DEA proposes temporarily placing potent 7-OH in Schedule I in the US — STAT News

In the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed in July to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, above a specified potency threshold in Schedule I. This category includes substances with the highest level of risk and no medical benefit, STAT News reports.

A semisynthetic kratom derivative

7-OH is a semisynthetic derivative of kratom. Americans are increasingly choosing newer and more potent products containing this substance.

Kratom leaf products, meanwhile, have been sold in the United States for decades and have largely not been subject to regulatory restrictions. They are often used to ease chronic pain, anxiety, or opioid withdrawal symptoms. At the same time, there is a known risk of developing physical dependence on such products.

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Debate over the form of restrictions

Clinicians and advocates for people recovering from addiction warn that highly concentrated 7-OH products may cause stronger dependence than kratom. At the same time, there is little research on this issue.

Most experts agree that these products require some regulatory safeguards, but their views differ on the form such restrictions should take. The approach proposed by the DEA would allow less potent natural kratom products to remain outside regulatory scrutiny.