7-OH is not federally banned as of September 2026, though three closely related compounds have been Schedule I since August. Arizona got there first, and its limit is still the one that decides what can be sold here.
Is 7-OH banned?
No federal order covers 7-OH itself. The Drug Enforcement Administration filed a notice of intent on July 6, 2026 to place 7-hydroxymitragynine above 0.050 percent by dry weight in Schedule I, and as of September 2026 that order had not issued. Three related compounds, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16, entered Schedule I on August 26, 2026. Arizona separately bars any kratom product above 2 percent 7-OH in its alkaloid fraction, and all synthetic 7-OH.
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Key takeaways
Every line carries the date it was true. This status has moved twice since July 2026.
- 7-OH itself is not federally scheduled. The DEA filed a notice of intent on July 6, 2026. As of September 2026 no temporary scheduling order on 7-OH had published.
- Three related compounds are. Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 entered Schedule I on August 26, 2026 and stay there until August 26, 2028.
- If the 7-OH order publishes, it lands the same day. There is no phase-in period. It would run two years, with a possible one-year extension.
- Arizona already regulates it. State law bars kratom products above 2 percent 7-OH in the alkaloid fraction, bans synthetic 7-OH outright, and prohibits sales to anyone under eighteen.
- The Arizona bill that would have tightened it is dead. House Bill 2415 passed both chambers in different forms and died when the Legislature adjourned on June 13, 2026.
Is 7-OH banned federally right now?
The DEA published two notices in the Federal Register on July 6, 2026. A notice of intent is the agency saying what it plans to do and starting the clock. It is not the ban itself, and that difference is what headlines announcing an outlawed substance keep collapsing.
What the July 6 notice proposed
The first notice covers 7-hydroxymitragynine above a specified threshold. The DEA set that threshold in numbers: botanical material from the kratom plant containing more than 0.050 percent 7-OH on a dry weight basis, or synthetic and processed material containing more than 0.050 percent by weight or volume, or more than 1.00 milligram of 7-OH in the article. The notice states the temporary scheduling order "will not be issued before August 5, 2026," and that once issued it takes effect on the day it publishes and stays in place for two years, with a possible extension of one more year while permanent scheduling is considered.
That last detail is worth holding onto. Most federal rules arrive with a compliance window. This one does not.
What changed on August 26, 2026
Two documents published that day. The DEA issued its temporary scheduling order for the second notice's subjects, placing mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 in Schedule I, effective August 26, 2026 until August 26, 2028. Those are synthetic compounds related to 7-OH, sold in the same tablet, powder and liquid-shot forms through the same retailers.
The same day, the Department of Health and Human Services reopened the comment period on the 7-OH threshold itself, extending it to September 10, 2026. An open comment window is a reasonable sign the order has not issued, and a Federal Register search in September 2026 confirmed it had not.
What the threshold leaves out
The action is aimed at concentrates, not at the plant. The DEA's own notice records that in natural botanical form 7-OH "makes up less than two percent of the total alkaloid content" of the kratom plant, or occurs only in trace amounts. What sits above the threshold is the processed end of the market: extracts, pressed pills and processed edibles manufactured to deliver a dose the leaf never produced.
So "kratom" and "the tablet behind the counter" are two different legal objects. A rule written about one does not automatically reach the other.
The federal timeline, by date
Anything you are told about a federal ban should map onto one of these dates.
- July 1, 2026 Announced
The DEA Administrator signs two notices of intent, one covering 7-OH above a specified threshold and one covering three related synthetic compounds.
- July 6, 2026 Published
Both notices appear in the Federal Register with the thresholds stated. A separate request for information opens for public comment.
- August 5, 2026 Earliest possible order
The first date on which the DEA said a temporary scheduling order could issue. The date passed without an order on 7-OH.
- August 26, 2026 Partial order in force
The three related compounds enter Schedule I until August 26, 2028. The comment period on the 7-OH threshold is reopened the same day.
- September 10, 2026 Comments close
The extended comment window closes. The order on 7-OH itself remains unissued as of September 2026.
What Arizona law already says about 7-OH
Arizona did not wait for the federal government. The Kratom Consumer Protection Act regulates by concentration rather than by name.
The Kratom Consumer Protection Act
Under A.R.S. 36-795.02, a processor or retailer in Arizona may not prepare, distribute, sell or expose for sale:
- A kratom product "containing a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction that is greater than two percent of the alkaloid composition of the product."
- A product containing "any synthetic alkaloid, including synthetic mitragynine, synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine or any other synthetically derived compounds of the kratom plant."
- Any kratom-containing product whose package or label does not state the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine in it.
- A kratom product to anyone under eighteen years of age.
