Federal drug enforcement authorities moved last month to restrict three potent kratom-related compounds now sold at retail outlets common across Colorado Springs, classifying them alongside heroin and LSD under the nation's strictest drug category.

The US Department of Justice, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, classified three semisynthetic opioid-like compounds as Schedule I substances — the category the federal government uses for illicit substances with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." The scheduling is for two years on an emergency basis, according to the announcement released August 25.

Two of the affected compounds are currently sold in consumer products such as powders, chewable tablets and liquid shots at gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores. US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the substances are "being manufactured and sold in consumer products, often under labels that obscure their true risks."

The newly banned compounds include mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, commonly known as MGPI — a high-potency, chemically rearranged derivative of 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH — along with two other semisynthetic derivatives of 7-OH, MGM-15 and MGM-16. While MGM-16 has not been confirmed to be found in the consumer market, the DOJ said the agencies acted out of concern that the compound would have emerged "as a substitute for related substances."

Kratom is made from the leaves of a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia and has both stimulant and sedative effects. The natural and semisynthetic versions of its key compounds can bind to the brain's mu opioid receptors, which help regulate pain, breathing, and gastrointestinal activity, producing effects similar to those of opioid drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, or oxycodone.

Clinicians have reported a surge in patients presenting with dependencies on these products. One addiction medicine physician said that a year ago, patients with these dependencies numbered roughly one per week at their facility, but that figure has climbed to approximately ten cases per week.

Not all medical experts are uniformly supportive of the scheduling decision. Some clinicians are concerned that the new classification will likely send dependent customers into withdrawal or toward dangerous alternatives, and note that some people with opioid use disorder turn to natural or semisynthetic kratom-related products as potentially less harmful alternatives or to manage withdrawal symptoms after quitting opioids. The DOJ decision will also prevent research on any potential medicinal value the substances may have, which a lower classification would have allowed along with regulation.

Anyone currently dependent on these products who experiences withdrawal symptoms is advised to seek care promptly. "If you stop taking any of these chemicals and you are feeling sick, immediately seek care at the closest addiction medicine or treatment center in the area," one physician said. "If you're having a life-threatening crisis, then obviously you should go to the hospital."

Before the latest DEA decision, some states had already classified semisynthetic 7-OH as a Schedule I substance or otherwise restricted it, including Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and California. Colorado's own regulatory posture on kratom and its derivatives remains an open question as the federal two-year emergency scheduling period takes effect.