7-OH Ban: When the DEA’s Schedule I Order Starts, and Which Products It Covers

When it starts

Federal law lets DEA put a drug in Schedule I temporarily, but only 30 days after it publishes a notice of intent. DEA published this notice on Oct. 14, 2026, so the earliest date is Nov. 13.

DEA said it intends to issue the order “as soon as possible” after that. The order takes effect when it appears in the Federal Register. We checked the Federal Register, including documents filed for public inspection, on the night of Nov. 13: nothing yet.

What the order covers

The order covers 7-OH and a related compound, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, when either one, or both together, passes either of two tests HHS recommended on Oct. 8:

• Concentration: more than 1 mg per gram of a powder, capsule, tablet or other solid, or more than 1 mg per milliliter of a liquid.
• Ratio: the amount of mitragynine, kratom’s main alkaloid, divided by the 7-OH comes out under 100. In other words, the 7-OH is more than 1% of the mitragynine.

DEA says the threshold exists because 7-OH occurs in trace amounts in some botanical kratom products; in the plant it’s less than 2% of the alkaloids. Products made to deliver 7-OH, which the FDA describes as tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots, are what the order is aimed at.

DEA adds a warning: it is not saying 7-OH below the threshold is safe.

What Schedule I means for you

Schedule I is the strictest category in the Controlled Substances Act. Once the order is in force, the controls and the civil and criminal penalties apply to anyone who makes, distributes, imports, exports or possesses covered products.

• Stores selling covered 7-OH products would fall under Schedule I controls the day it’s published.
• If you use 7-OH regularly, talk to a health care professional about stopping. The FDA lists withdrawal symptoms people have reported, including restlessness, body aches, fatigue, irritability and cold sweats.
• A bad reaction: call the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if someone is unresponsive. You can also report it to the FDA’s MedWatch program online, or call 1-800-332-1088 for a form.
• State law can be stricter: some states have their own 7-OH or kratom rules. The federal order doesn’t change those.

How we got here

• July 29, 2025: FDA recommends scheduling concentrated 7-OH, tells consumers to avoid it and points to its warning letters to companies selling 7-OH tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots.
• Dec. 2, 2025: U.S. Marshals seize about 73,000 units of 7-OH products from three Missouri firms.
• July 6, 2026: DEA’s first notice of intent, with a lower threshold. Withdrawn Oct. 14.
• Aug. 26, 2026: three related compounds (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, MGM-16) go into Schedule I, temporarily, through Aug. 26, 2028.
• Oct. 8, 2026: HHS sends DEA a new threshold.
• Oct. 14, 2026: DEA’s new notice: the order “will be published in the Federal Register on or after November 13, 2026.”
• Next: the order itself. Not in the Federal Register as of the night of Nov. 13.

Poison center data in DEA’s notice shows why it moved: 165 exposure cases involving 7-OH from January through July 2025; among people exposed to 7-OH alone, 35% had serious health problems and 67% were treated at a health care facility.

How the examples work

The products in the card are made up to show the math. Concentration is milligrams of 7-OH divided by the product’s weight in grams (a 0.5 g tablet with 15 mg is 30 mg per gram). The ratio is milligrams of mitragynine divided by milligrams of 7-OH. Labels often list neither the tablet’s weight nor the mitragynine, so you may not be able to do this math from a package.