The DEA has proposed temporarily placing four kratom-derived opioids—7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16—in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. While this does not go as far as we would like, it is a critical step forward, and we strongly support this action.

The DEA has opened a docket for public comment.
Supporters of these products are well organized and have already submitted thousands of comments urging the DEA not to move forward. It is essential that the agency also hear from individuals who believe these opioid-active substances pose a serious threat to public health.

You can make a difference. Thoughtful, respectful comments from you and others demonstrate that many Americans support stronger safeguards for these compounds.

Comments must be submitted by July 31. Please don’t wait.

Please submit your comment at https://www.regulations.gov/document/HHS-OASH-2026-0232-0001. We have provided two sample letters below that you are welcome to personalize before submitting.

Thank you for standing with FED UP! and for helping protect families and communities from another generation of addictive opioid products.

Dan Busch

Daniel Busch, M.D., M.P.H.
Chair, FED UP! Coalition
feduprally.org

Sample letter #1: For those who have been personally affected by the opioid epidemic

I strongly support the DEA’s temporary placement of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
My family knows firsthand the devastation that opioids can cause. We lost a loved one to opioid addiction and overdose. We were among the many families who were told that opioid medications could be used safely, only to discover too late how addictive and dangerous they could be.
That experience has made me deeply concerned by the rapid growth of products containing 7-OH and related compounds. These products are being sold in convenience stores, smoke shops, and online even though they have strong opioid effects and pose serious risks of abuse, addiction, and overdose.
I recognize that some people believe these products have helped them. I respect their experiences. But personal testimonials cannot substitute for the careful scientific and regulatory review that the Controlled Substances Act requires for substances with significant abuse potential. If these compounds are ultimately shown to have accepted medical uses, they should be evaluated through the FDA approval process and prescribed under appropriate medical supervision—not sold as unregulated consumer products.
Our country has paid an enormous price for underestimating the risks of opioids. I hope we have learned that it is far better to act before another public health crisis develops than after thousands more families have suffered.
Thank you for taking this important step to protect the American public. I urge you to finalize this scheduling action.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]

Sample Letter #2. For those who have NOT been personally affected by the opioid epidemic

I am writing to express my strong support for the DEA’s temporary placement of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
I have watched the opioid epidemic devastate communities across our country. It has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, strained our healthcare system, and left countless families grieving.
That is why I believe we should take a cautious approach when new opioids enter the marketplace. Products that act on opioid receptors should certainly not be sold as ordinary consumer products.
I understand that some individuals believe 7-OH has helped relieve their pain. Those experiences deserve to be studied. But they do not change the need to regulate potent opioid-active compounds through the safeguards established by federal law. If these substances prove to be safe and effective, they should be approved and prescribed as medicines—not marketed without the protections that patients and consumers deserve.
I appreciate the DEA’s efforts to prevent history from repeating itself. Please finalize this temporary scheduling action and continue protecting the public from emerging opioid threats.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]

The FED UP! Coalition is submitting a Citizen Petition to the FDA urging action on a new and rapidly emerging class of kratom-derived opioid products.

These products increasingly include concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), pseudoindoxyl compounds, and semi-synthetic derivatives designed to produce strong μ-opioid receptor activation. Unlike traditional kratom leaf, many of these products are engineered for opioid-like effects and are being sold in smoke shops, gas stations, and online without drug-level regulatory oversight.

Our petition asks FDA to clarify that products delivering substantial μ-opioid receptor agonist activity should be regulated as drugs, not as dietary supplements or conventional foods.

We are seeking support from individuals and organizations who agree that new opioid-like compounds should not enter the marketplace without appropriate safety oversight.

To read the full petition, press HERE.

SignHERE to support this petition.

Your name and organization may be listed publicly as supporters unless you request otherwise.

Opioid settlement funds are supposed to be kept separate and to be used for education, prevention, treatment, and harm reduction.

But nothing in the settlement agreement prevents states or counties from using the Settlement Funds to pay for programs that are already funded while moving the money that is currently paying for these programs back into general funds!

Thirteen states and Washington D.C. have made “no supplantation” commitments to protect the opioid settlement money for its intended purposes: Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

If your state is not on this list, the Opioid Settlement Funds in your state are vulnerable to misuse.

DON’T LET THIS ISSUE GET OUT OF HAND!

Call your state legislator today to set up a meeting. Let them know that the settlement funds were meant to supplement existing sources of funding, not supplant them, and that you want them to introduce “no supplantation” legislation for the Opioid Settlement Funds.

If you can’t meet with the legislator, meet with one of their aides. If you can’t get a meeting set up, write them!  (For a sample letter, see below.)

Feel free to get back to us with any questions at info@feduprally.org.

MAKE EVERY PENNY COUNT!

BACKGROUND

               The 1998 Tobacco Settlement resulted in payments to the states of $206 billion over 25 years. But only 2% of that money has gone to tobacco prevention and cessation programs!

               The Opioid Settlement Agreement was supposed to be different. Funds could only be used to pay for projects directed toward opioid remediation.

               FED UP! has been concerned from the beginning about misuse of these funds and has focused attention on this issue with our Make Every Penny Count campaign.

               We only recently learned that there is an even greater threat to the settlement money. Unless there are specific state laws, states, counties, and cities can use the Opioid Litigation Settlement money to pay for programs that are already being paid for, and then use the  money that is currently paying for these programs for some other purpose. This is called “supplantation” and the result is no net gain in funding for opioid remediation.

               John Oliver devoted his May 12^th  program to misuse of the Opioid Settlement Funds. It’s at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0yuH1CiA0. He calls supplantation an “accounting trick.”

          Some states have passed strong “No supplantation” laws. Connecticut is an example: Connecticut Public Act No. 22-48, Section 2 (f) 6 states:

“Moneys expended from the [Opioid Settlement Fund] for the purposes set forth in subsection (d) of this section shall be supplemental to, and shall not supplant or take the place of, any other funds, including, but not limited to, insurance benefits or local, state or federal funding, that would otherwise have been expended for such purposes.”

https://cga.ct.gov/2022/ACT/PA/PDF/2022PA-00048-R00HB-05044-PA.PDF

Sample letter [[If anything has brought the opioid epidemic home to you, begin with that.]:

(Month)(Day)(Year)

The Honorable (First name)(Last name)

Address City, State (Zip Code)

RE: Save the opioid settlement money for its intended uses.

District Dear (Representative/Senator/Congressman or Congresswoman) (Last name):

I’ve lived in [Insert State] most of my life. Two months ago a student in my daughter’s high school class died of fentanyl poisoning. The same thing could have happened to my daughter. I know that [Insert State] has programs to educate children and to provide treatment, but it’s obviously not enough.  

          I was relieved when I learned that Opioid Litigation Settlement money was being sent to [Insert State]. That money is supposed to provide some of the additional help that is desperately needed.  

But then I heard that in some parts of the country, this money is being used as an easy solution for budget shortfalls. That isn’t the purpose of this money and we must not allow this to happen in [Insert State].

Please help us get “no supplantation” legislation passed to assure that money from the Opioid Settlement will be used for its intended purpose, not to pay for programs that already exist.

Sincerely, 

[Insert Name]

[Your address]

[Your phone number]

States are in the process of determining disbursement of billions of dollars from the opioid related lawsuit settlements. FED UP! encourages those funds to be used only for tackling the opioid epidemic. Please contact your local State Attorney General’s office ASAP to find out how your state is handling the money.

Click here for more information State Opioid Settlement Funding Tracker

npr: States differ on how best to spend $26B from settlement in opioid cases