Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called for kratom to be pulled from store shelves everywhere on Friday, and pressed the Trump administration to stop stalling on its long-promised crackdown on concentrated 7-OH.

“All Kratom is deadly it should NOT be sold at gas stations/vape stores/ANYWHERE,” Grassley wrote on X. “Admin needs 2 put out final 7OH rule NOW.”

Update: On Oct. 7, Grassley, Sen. Mike Lee and Sen. Susan Collins asked DEA and FDA to schedule the entire kratom plant.

Grassley ended with a warning aimed at the industry: “Kratom is killing our kids BEWARE of special interest snake oil.”

The 7-OH rule is still missing

Grassley’s frustration has a clear target. In July, the DEA announced it would temporarily place concentrated 7-OH in Schedule I, saying the order would take effect on publication in the Federal Register, no earlier than August 5. Nearly two months later, it still hasn’t been published. In August, the DEA banned three lab-made chemical cousins of 7-OH instead.

The proposed threshold, 0.05 percent 7-OH by dry weight in plant material, has also drawn a fight. The public comment period on that threshold closed Sept. 10, after thousands of comments, many opposing federal control.

Even if finalized, the rule would leave most kratom untouched. The DEA has said it will not apply to botanical kratom products with naturally occurring 7-OH below the threshold.

“All kratom,” not just 7-OH

That’s why Grassley’s wording matters. By saying all kratom is deadly, he joins a growing bipartisan push to ban the whole plant, not just its most concentrated form.

In March, 11 senators led by Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the FDA to go further, warning that targeting 7-OH alone would leave addictive products on shelves and “tacitly declare them safe for consumption.”

Grassley’s home state is moving faster than Washington. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has cited 45 confirmed kratom-associated deaths in Iowa since 2024 and called for a total ban. Massachusetts has banned kratom for one year after 107 deaths.

The toll keeps rising

Kratom was detected in more than 5,200 overdose deaths between 2020 and 2024, according to CDC data. Poison center exposure reports rose 1,231 percent between 2015 and 2025.

Grassley’s post comes a week after packaged kratom turned up in the investigations into the deaths of two University of Mississippi students. Authorities have not confirmed that kratom played a role, and toxicology results are pending. The deaths prompted Fox News host Laura Ingraham to call for a kratom ban and criticize the administration for waffling.

New ad calls for nationwide kratom ban

The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions is airing a new ad on Fox News calling on President Trump to ban kratom nationwide. Watch the ad below.

• “The WRONG Move”: DOJ Loosens 7-OH Ban Three Weeks After Ole Miss Deaths