The FDA and DEA set a 0.05% concentration limit for 7-hydroxymitragynine (7OH) in kratom products.
Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
The DEA's July 2026 Federal Register notice of intent did propose a 0.050% (dry weight) threshold for 7-OH, which supports the claim's core figure. However, it was a proposal rather than a finalized limit, the FDA recommended scheduling rather than setting a limit, and HHS's October 2026 recommendation replaced it with concentration- and ratio-based thresholds with different figures.
What was said
… And it's you can't see through the bottle, of course, right? It's a dark glass, and so when you're drinking it, like, how do you, how do you measure out two doses? This is the key, this is the key thing. So what the FDA and DA and everyone did early on in the term was put a extremely high tolerance limit on the amount of the compound at 0.05% concentration of the, of the 70H, of the core opioid compound. So because people still sometimes have drinks with the kratom leaf, which has a trace amount, and 0.05% is very low amount, you'd have to drink, like, 20 or 30 or 40, like, a ton of the bottles to, like, get a high, right? …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. HHS's October 9, 2026 recommendation replaced the 0.05% approach with concentration or ratio-based thresholds (including a 1 milligram per gram figure), and DEA issued new notices of intent reflecting those thresholds.[2][6]
Supports. The DEA's July 2026 Federal Register notice of intent to temporarily schedule 7-hydroxymitragynine above a specified threshold adopts a threshold of more than 0.050 percent 7-OH on a dry weight basis, adapted from the HHS definition.[3]
Supports. Reuters reported in July 2026 that the DEA proposed placing products above a set 7-OH limit into Schedule I, and that HHS and FDA supported the move.[1]
Context. The FDA did not itself set a 0.05% limit; it recommended scheduling 7-OH as a controlled substance, and its document notes 7-OH naturally occurs at roughly 0.01 to 0.04 percent in kratom, below the 0.05% figure.[1][4]
Context. The July DEA action was a notice of intent and the 0.050% threshold was not described as a final, in-force limit in the sources reviewed.[3][5]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 primary, 1 not rated
- 1DEA moves to place some strong kratom-related products ... - Reutersreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2HHS Recommends Science-Based Thresholds to Target Dangerous ...hhs.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 3Federal Register :: Schedules of Controlled Substance ...federalregister.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 47-Hydroxymitragynin (7-OH)fda.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 5Temporary Control of 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and ...congress.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 6US DEA proposes strictest drug controls on kratom-linked products exceeding certain thresholdsrmb.reuters.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
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