The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) filed its intent to temporarily place 7-OH and three related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

The details: Two Notices of Intent were sent to the Federal Register.

• One addresses 7-OH above a specific threshold. It would categorize kratom products that contain more than 0.05% of 7-OH on a dry weight basis and synthetic products containing more than 0.05% or greater than 1 mg of 7-OH as Schedule I substances for two years. The order could be extended an additional year or made permanent. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health issued a Request for Information seeking public comment on the proposed threshold level.
• The second similarly temporarily moves related substances — mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 — into Schedule I.

The main point: Once the orders take effect, the manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of covered substances will become subject to criminal, civil, and administrative provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances are illegal to buy or sell.

But: The temporary scheduling does not apply to botanical kratom products that contain naturally occurring 7-OH below the specified threshold.

• Instead, it targets synthesized products and those containing elevated concentrations of 7-OH.

The bigger picture: While the move could have public health benefits, it is also a big win for makers of natural kratom products, who have been losing market share to 7-OH companies. The move follows a campaign by the kratom industry to persuade the federal government to ban 7-OH.

• Enforcing the new bans could prove challenging. It will be difficult to identify products with 0.05% 7-OH by weight. Law enforcement is not equipped with tests to determine if a substance contains 7-OH, and such a test would have to distinguish the product from botanic kratom.