The FDA announced that it is urging the Drug Enforcement Agency to "classify 7-OH as a Schedule 1 substance, placing it on a list of drugs that include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ecstasy," said The Hill. This would make the drug harder to obtain at locations like gas stations and convenience stores.

In recent months, dietary supplement companies that sell kratom have been urging the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the products containing 7-OH, portraying it as a dangerously concentrated, synthetic form of the original ingredient.