The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has filed a notice of intent (PDF) to place the southeast Asian plant called kratom to the most restrictive classification of the Controlled Substances Act. The plant, Mitragyna speciosa, and its two primary constituents, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, will be temporarily placed onto Schedule I on September 30, according to a filing by the DEA at 8:45 am Eastern time today. The full announcement is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register [on] August 31.
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The North Carolina state legislature recently decided not to restrict and criminalize use and sale of kratom–limiting it only to buyers over age 18–because of personal testimonials to the benefits of kratom teas. With the federal intent to place the herb and its bioactive constituents on Schedule I, the DEA is ignoring the increasing scientific literature on a potential beneficial medical use of the plant. Schedule I classification, used for drugs with no known medical use and high abuse potential, will certainly make subsequent research on the plant more difficult.