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In October 2016, and after caving to an energetic pressure campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration said it will drop a proposed emergency ban on kratom, a Southeast Asian tree leaf product that consumers say treats pain, addiction and a long list of other conditions. The DEA now will open a public comment period ending Dec. 1, after which it will decide whether or not to move forward with a ban or some other restriction on kratom, which generally is brewed as tea or consumed in pills.

“Based on the response we’ve gotten over the last month or so, we believe it’s the prudent and reasonable action to take,” DEA spokesman Russ Baer says. “We want to make sure this is a transparent process. We want to have an open dialog with the public.”

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-12/dea-withdraws-kratom-ban-opens-public-comment-period

Original Story from August 2016:

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a notice of intent to temporarily schedule the opioids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which are the main active constituents of the plant kratom, into schedule I pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-20803.pdf