Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called on the Trump administration on Friday, October 2, 2026, to finalize a proposed federal rule that would restrict the sale of kratom. Grassley stated on the social media platform X that the substance, which has opioid-like properties, should not be sold at gas stations or vape stores.
The request follows a July 2026 proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to temporarily place certain synthetic kratom products into Schedule I, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. The rule targets products containing more than 0.05 percent dry weight of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a chemical found in the plant.
The DEA stated in July that 7-OH carries risks of addiction, dependence, and tolerance. While 11 states have already banned kratom, it remains legal in Iowa and is not currently scheduled at the federal level. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in March 2026 that kratom-related exposure reports increased by 1,200 percent between 2015 and 2025.
Retailers would notice the immediate removal of these products from their shelves, potentially affecting revenue at small businesses that frequently sell botanical supplements. The rule specifically focuses on concentrated or synthetic versions of 7-OH, which the DEA reports are often found in commercially available products rather than the trace amounts naturally occurring in the plant. This federal shift would create a uniform standard across states where the substance is currently legal, such as Iowa, and could set a precedent for how the government regulates other botanical substances with opioid-like effects.
What happens next depends on the Trump administration's response to the request to finalize the July proposal. In August, the DEA took a preliminary step by emergency scheduling two synthetic derivatives, MGM-15 and MGM-16, as Schedule I. A specific deadline for the finalization of the broader 7-OH rule has not yet been reported. Under the proposed rule, the temporary scheduling would be effective for at least two years once finalized.