The Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily placed three 7-hydroxymitragynine-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, effective Aug. 26.
The substances are mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16. The temporary order remains effective until Aug. 26, 2028.
DEA based the action on a finding that placing the three substances in Schedule I is “necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety.”
The order imposes the regulatory controls and administrative, civil and criminal sanctions applicable to Schedule I controlled substances on individuals who handle or propose to handle the three substances.
The three substances are chemically derived from mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, the psychoactive alkaloids found in the kratom plant, and have shown up in commercial products sold as kratom alternatives in gas stations, smoke shops and online. DEA said these products are often marketed with misleading “natural” or “botanical” branding despite functioning as potent opioids.
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