DEA Signals Schedule I Placement for Four Synthetic Opioids, Including Chlorphine Variants

The Action

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a notice of intent to publish a temporary scheduling order placing four synthetic opioids in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The four substances are: 5,6-dichloro brorphine (also known as SR-14968); 5,6-dichloro desmethylchlorphine (also known as SR-17018); N-propionitrile chlorphine (also known as cychlorphine); and spirochlorphine (also known as R-6890). The notice of intent is effective July 1, 2026, and the temporary scheduling order itself is to be published in the Federal Register on or after July 31, 2026. The action affects 21 CFR part 1308.

Legal Authority and Mechanism

The notice of intent is issued pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of 21 U.S.C. 811(h), which authorizes the Attorney General to temporarily place a substance in Schedule I for two years without regard to the standard requirements of 21 U.S.C. 811(b), upon finding that such action is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety. The Attorney General has delegated scheduling authority under 21 U.S.C. 811 to the DEA Administrator. If proceedings to permanently control a substance are initiated under 21 U.S.C. 811(a)(1) while the substance is temporarily controlled, the Attorney General may extend the temporary scheduling for up to one year.

A substance may be temporarily scheduled only if it is not already listed in any other schedule under 21 U.S.C. 812 and if no exemption or approval is in effect for the substance under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355). The document states that all four synthetic opioids are not currently listed in any schedule under the CSA, and that no such exemptions or approvals are in effect for them.

HHS Consultation

The CSA requires the Administrator to notify the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before temporarily placing a substance in Schedule I. According to the document, by letter dated April 1, 2026, the Administrator transmitted the required notice for the four synthetic opioids to the Assistant Secretary for Health of HHS. By letter dated April 10, 2026, the Assistant Secretary responded, advising that, based on a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there were currently no investigational new drug applications or approved new drug applications for any of the four substances. HHS stated it had no objection to the temporary placement of these substances in Schedule I.

Regulatory Consequences

When the temporary scheduling order takes effect, it will impose the full set of regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to Schedule I controlled substances on any person who handles — defined in the document to include manufacturing, distributing, reverse distributing, importing, exporting, engaging in research, conducting instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possessing — or proposes to handle these four substances. The scheduling covers each substance including its isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers, whenever the existence of such forms is possible within the specific chemical designation.

What to Watch

The temporary scheduling order is set to be published in the Federal Register on or after July 31, 2026, at which point the Schedule I controls and sanctions will take effect for all four substances.

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