The DEA recently did something it tried and failed to do ten years ago: it moved to put a kratom-derived compound into Schedule I — the same category as heroin.

In 2016, the DEA tried to ban kratom outright and had to walk the action back within six weeks after a massive public backlash. This time is different, and the details matter — they reveal something real about how we regulate substances that live in a gray zone between supplement, medicine, and drug of abuse.

In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner — clinical psychologist and addiction scientist — breaks down what just happened with 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), why regulators are treating it as an opioid, and what a decade of regulatory back-and-forth reveals about the limits of catching dangerous drugs before they cause harm.

Watch the full episode here:

Chapters:

0:00 Intro — Why This DEA Action Matters

1:19 Kratom vs. 7-OH — What’s Actually in These Products

3:59 The Pharmacology — Why 7-OH Acts Like a Potent Opioid

6:22 The 2016 DEA Failure and a Decade of Patchwork State Laws

10:27 How Drug Scheduling Actually Works (Schedule I Explained)

13:01 What the DEA’s New Notices of Intent Actually Do

14:24 Why the Kratom Industry Is Supporting This Action

14:51 The Caveat — Natural Leaf Kratom Isn’t Risk-Free Either

17:53 Recap and What to Watch For

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