Wyden, Booker, Gillibrand Express Concern about DEA Process to Schedule Kratom

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have sent a letter to Charles Rosenberg, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), expressing concerns about the agency’s rushed action to classify kratom as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) without undertaking a robust process of stakeholder input and discussion of medical, public safety, and scientific considerations.

Specifically, the senators requested that the DEA delay its decision to schedule kratom and allow more time for stakeholders to provide input on a scheduling decision. At the end of August, the DEA announced it would issue an emergency decision to list kratom as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

“While we understand there are times when public safety demands that your agency act quickly on scheduling decisions, we believe that in this instance additional time for the scientific community, public health officials, and other members of the public to comment is warranted and may prove to be in the interest of public health and safety,” the senators wrote.