JEFFERSON CITY — A St. Charles County lawmaker isn’t giving up his effort to regulate a plant grown in Southeast Asia and sold across Missouri.
Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, said he will reintroduce the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act” for the upcoming legislative session after the plan died in the Senate this year.
His 2021 bill barred the sale of kratom to minors and said sellers must ensure their kratom products don’t contain dangerous substances.
“It’s just a basic consumer protection measure to ensure that the product is properly labeled so that consumers know what they’re buying and that it’s only sold to adults,” Christofanelli said.
People use kratom to relieve pain, treat opioid withdrawal, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other ailments.
But kratom has also generated public health concerns, including from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which discouraged its use in 2019 because it appeared to have addictive properties.
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