7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine): legal

Legal status

Legal status for 7-OH is moving fast and varies by jurisdiction — check current status where you are before assuming anything below still holds. This is not legal advice.

At the federal level in the US, the FDA has recommended a scheduling action to control certain 7-OH products under the Controlled Substances Act [1], and the DEA has said it intends to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitragynine, above a specified threshold, into Schedule I [2], along with related substances mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 [2]. The DEA has already issued a temporary order scheduling those three related substances effective August 26, 2026 [3] — but that order does not itself include 7-hydroxymitragynine [3]. Separately, H.R. 8000 would add 7-OH to Schedule I while carving out an exclusion for 7-OH naturally present in the kratom plant [4]. The proposed federal threshold is 0.05% 7-OH in the kratom plant, and either 0.05% or 1 milligram for synthetic or further-processed products [5]; the comment period on this was extended to September 10, 2026 [6].

States and cities have also acted on their own timelines: Florida emergency-scheduled 7-OH in August [7], Kentucky moved to classify it as a Schedule I narcotic on November 5, 2025 [7], and Toledo City Council moved to ban the sale of mitragynine-related substances on the same date [7]. None of this legal exposure changes the pharmacological risk — that's a separate, ongoing question regardless of where 7-OH sits on a schedule at any given moment.

References

1. FDA Takes Steps to Restrict 7-OH Opioid Products Threatening American Consumers — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / Food and Drug Administration
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 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)
4. H.R. 8000 — U.S. Government Publishing Office (proposed legislation)
5. Temporary Control of 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and Related Substances Under the Controlled Substances Act — Congressional Research Service
6. Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Above a Specified Threshold in Schedule I; Extension of Comment Period (HHS request for information) — US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health — Federal Register, 91 FR 55104 (2026-08-26)
7. Classification of Mitragynine-Related Compounds as Schedule I Controlled Substances — Ohio Board of Pharmacy