# The DEA banned a drug users called a miracle

> Researchers and opioid users say SR-17018 helped people quit without withdrawal. The DEA made it illegal anyway.
- Title: The DEA banned a drug users called a miracle · Ars Technica
- Summary: Researchers and opioid users say SR-17018 helped people quit without withdrawal. The DEA made it illegal anyway. The DEA emergency-scheduled SR-17018 as a…
- Keywords: sr-17018, dea, opioid addiction, drug scheduling, laura bohn, university of south florida health, synthetic opioids, drug policy, Ars Technica
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/11/the-dea-banned-a-drug-some-opioid-users-called-a-miracle
- Published: 2026-11-04T15:08:48+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sr-17018, dea, opioid addiction, drug scheduling, laura bohn, university of south florida health, synthetic opioids, drug policy, technology, science
## A researcher finds a safer painkiller
In 2017, Laura Bohn and scientists at University of South Florida Health published research showing SR-17018 relieved pain in mice without causing respiratory depression, the leading cause of opioid overdose deaths.
## The compound showed promise in animal tests
Mice using SR-17018 did not develop high tolerance to it. Mice already dependent on morphine could use it to reset their tolerance without suffering painful withdrawal symptoms.
## People online called it a godsend
On Reddit and Discord, people who use drugs described SR-17018 as helping them quit opioids they were addicted to. The unregulated compound was relatively easy to purchase online before the ban.
## The DEA made it illegal in late August
The US Drug Enforcement Administration emergency-scheduled SR-17018 as a Schedule I controlled substance, placing it in the same category as heroin with no currently accepted medical use and high abuse potential.
## The ban blocks research and treatment
Laura Bohn told WIRED the scheduling makes her research impossible. She cannot have SR-17018 made, shipped or touched, halting clinical trials she had been planning to conduct on humans.

> It's a real hassle. Right now, I would like to have it tested for additional safety studies, and I can't have it made, I can't ship it, I can't touch it. I can't do anything.
## Jim Bates quit opioids with SR-17018
The 53-year-old Duncan, Oklahoma kitchen manager had been addicted to various opioids since age 25. About 11 months ago he used SR-17018 to taper off MGM-15 in roughly three weeks without physical withdrawal symptoms.

> I got introduced to SR-17, which was a freaking miracle.
## Another user describes it as a miracle drug
Michael, a former 7-OH user, used SR-17018 to quit in January.He had tried to stop five previous times, each involving three days of hell and another week of feeling low.With SR-17018, anxiety and restlessness vanished.

> the anxiety and the sweating and the restlessness and all that stuff was gone.
## The DEA's reasoning for the ban
The DEA said it found two samples of SR-17018 in two states since 2025 via forensic analysis, and detected some samples on the West Coast.
## A lawyer challenges the emergency scheduling
Denver attorney Robert Rush filed a request to stop the ban, arguing SR-17018 has a lower risk profile than other synthetic opioids being scheduled. The DEA never responded to his scientific evidence-based argument.

> It was a very reasonable, well-thought-out, grounded-in-scientific-evidence argument, and they just completely ignored it.
## No overdose deaths linked to SR-17018
Rush says the DEA's emergency scheduling is draconian because SR-17018 has not been implicated in emergency room visits or overdose deaths, unlike the gas station opioids the agency simultaneously banned.
## The ban could worsen the overdose crisis
Rush warns that banning gas station opioids while eliminating SR-17018 sets up a perfect storm for another overdose crisis. He says decades of research into a potential next-generation addiction treatment has been shut down.

> I cannot find a compelling reason to shut down a couple of decades' worth of research into something that could either be or lead to the development of next-generation opioid dependency treatment.
## Key takeaway

The DEA emergency-scheduled SR-17018 as a controlled substance in late August, blocking research and removing a tool some opioid users said helped them quit.