're physically dependent, gradual reduction with guidance from a clinician is the safer path — not a hard stop timed to a deadline.
Getting to a stable, lower baseline early means a possible supply disruption doesn't catch you off guard. Steady footing now is the goal.
A doctor or addiction-medicine provider can tailor a safe plan and discuss options. Medication-assisted approaches exist and work for many people.
10 — Together
Uncertain moments are exactly when a community proves what it's made of.
Nobody gets through this alone, and nobody has to. Check on each other. Share what you learn. Help someone file their comment, walk a friend through a plan, answer the person who's scared and doesn't know where to start. The 2016 win wasn't one hero — it was thousands of ordinary people who refused to sit quiet and moved together.
Panic scatters. Organization compounds. Don't give up, and don't go quiet — find your people, pick one thing from the action stack, and do it today. Then bring someone with you.
The Bottom Line
A filing is not a final rule. There is a comment period about to open, a proven playbook, and a coalition that has beaten this before. Accuracy, organization, and one meaningful voice after another — that's how this gets fought.
