Justice Department Restarts Federal 7-OH Ban Using the Same Limits Florida Adopted in June

The U.S. Justice Department said Friday it is restarting the federal process to outlaw concentrated 7-OH products, and the new federal limits match the ones Florida set on its own in June. Florida officials have spent more than a year pulling these kratom-derived opioids off gas station and vape shop shelves.

The department announced Oct. 9 that the Drug Enforcement Administration will issue two new notices of intent to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, and three related compounds in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I is the most restrictive federal drug category. The new notices rely on updated scientific advice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS recommended a threshold approach meant to separate products that were deliberately enhanced or concentrated from ordinary botanical kratom, which naturally contains small amounts of 7-OH.

For Florida, the federal move follows the same path the state has already taken. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has used emergency rules since August 2025 to ban concentrated 7-OH. In June he signed a broader rule that used the same 1-milligram and 100-to-1 limits that HHS has now recommended for the whole country.

What the Justice Department announced

The announcement covers 7-OH and three potent related substances: mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, known as MGPI, and two compounds called MGM-15 and MGM-16.

"Dangerous and addictive opioids do not belong behind convenience store counters," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the department's release. "Our nation's children and communities deserve protection from harmful substances like 7-OH and other powerful synthetic drugs."

Under the HHS recommendation, 7-OH and MGPI would fall under Schedule I control in either of two cases:

• Either substance alone, or the two combined, exceeds 1 milligram per gram in a solid product or 1 milligram per milliliter in a liquid product.
• The ratio of mitragynine, the main alkaloid in the kratom leaf, to 7-OH, MGPI or their combined amount falls below 100 to 1.

The department said the updated HHS analysis confirms that 7-OH occurs naturally in botanical kratom at relatively low levels. HHS also found scientific information suggesting MGPI may appear at trace levels in some kratom-derived products. The department said the science on MGPI is still developing, but HHS recommended applying the threshold approach to both substances.

Where the federal process stands

The reset changes the timeline for each of the four substances. The DEA temporarily placed MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16 into Schedule I on Aug. 26. According to the department, those controls stay in effect during a new 30-day notice period and until the DEA issues a new temporary scheduling order. For MGM-15 and MGM-16, the DEA will reissue its notice without changing its approach.

7-OH itself has never been federally scheduled. The Justice Department said the DEA had not yet issued a temporary scheduling order for the compound and will now reissue a notice of intent that reflects the new HHS thresholds. The DEA first announced its intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH and the three related substances in July.

Under federal law, the DEA must give at least 30 days' notice before a temporary scheduling order takes effect. A temporary order can last up to two years while the agency pursues permanent scheduling. Because the clock restarts with the new notice, 7-OH products that exceed the thresholds remain outside federal drug control for at least another month.

Florida got there first

Florida's crackdown began in August 2025. That month Uthmeier used his emergency rulemaking authority to make concentrated 7-OH a Schedule I substance under state law. The rule outlawed products with more than 0.04% 7-OH concentration, according to reporting by the News Service of Florida. It also made the sale, possession and distribution of isolated or concentrated 7-OH illegal statewide. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates kratom sales under Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, began pulling the products from retail shelves.

The first rule was easy to get around. WUSF reported that new products appeared on the market that slipped past the 0.04% limit. On June 22, Uthmeier signed a second emergency rule at a news conference at Tampa General Hospital. It listed seven compounds as Schedule I substances: 7-OH, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, 7-acetoxymitragynine, 9-hydroxycorynantheidine, 10-hydroxycorynantheidine, MGM-15 and MGM-16.

The June rule set the same limits the federal government has now adopted. No product may contain more than 1 milligram of the listed chemicals per gram or milliliter. Any product containing 7-OH or related compounds must also contain at least 100 times more mitragynine by mass.

"Florida medical examiners have linked at least 587 overdose deaths to 7-OH and related chemical compound drugs," Uthmeier said at the June event, as reported by WUSF.

Doctors at Tampa General described the products as a growing emergency room problem. Dr. Cory Howard, an emergency physician, said "7-OH is deliberately designed to hide its dangers." Florida Poison Control received 95 calls about 7-OH and related derivatives in the first four months of 2026, and Howard said, "At this pace, we're going to surpass our last year's numbers." Callers ranged in age from a 3-month-old exposed by accident to a 97-year-old.

Dr. Thomas Nappe, Tampa General's medical director of inpatient addiction medicine, warned that "these products become more potent, they become more dangerous, they become much more addictive." The products are sold as gummies, tablets, drink mixes, shots, teas and liquid extracts under brand names such as Hydroxy, 7Tabz and 7-OHMZ. Sellers have marketed some of them as pain relief or as aids for quitting other drugs or alcohol.

The Legislature has not made the ban permanent

Florida's restrictions have rested entirely on emergency rules because lawmakers have not passed a permanent ban. A bill by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, originally included a provision outlawing 7-OH. During negotiations with the House, that language was stripped out in the bill's third committee stop and replaced with limits on nitrous oxide, the News Service of Florida reported. The 2026 regular session ended March 13 with no 7-OH ban in statute.

In March the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services added its own emergency rule on 7-OH labeling. "This new rule will enable us to identify and remove a dangerous and unregulated drug from Florida shelves," agency communications director Aaron Keller said at the time.

Florida has followed this sequence before. The Legislature permanently added nitazenes and tianeptine to the state's Schedule I list after earlier attorneys general first banned them by emergency order.

What it means for Florida shoppers and retailers

Neither the state rules nor the federal proposal bans kratom itself. Kratom leaf products remain legal in Florida, and state health officials have said the crackdown is aimed at concentrated and chemically enhanced products, not the plant.

Because the federal thresholds match Florida's, a product that is illegal under the state's June rule would generally also exceed the limits in the federal proposal. The main change for Florida would come if the DEA finalizes a temporary order. Federal agents and prosecutors would then have their own authority over concentrated 7-OH products, including those shipped across state lines or sold online to Florida buyers, on top of the state's enforcement.

What's next

The DEA is expected to publish its two new notices of intent in the Federal Register, which starts a new 30-day waiting period before any temporary scheduling order on 7-OH can take effect. Federal controls on MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16 remain in place in the meantime.

In Florida, the question is whether lawmakers will write the 7-OH ban into statute. Without that, the state has to keep renewing emergency rules. The Legislature next meets in regular session in 2027, and the federal adoption of Florida's thresholds is likely to come up when the issue returns.