Cychlorphine, spirochlorphine and two dichloro analogues are Schedule I, 57 days after the notice

Cychlorphine, spirochlorphine, 5,6-dichloro brorphine and 5,6-dichloro desmethylchlorphine are now Schedule I controlled substances in the United States.

The DEA placed the four substances into Schedule I in a temporary scheduling order [1], published August 27, 2026, 57 days after a notice of intent announced its intent to issue such an order, on July 1 [1].

The order took effect the day it published [1]. It is explicit that N-propionitrile chlorphine and cychlorphine are one substance, not two: the text describes it as "commonly known as N-propionitrile chlorphine or cychlorphine" [1]. All four substances, plus their isomers, esters, ethers and salts, are now Schedule I [1], added to the federal drug schedules as 21 CFR 1308.11(h)(92) through (95) [1] and assigned DEA drug codes — 9097 for 5,6-dichloro brorphine, 9096 for 5,6-dichloro desmethylchlorphine, 9094 for N-propionitrile chlorphine, 9093 for spirochlorphine [1]. The designation runs until August 27, 2028, with a possible one-year extension if permanent scheduling proceedings are underway by then [1]. There is no comment period to weigh in on: a temporary scheduling order takes effect on publication, and the hearing procedure it describes is only for a registrant served an order to show cause, not a public process [1].

The four are not equally present in the drug supply. Of 265 reports logged across 21 states [1], 225 are N-propionitrile chlorphine, reported from 19 states since 2022 [1]; spirochlorphine accounts for 36 encounters across 6 states since 2025 [1]; the two dichloro analogues have 2 encounters each [1]. Three of the four — desmethylchlorphine's dichloro analogue, N-propionitrile chlorphine, and spirochlorphine — have turned up in both seizures and toxicology cases; 5,6-dichloro brorphine has been identified only in drug material [1].

RaDAR has detected two of the four [1]. It found N-propionitrile chlorphine in an East Coast sample collected in January 2026 that also contained fentanyl, local anesthetics, medetomidine and xylazine [1], and found 5,6-dichloro desmethylchlorphine in West Coast samples collected in February 2026 [1].

This order does not change brorphine's own status; brorphine appears here only as a pharmacological comparator alongside fentanyl and morphine [1].

References

1. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 5,6-Dichloro Brorphine, 5,6-Dichloro Desmethylchlorphine, N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, and Spirochlorphine in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act — Federal Register