Is Kratom Legal in New Jersey? (2026 Law and 7-OH Status)

New Jersey does not list kratom leaf, mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in its drug schedules, and its statutes set no kratom age limit or sales rule. What New Jersey does control are three semi-synthetic kratom-related compounds, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16, which became Schedule I controlled dangerous substances on September 25, 2026, when the state adopted a federal order under N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(c).

Not being listed is not a blanket clearance. New Jersey's drug offenses also reach a "controlled substance analog," so a kratom-derived product could be charged as an analog of a scheduled substance if a court found it meets the statutory definition of that term. A Senate bill to add 7-OH to Schedule I, S-301, is pending and is not law. For other states, see our guide to kratom laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-12. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers New Jersey state law on kratom and its alkaloids: the Controlled Dangerous Substances Act scheduling sections (N.J.S.A. 24:21-3 and 24:21-5), the drug offenses and enhancements in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5, 2C:35-6, 2C:35-7, 2C:35-7.1, 2C:35-8, 2C:35-9 and 2C:35-10, the firearm offense in 2C:39-4.1, the overdose-assistance section 2C:35-30, the sentencing ranges in chapter 2C:43, the pending bill S-301, and the impaired-driving offense in N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, with one section on federal law. It reflects official sources as of October 11, 2026. It does not cover city or town ordinances, rules in the New Jersey Administrative Code, employer or school policies, or other states' laws.

Is kratom legal in New Jersey?

Kratom leaf is not a listed controlled dangerous substance in New Jersey. The state's Schedule I, N.J.S.A. 24:21-5, lists hallucinogens such as mescaline, peyote, psilocybin and psilocyn under paragraph e., and it has no entry for mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine. No section of the New Jersey Statutes names kratom or mitragynine.

The New Jersey Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs said the same thing when three synthetic compounds were added in September 2026. Their public alert of September 25, 2026 states:

"Natural kratom and other synthetic kratom-related compounds not scheduled will not be illegal in New Jersey as a result of this change in federal law."

That statement is limited to the effect of the federal change. It is not a statement that every kratom product is lawful. Two limits matter. First, New Jersey's drug offenses apply to a controlled dangerous substance "or controlled substance analog" (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5; N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10), so a chemically altered kratom product could be charged as an analog of a scheduled compound if a court found it meets that definition. N.J.S.A. 2C:35-2 defines a controlled substance analog as "a substance that has a chemical structure substantially similar to that of a controlled dangerous substance and that was specifically designed to produce an effect substantially similar to that of a controlled dangerous substance." Second, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs has power to add substances to the schedules, as the next sections explain.

Which kratom compounds are controlled in New Jersey?

How the federal order became New Jersey law

New Jersey's schedules follow federal scheduling unless a state official objects. N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(c) provides:

"If any substance is designated, rescheduled or deleted as a controlled dangerous substance under federal law and notice thereof is given to the director, the director shall similarly control the substance under P.L.1970, c.226, as amended and supplemented, after the expiration of 30 days from publication in the Federal Register of a final order designating a substance as a controlled dangerous substance or rescheduling or deleting a substance, unless within that 30-day period, the director objects to inclusion, rescheduling, or deletion."

If the Director objects, the same subsection requires the reasons to be published in the New Jersey Register and gives interested parties an opportunity to be heard, after which the Director publishes a decision.

The federal step was a DEA temporary scheduling order that placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 in federal Schedule I effective August 26, 2026. The subsection speaks of a "final order"; the Attorney General's alert applied it to this temporary order and explains the result:

"Under New Jersey law, if the federal government schedules a drug and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs does not object--which he did not in this case-- that drug automatically becomes scheduled in New Jersey too. The DEA's temporary scheduling order will remain in effect until at least August 26, 2028, unless the Division changes it."

The alert's "at least August 26, 2028" goes further than the federal documents: the federal order itself gives "until August 26, 2028" as its outer limit and says that DEA will publish a document if it is extended or made permanent, and the October 2026 notices below say it can be replaced sooner. In its October 2026 notice (FR Doc. 2026-20943), DEA states that the August 26, 2026 order placing mitragynine pseudoindoxyl in Schedule I "remains in effect until either it expires or the new temporary order is published and the previous order is withdrawn, whichever occurs first." A second October 2026 notice (FR Doc. 2026-20942) says the same of the order as it applies to MGM-15 and MGM-16 and proposes a new temporary order keeping them in Schedule I "without change". Neither notice is an order, and the DEA says neither new order will be issued before 30 days after publication, about November 13, 2026. A new federal order would raise the same 30-day adoption question under N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(c).

