DEA gives notice it intends to schedule dichloro-brorphine analogues

On July 1, 2026, DEA issued a notice of intent to temporarily place four synthetic opioids into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act: 5,6-dichloro brorphine, 5,6-dichloro desmethylchlorphine, N-propionitrile chlorphine, and spirochlorphine. The notice names those four substances and announces the intended Schedule I placement [1]. None of the four is currently controlled under any schedule, and this notice does not change that [1]. Handling, selling, or possessing them is not a federal offence by reason of this docket.

The temporary scheduling order that will actually schedule them has not been issued and, by DEA's own notice, will not be issued before July 31, 2026 [1]. When it does publish, it will place the substances in Schedule I for two years, with a possible one-year extension, and Schedule I regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions attach from that publication date, not from today [1].

For anyone using now: there are no approved new drug applications or investigational new drug applications for these four substances [1]. They're described as pharmacologically similar to fentanyl, morphine, and other mu-opioid receptor agonists, and are taken orally, by inhalation, or by injection [1]. NFLIS-Drug reported 265 reports of these four substances across 21 states, and DEA TOX positively identified N-propionitrile chlorphine in 49 deaths [1]. One case in the record: a 36-year-old man had a nonfatal overdose after inhaling what he believed was alprazolam but was primarily N-propionitrile chlorphine mixed with fentanyl and xylazine [1]. That case is a reminder that what's actually in a given batch can differ entirely from what it's taken to be.

Procedurally, this is DEA's own emergency scheduling track: the agency notified HHS's Assistant Secretary of its intent on April 1, 2026, and HHS raised no objection on April 10, 2026 [1]. DEA's administrator found that uncontrolled manufacture, distribution, and abuse of these four substances pose an imminent hazard to public safety [1]. The next step is the temporary scheduling order itself, which cannot appear before July 31, 2026 [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