The 2016 to 2026 Kratom Timeline

Between 2016 and 2026, federal attention moved from a broad proposal involving kratom's principal alkaloids to narrower actions involving elevated 7-OH and specifically named synthetic derivatives. The events are related, but they are not the same regulatory action.

2016: DEA proposes emergency scheduling

In August 2016, DEA announced its intent to place mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine temporarily in Schedule I. Consumers, researchers, vendors, advocacy groups, and members of Congress objected. DEA withdrew the notice in October and opened the matter to public comment instead.

That withdrawal left kratom outside the federal schedules and established 2016 as a defining year for the modern U.S. kratom market.

2017–2024: states take different paths

With no nationwide kratom scheduling rule in place, states developed their own approaches. Some prohibited kratom or named alkaloids; others adopted age, labeling, composition, registration, or testing rules; many enacted no kratom-specific statute.

The product market changed at the same time. Plain leaf powder and capsules were joined by concentrated extracts, gummies, tablets, and products centered on mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine. Those formats can differ substantially in composition and exposure even when they share the word kratom.

2025: FDA focuses on concentrated 7-OH

In 2025, FDA publicly distinguished natural kratom leaf from products containing elevated or synthetically produced 7-OH. The agency's concern centered on concentrated 7-OH products and their opioid-like effects, including risks of sedation, dependence, and withdrawal.

2026: separate federal actions

In July 2026, DEA published one notice concerning 7-OH above proposed concentration thresholds and another concerning mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), MGM-15, and MGM-16.

On August 26, 2026, DEA temporarily placed MGPI, MGM-15, and MGM-16 in Schedule I through August 26, 2028 unless the order is extended or replaced. The proposed threshold action for 7-OH remained a separate process; HHS extended comments on that proposal through September 10, 2026.

Where the decade left the market

By 2026, kratom could refer to traditional leaf, a mitragynine concentrate, an elevated 7-OH product, or a related manufactured compound. Federal and state rules increasingly depend on which substance and concentration a product actually contains.

Kratom Paradise sells plain leaf and MIT products; it does not sell synthetic or concentrated 7-OH, MGPI, MGM-15, or MGM-16.

2016 DEA withdrawal notice · DEA August 26, 2026 temporary order · HHS 7-OH comment extension