Sen. Grassley urges Trump administration to finalize kratom rule

Why it matters

The statement adds a prominent federal policymaker’s voice to an ongoing DEA rulemaking process involving products above a specified 7-hydroxymitragynine threshold.

The big picture

The report distinguishes the senator’s position from current federal law. It notes that botanical kratom itself is not scheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act and that the cited DEA proposal concerns a defined product threshold.

Key findings

• Sen. Chuck Grassley called on the administration to finalize the DEA's proposed 7-OH rule.
• The report says the July proposal would temporarily schedule products containing more than 0.05% dry weight 7-hydroxymitragynine.
• It describes 7-OH as naturally occurring in trace amounts in botanical kratom while noting commercial products may be synthetic or highly concentrated.
• The DEA separately emergency-scheduled MGM-15 and MGM-16 in August, according to the report.
• The article states that kratom itself is not federally scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.

What they say

Grassley wrote that the administration should put out a final 7-OH rule, according to The Hill.

Bottom line

A senator’s call for action does not itself change federal law; the relevant DEA rulemaking remains the operative policy process.