In a new notice released August 25, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services (OASH) has extended the period for comments on the proposed placement of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) on Schedule I of the controlled substances list. The public will now have until September 10, 2026 to comment.
Dr. Michele Ross, a neuroscientist and advocate for the legality of both kratom and 7-OH, submitted a formal request for this extension. Typically a 60 day extension is granted to allow scientists time to prepare detailed comments, however OASH granted only 15 days.
OASH is again emphasizing that it is only looking for comments about the 7-OH threshold that should be allowable in kratom products.
Note that OASH is not soliciting comments on any permanent scheduling decision, the general safety or utility of kratom-derived products, or other policy questions outside the scope of the threshold determination for temporary scheduling. Public comments submitted to this docket will be provided by the Secretary for Health and Human Services for consideration by the Attorney General.
Comments can be submitted at this link: https://www.regulations.gov/document/HHS-OASH-2026-0232-0001
Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, MGM-16 Order Comes with Statement on Botanical Kratom
Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), MGM-15, and MGM-16 is now officially banned until August 26, 2028. There has been no threshold established for amounts of MP that may naturally occur in kratom products. One recent quantitative analysis has shown MGPI discovered in 33/35 products including 13 leaf powder products. Another 2026 study has demonstrated an already understood problem that, because of how structurally similar these compounds are, false identification of 7-OH and MGPI without proper equipment has occurred.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has previously stated that MGPI is a synthetic, but is now apparently open to the idea that it may occur naturally. On August 26, DEA said this in a press release (Our emphasis in bold):
This action is directed at deliberately manufactured and concentrated opioid products, not traditional botanical kratom. The published scientific literature has not established MGPI as a naturally occurring kratom alkaloid. However, scientific and analytical questions remain about whether MGP1 may be reported at incidental trace levels in some botanical products as a result of processing, storage or analytical conditions.
In light of these unresolved questions, the Department of Justice will exercise enforcement discretion when only incidental trace amounts of MGPI are confirmed in a product otherwise consistent with botanical kratom. This policy does not create a legal exemption and does not change MGPI’s status as a schedule I controlled substance.
Since DEA did not create a legal exemption in the form of an upper threshold for MGPI, it is at the DEA discretion whether they will decide whether an MGPI molecule occurred naturally or was added to the product. It is also at the discretion of every other law enforcement agency in America.