7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine): legal

Legal status for 7-OH differs by U.S. state and by city, and federal status is unsettled while multiple scheduling actions are pending [1][2][3][4]. This is not legal advice, and it will be out of date quickly.

As of October 15, 2026, 7-hydroxymitragynine was not a federally controlled substance in the United States [3]. The DEA has issued more than one notice of intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH, each proposing a threshold above which it would be treated as Schedule I [2][3][4]. As of that same date, no temporary scheduling order implementing those notices had been published [3], and the proposed threshold has changed: the October 14, 2026 notice proposes above 1 mg per gram for solids or 1 mg per milliliter for liquids, or mitragynine at less than 100 times the 7-OH content, in place of the cutoffs in the earlier notice [3][4].

A related compound, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, is already in Schedule I under a separate order with no threshold at all, alongside two other 7-OH-related substances, MGM-15 and MGM-16 [5][3]. That order's scope extends to isomers, esters, ethers, and salts of those substances, not just the parent compounds [5], and the proposed 7-OH order is written the same way [3]. The FDA has separately recommended scheduling action against certain 7-OH products [6]. Below whatever threshold eventually applies, neither HHS nor DEA has found the substance safe to use [3].

States and cities are moving independently and inconsistently: Florida emergency-scheduled 7-OH in August [1], Kentucky moved to classify it as a Schedule I narcotic on November 5, 2025 [1], and Toledo City Council moved the same day to ban sale of mitragynine-related substances [1]. One proposed federal bill, H.R. 8000, would add 7-OH to Schedule I but exclude the amount naturally contained in the kratom plant itself [7].

Whatever your jurisdiction says today, treat it as provisional, and check again before you act on it.

References

1. Classification of Mitragynine-Related Compounds as Schedule I Controlled Substances — Ohio Board of Pharmacy
2. DEA To Temporarily Schedule 7-OH and Related Substances to Protect Public Safety — U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
3. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl Above a Specified Threshold in Schedule I (notice of intent) — US Drug Enforcement Administration — Federal Register, 91 FR 65370 (2026-10-14)
4. Temporary Control of 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and Related Substances Under the Controlled Substances Act — Congressional Research Service
5. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 in Schedule I (temporary scheduling order) — US Drug Enforcement Administration — Federal Register, 91 FR 54948 (2026-08-26)
6. FDA Takes Steps to Restrict 7-OH Opioid Products Threatening American Consumers — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / Food and Drug Administration
7. H.R. 8000 — U.S. Government Publishing Office (proposed legislation)