The Director also has a direct scheduling power. N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(a) states that "The director may add substances to or delete or reschedule all substances enumerated in the schedules in sections 5 through 8.1 of P.L.1970, c.226, as amended and supplemented (C.24:21-5 through 24:21-8.1)." The rest of that subsection governs how the power is used. This page reflects official New Jersey sources as of October 11, 2026; because a change can come from the Director rather than from the Legislature, check the Division of Consumer Affairs for any later action on kratom or 7-OH.

Does New Jersey have a kratom age limit or sales rules?

No New Jersey statute names kratom, so no state statute sets an age limit for buying kratom, a label requirement, vendor registration or a cap on 7-OH content. A city or town ordinance, or a rule in the New Jersey Administrative Code, could address kratom; those are outside this page.

Separate from state law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says kratom is not lawfully marketed in the United States as a drug product, a dietary supplement or a food additive in conventional food. That is a federal marketing position, not a New Jersey possession offense.

Pending bill: S-301 would schedule 7-OH

S-301, sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner and pre-filed for introduction in the 2026 session, would add "7 Hydroxymitragynine" to paragraph d., the narcotic-substances list, of New Jersey's Schedule I (N.J.S.A. 24:21-5). Section 2 of the bill states: "This act shall take effect immediately."

The bill does not itself amend the offense sections. Its sponsor's statement says that, under the Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987, manufacturing, distributing or possessing 7-OH with intent to distribute would be a second-degree crime for one ounce or more and a third-degree crime for less than one ounce.

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reported the bill favorably in a statement dated March 16, 2026. S-301 is not law. It would need to pass both houses and be signed, and the version that passes could differ.

Penalties for the scheduled kratom compounds

These penalties do not reach kratom leaf, mitragynine or 7-OH as such, because none of them is a listed controlled dangerous substance in New Jersey. They apply to mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 as Schedule I substances, and could apply to a product charged as a controlled substance analog.

Grading by weight does not apply to these compounds. Subsection b. of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5 sets separate grades for drugs it names individually: heroin, cocaine, MDMA, narcotic drugs, LSD, PCP, methamphetamine, marijuana and hashish. The three kratom-related compounds are not among them, so the catch-all paragraph (13) applies, and it sets one grade without a weight tier. "Manufacture" is defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-2 to mean "the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of a controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog, either directly or by extraction from substances of natural origin"; the definition continues with exclusions not reproduced here.

School zones. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7(a), a person convicted of the school-zone offense "shall, except as provided in N.J.S.2C:35-12, be sentenced by the court to a term of imprisonment." Outside the marijuana exception, "the term of imprisonment shall include the imposition of a minimum term which shall be fixed at, or between, one-third and one-half of the sentence imposed, or three years, whichever is greater, during which the defendant shall be ineligible for parole." Subsection e. sets an affirmative defense, which the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, where "the prohibited conduct took place entirely within a private residence, that no person 17 years of age or younger was present in such private residence at any time during the commission of the offense, and that the prohibited conduct did not involve distributing, dispensing or possessing with the intent to distribute or dispense any controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog for profit."

Subsection b. of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7 provides that "the court may waive or reduce the minimum term of parole ineligibility required under subsection a. of this section or place the defendant on probation," but the court "shall not" do so if the offense took place on school property used for school purposes or on a school bus, or if the defendant "used or threatened violence or was in possession of a firearm." Separately, Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2021-4, dated April 19, 2021 and effective May 19, 2021, instructs prosecutors that a plea offer for a listed drug offense, including 2C:35-5, 2C:35-7 and 2C:35-8, must include a waiver under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-12 so that the parole bar equals one-third of the sentence, as if no mandatory minimum applied. The directive is an instruction to prosecutors, not a statute; it states that it remains in force until repealed, amended or superseded by order of the Attorney General.

Public housing, parks and public buildings. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(d), it is an affirmative defense, which the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, that the conduct "did not involve distributing, dispensing or possessing with the intent to distribute or dispense any controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog for profit, and that the prohibited conduct did not involve distribution to a person 17 years of age or younger." In that section, a public building means "any publicly owned or leased library or museum."

Drug-induced death. N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9(a) states that a person who "manufactures, distributes or dispenses methamphetamine, lysergic acid diethylamide, phencyclidine or any other controlled dangerous substance classified in Schedules I or II, or any controlled substance analog thereof, in violation of subsection a. of N.J.S. 2C:35-5, is strictly liable for a death which results from the injection, inhalation or ingestion of that substance, and is guilty of a crime of the first degree."

