The governor of Colorado has signed a bill that provides a regulatory framework for the legal sale of kratom, a plant that advocates say can serve as a safer alternative to opioids and also help treat symptoms of addiction withdrawal.
The signing of the Regulation Of Kratom Processors Act, sponsored by Sen. Joann Ginal (D), makes Colorado the eighth state to take this kind of legislative approach to the substance at a time when calls for safe opioid alternatives are rising at all levels of government amid the ongoing overdose epidemic.
Gov. Jared Polis (D), who as a member of Congress was among several lawmakers in 2017 who pushed for federal agencies to research kratom’s health impacts, signed the bill last week. The American Kratom Association (AKA) celebrated the measure’s enactment.