A "kratom product" is defined in A.R.S. 36-795 as a food product or dietary ingredient containing any part of the leaf of Mitragyna speciosa. A violation is a class 2 misdemeanor under 36-795.03, and an injured party can also sue for damages. Read together, those four rules mean concentrated synthetic 7-OH has been illegal to sell in Arizona since before the DEA opened its docket.
Why the Attorney General says the law is hard to enforce
On December 9, 2025, Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a consumer alert about highly concentrated synthetic products sold as kratom or as "all-natural" supplements in gas stations and convenience stores. The alert is candid about the gap between statute and enforcement: proving a product is adulterated requires "sophisticated lab testing and expert testimony," the kind of work agencies reserve for serious felonies, while selling in violation of the act is a misdemeanor. Most agencies do not have the lab capacity for it.
That is how an Arizona ban on paper and a product on a Phoenix shelf are both true at once.
What happened to House Bill 2415
House Bill 2415 was the response. It would have classified material containing at least 800 parts per million of 7-hydroxymitragynine, along with any synthetic 7-OH or mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, as narcotic drugs under Arizona law, and raised the purchase age from 18 to 21. The Senate version added a 500-foot buffer around schools and childcare facilities.
It passed the House 36 to 17 and the Senate 22 to 7. The chambers never reconciled their versions, and the bill died when the Fifty-seventh Legislature adjourned sine die on June 13, 2026. It is not law, and a similar bill can be introduced in a future session.
Federal and Arizona rules side by side
The two systems restrict different things by different measures, which is why a product can be lawful under one and not the other.
| Question | Federal | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| Status of 7-OH itself | Proposed for Schedule I. No order issued as of September 2026 | Restricted by concentration, in force now |
| The number that matters | More than 0.050 percent by dry weight, or more than 1.00 milligram per article | More than 2 percent of the product's alkaloid composition |
| Synthetic compounds | Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 in Schedule I since August 26, 2026 | All synthetically derived kratom compounds already prohibited |
| Who the rule binds | Anyone who handles a scheduled substance, once an order is in force | Processors and retailers |
| Penalty | Schedule I criminal and civil sanctions on publication of an order | Class 2 misdemeanor, plus civil damages |
| Pending change | Threshold order could publish at any time and takes effect that day | House Bill 2415 died on June 13, 2026 |
What a ban changes, and what it does not
Legal coverage of 7-OH stops at the courthouse door. For the families who call Guiding Road the question underneath it is different: he is taking this every day, so what happens now.
The shelf is a legal fact and the body is a medical one
NIDA, the drug research institute at the National Institutes of Health, describes mitragynine as breaking down into 7-OH in the body once it is digested, with both compounds activating mu-opioid receptors. Neither kratom nor its related compounds has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for any medical use. In July 2025 the FDA recommended controlling concentrated 7-OH products, after issuing seven warning letters to firms marketing 7-OH tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots.
The harm data is not theoretical. The DEA's notice cites poison center reporting of 165 exposure cases involving 7-hydroxymitragynine between January 1 and July 31, 2025. Among people exposed to 7-OH alone, 35 percent had serious health problems and 67 percent were treated at a healthcare facility. When the DEA queried the FDA's adverse event database, dependence and withdrawal syndrome were the most commonly reported outcomes.
None of that follows the calendar of a scheduling order. A change in legal status answers what a store may sell. It does not change what a body has already adapted to.
Stopping suddenly because a product disappears
This is the practical risk in a fast-moving ban. A temporary order takes effect the day it publishes, supply can dry up quickly afterward, and a man who has been dosing daily then faces withdrawal on someone else's timetable rather than his own.
Coming off concentrated 7-OH is an opioid-type withdrawal and it is not the same experience as stopping kratom leaf. If that is where he is, how 7-OH withdrawal differs from kratom leaf withdrawal sets out what changes. Guiding Road does not provide detox on site. When detox is the first step, the admissions team arranges medically supervised detox coordinated with a partner before he starts the program. No scheduling order requires anyone to stop without medical support.
Common myths about the 7-OH ban
Myth: 7-OH is already illegal everywhere in the United States
As of September 2026 there is no federal order on 7-OH itself. Three related synthetic compounds are in Schedule I, and state law varies. Headlines announcing a federal ban in July 2026 were reporting the notice of intent, not an order.
Myth: if a store can sell it, someone checked it for safety
The FDA has approved no 7-OH product for any use. Its position, on record in the DEA notice, is that 7-hydroxymitragynine does not meet the agency's safety standard for dietary supplements and "has not been proven safe or effective for any drug use." The seven warning letters it sent in 2025 were about unlawful marketing. A warning letter is not a safety review, and the absence of one means nothing.