Minors, firearms and repeat offenses. On the prosecutor's application, an adult convicted of distributing a controlled dangerous substance to a person 17 or younger or to a pregnant female is subject to "twice the term of imprisonment, fine and penalty, including twice the term of parole ineligibility" (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-8). Using or employing a person 17 or younger to distribute is a second-degree crime with a parole bar of at least five years and a fine up to $500,000 or five times the street value, whichever is greater (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-6). Possessing a firearm while committing a distribution, school-zone or public-zone offense is a separate second-degree crime, and its sentence is served consecutively (N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4.1). A person convicted of distribution or the school-zone offense who has a prior distribution conviction must, on the prosecutor's application, receive an extended term (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(f)).

Calling for help during an overdose

N.J.S.A. 2C:35-30(a) provides that "A person who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose shall not be" arrested, charged, prosecuted or convicted for obtaining, possessing, using or being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance under subsections a., b. or c. of 2C:35-10, along with several other listed possession and paraphernalia offenses. The list does not include the distribution offenses in 2C:35-5. Read the full section for its conditions.

Driving after taking kratom

N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a) reaches "A person who operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug, or operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more by weight of alcohol in the defendant's blood." The drug clause turns on being under the influence; the 0.08 percent per se clause concerns alcohol. Whether a particular product is a narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug is a question for the court. Penalties are covered on our New Jersey DUI laws page.

Criminal records

A conviction for one of the offenses above creates a criminal record. Whether and when it can be cleared is covered in our guide to New Jersey expungement.

Federal kratom law

Federal law follows the same split between leaf and compounds. The DEA temporary order placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 in federal Schedule I effective August 26, 2026, and they appear in 21 CFR 1308.11(h); mitragynine, 7-OH and the kratom plant are not named there. In a document filed for public inspection on October 9, 2026 and set for publication on October 14, 2026, DEA states that its July 2026 notice of intent on 7-OH is being withdrawn in a separate document, and it issues a new notice of intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl when either, or their combined amount, is above a threshold (more than 1 mg per gram for solids or 1 mg per milliliter for liquids, or a ratio of mitragynine to those compounds under 100). A second DEA notice of intent filed the same day (FR Doc. 2026-20942) proposes a new temporary order that would keep MGM-15 and MGM-16 in Schedule I "without change". Neither notice is an order, and the DEA says neither new order will be issued before 30 days after publication, about November 13, 2026. The August 26, 2026 order stays in effect until it expires (a temporary order expires after two years unless extended by up to one year) or is replaced by the new temporary orders, whichever comes first. FDA has warned consumers not to use kratom "because of the risk of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder (SUD)."

Recent kratom law changes in New Jersey

Statute quotations come from the New Jersey Statutes as published by the Legislature.

Related

• Kratom laws by state
• Are magic mushrooms legal in New Jersey? Psilocybin laws
• New Jersey DUI laws
• New Jersey expungement laws
• New York kratom laws
• Pennsylvania kratom laws

This article provides general legal information about New Jersey law, not legal advice. Laws and schedules change, and a schedule change can come from the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. For advice on a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in New Jersey or the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

Last updated: 2026-10-12.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kratom legal in New Jersey?

Kratom leaf, mitragynine and 7-OH are not listed in New Jersey Schedule I (N.J.S.A. 24:21-5), and the Attorney General said on September 25, 2026 that natural kratom is not made illegal by the latest federal change. Three semi-synthetic kratom compounds (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16) are Schedule I in New Jersey since September 25, 2026.

Is 7-OH illegal in New Jersey?

7-hydroxymitragynine is not listed in New Jersey Schedule I. Senate bill S-301 would add it, but it is a pending bill. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs can also add substances to the schedules (N.J.S.A. 24:21-3), and a 7-OH product could be charged as a controlled substance analog if a court found it meets that definition.

What is the age limit to buy kratom in New Jersey?

No New Jersey statute sets a kratom age limit. A city or town ordinance or a store policy may set one; those are outside this page.

Which kratom compounds are banned in New Jersey?

Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 are Schedule I controlled dangerous substances in New Jersey since September 25, 2026, after the state adopted the DEA temporary order of August 26, 2026 under N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(c).

What is the penalty for possessing a scheduled kratom compound in New Jersey?

Possessing a Schedule I substance not specifically covered elsewhere in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10 is a third-degree crime, with 3 to 5 years (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6) and a fine up to $35,000 (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1)).

Can I drive after taking kratom in New Jersey?

N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a) makes it an offense to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug. Whether a given product falls within those words is a question for the court; see our New Jersey DUI page.

Will New Jersey follow the federal 7-OH scheduling?

DEA has issued only a notice of intent for 7-OH, not an order. If DEA issues an order, N.J.S.A. 24:21-3(c), which the Attorney General applied to the August 2026 temporary order, provides that the Director shall similarly control the substance after 30 days from Federal Register publication unless the Director objects within that period.