Florida's Emergency 7-OH Ban Set to Expire June 30 After Lawmakers Decline to Act
Photo: Michael Rivera / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Florida's emergency ban on concentrated 7-OH is scheduled to expire June 30, 2026, after state lawmakers ended their session without passing a permanent prohibition. Whether the substance returns to legal sale now depends on whether the Attorney General issues a new emergency rule to extend the restriction.
Florida moved against concentrated 7-OH in August 2025, when Attorney General James Uthmeier issued Emergency Rule 2ER25-2, classifying the compound, when concentrated above 400 parts per million on a dry-weight basis, as a Schedule I controlled substance under Chapter 893 of Florida law. The rule explicitly excludes mitragynine, the other principal kratom alkaloid, and does not reach natural kratom leaf.
Florida grants its Attorney General authority to schedule a substance on an emergency basis to address an imminent hazard, but such rules are temporary. By statute, they expire the following June 30 unless the Legislature codifies them. During the 2026 session, House Bill 309 initially sought to make the 7-OH scheduling permanent at the same 400 ppm threshold. The 7-OH provision was stripped from the bill as it moved through committee, with the sponsor substituting restrictions on nitrous oxide. The Legislature adjourned March 13 without further action, leaving Emergency Rule 2ER25-2 on track to lapse June 30.
State agencies have moved to address the gap by other means. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued its own emergency rule on 7-OH labeling, though that measure governs how products are presented rather than prohibiting their sale, and it carries its own 90-day expiration.
If Emergency Rule 2ER25-2 lapses on June 30 without replacement, concentrated 7-OH products that are currently prohibited could return to legal sale in Florida, subject to applicable labeling requirements. Retailers and distributors face real uncertainty rather than a clean reversal. The Attorney General retains authority to issue a new emergency rule superseding the expiring one, a maneuver an administrative law judge affirmed is permissible in a December 2025 ruling. Businesses weighing whether to restock concentrated 7-OH after June 30 should account for the possibility of rapid re-scheduling.