Myth: Arizona's 2 percent cap means what is on Phoenix shelves is legal
The 2 percent cap applies to kratom leaf products, measured against the product's alkaloid composition. Synthetic 7-OH is barred at any level, so it has no lawful concentration in Arizona. The Attorney General has said plainly that the statute is hard to enforce, so a product on a shelf is evidence of what is being sold, not of what is permitted.
When to talk to someone about 7-OH use
Signs that dependence has formed
The DEA's review of FDA adverse event reports found dependence and withdrawal syndrome to be the most common outcomes reported for 7-hydroxymitragynine. The pattern shows up as three things: needing more to get the same effect, using it to head off withdrawal rather than for any effect at all, and attempts to stop that end on day two or day three. If two of those describe your husband, your son or your brother, the legal question has stopped being the important one.
What the first call with admissions covers
Guiding Road Recovery Center is a men-only program in the Phoenix, Arizona metro for adult men with substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions, offering residential, PHP and IOP care. Detox is not provided on site; when it is needed it is coordinated as specialty care with medical partners first. The admissions team walks through where he is, whether detox has to come first, and what the fit looks like. You can read more about 7-OH addiction treatment for men or talk with the admissions team. Guiding Road is accredited by the Joint Commission for behavioral health care.
Common questions about the 7-OH ban
Is 7-hydroxymitragynine a controlled substance?
Not federally, as of September 2026. Three words get used interchangeably here and should not be: "controlled" means placed on a federal schedule, which 7-OH is not; "regulated" describes what Arizona does through its concentration cap; "unapproved" is the FDA's position. All three can be true of the same product at once.
Can a person be charged for having 7-OH in Arizona right now?
The Arizona penalty in A.R.S. 36-795.03 runs against a processor or retailer that sells in violation of the act, not against a person for possessing the product. Federally there is no possession offense for 7-OH until a scheduling order publishes. That is the statutes as written, and a specific situation is a question for a lawyer.
How will I know if the DEA order has published?
Watch the Federal Register under the DEA docket for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and the HHS request-for-information docket that accompanied it. Because a temporary order takes effect the day it publishes, there is no grace period to watch for and no advance notice beyond what the July notice already gave.
Is mitragynine pseudoindoxyl the same thing as 7-OH?
No. It is one of three 7-OH-related compounds, alongside MGM-15 and MGM-16, that the DEA placed in Schedule I on August 26, 2026. They sell in the same formats through the same retailers, which is why coverage blurs them together, but their scheduling did not change the status of 7-OH itself.
Does the federal action cover kratom tea or leaf powder?
Only if the concentration crosses the line. The proposed threshold is measured at 0.050 percent by dry weight, or 1.00 milligram per article, so the 7-OH content decides it rather than the word on the label. A product sold as "leaf" that has been processed into an extract or pressed pill can sit above the threshold.
Is there a legal age to buy 7-OH in Arizona?
The eighteen-year limit applies to "kratom products" as the statute defines them, meaning leaf-containing food or dietary ingredients. Synthetic 7-OH is prohibited at any level, so there is no age at which a concentrated synthetic product becomes lawful to sell. House Bill 2415 would have raised the limit to 21 and did not become law.
Sources and references
- Drug Enforcement Administration. (2026, July 6). Schedules of Controlled Substance: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Above a Specified Threshold in Schedule I. Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-13580. federalregister.gov
- Drug Enforcement Administration. (2026, August 26). Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 in Schedule I. Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-17429. federalregister.gov
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2026, August 26). Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Above a Specified Threshold in Schedule I; Extension of Comment Period. Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-17409. federalregister.gov
- Arizona Revised Statutes 36-795, 36-795.02 and 36-795.03 (Kratom Consumer Protection Act). Arizona State Legislature. azleg.gov
- Arizona Attorney General's Office. (2025, December 9). Consumer Alert: Attorney General Mayes Warns of Dangerous Synthetic Opioids Sold Across Arizona. azag.gov
- Arizona State Legislature. (2026). H.B. 2415, kratom products; narcotic drugs. Senate fact sheet and House summary of the Senate-engrossed version. azleg.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2025, July 29). FDA Takes Steps to Restrict 7-OH Opioid Products Threatening American Consumers. fda.gov
- NIDA (National Institutes of Health). Kratom. Research topic page. nida.nih.gov
Get Help at Guiding Road
If the man you are worried about is dependent on concentrated 7-OH, the legal question is not the one that decides what happens next. Guiding Road's admissions team can talk through where he is, whether detox needs arranging with a medical partner first, and what treatment would look like for him.
Clinically Reviewed by
Bobby Boykin, MS, LASAC, CRS
Executive Director, Guiding Road Recovery Center
Content on this page, including the description of dependence and withdrawal, is reviewed by Guiding Road's Executive Director. Legal status is reported from the primary sources listed above and was accurate on the date this post was last updated.