HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House on Monday voted 197-3 to ban the sale of kratom to minors, after earlier legislative moves stripped from the bill safeguards for adults who use the substance taken from a tropical evergreen tree.

Bill sponsor Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, a Montgomery County Republican, said she was frustrated that the adult-targeted measures were taken out of the bill in a committee. She said they would be contained in a future bill.

Consumed in powder, capsule and beverage forms, kratom is a largely unregulated, but widely used substance. It can be mixed with things that make it more harmful, or have unpredictable effects if used in improper amounts.

“We have seen children in the ER,” Pennycuick said. “We have had children who have had seizures.”

Keep reading at mcall.com

House Appropriations Committee leaders have released yet another set of spending bill reports that touch on marijuana and other drug policy issues like kratom, with this latest batch focusing on cannabis research barriers, impaired driving and preventing use by youth and pregnant people.

Additionally, at a committee markup on Tuesday, members separately approved an amendment aimed at removing a federal funding cap to reimburse local and state police departments that are partners in a cannabis eradication program targeting illicit growers.

The newly released reports, meanwhile, cover funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, Transportation and Interior for the 2023 Fiscal Year.

Much of the report language centers on studying cannabis, including one section that reiterates the committee’s ongoing concerns about barriers associated with investigating Schedule I drugs like marijuana that “effectively limit the amount and type of research that can be conducted.”

Keep reading at marijuanamoment.net

A state House bill that was supposed to enhance consumer protections for kratom, an unregulated plant that has the properties of a stimulant when consumed at low levels and an opiate when consumed in high quantities, ended up looking very different when it came out of committee this week.

Instead of adding protections, the Republican-controlled House Health Committee amended the bill sponsored by Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Mongomery, to remove all provisions about kratom manufacturing and production, and lowered the purchasing age to 18 years old from 21 years old.

The American Kratom Association, an industry trade group that advocates to keep kratom legal and pass kratom regulations, argued those provisions were necessary to keep consumers safe; supporters of the amendment argued most of the regulations struck from the bill were already in place. Legislators are discussing different amendments to the bill, but its future remains in limbo. 

Read the story at Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Gov. Kate Brown recently signed into law the Oregon Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which took effect this month. This is vital legislation for Oregon and shapes the path for federal regulations of kratom, a popular herbal remedy, to keep all consumers safe.

As a member of Gov. Brown’s Opioid Task Force, I have learned how damaging opioids can be to individuals and their families. After years of scientific research showing that kratom is a significantly safer product than opioids and other drugs, many of us are relieved that Governor Brown has decided to take this step to protect Oregonians who rely on kratom. This passage marks a change in understanding why protecting and regulating kratom is so important.

Read the full story at The Oregonian

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.

Read more at Marijuana Moment

The Kratom Vendors Association (KVA) announced it has opened its virtual doors to offer its products and services specifically to kratom vendors in the United States. Founded by Stacey Lloyd in March 2022, the Kratom Vendors Association provides Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance support to kratom vendors doing business in the United States. KVA offers exclusive membership, standard operating procedures (SOPs), one-on-one GMP compliance support from GMP compliance specialists, GMP training courses, and a GMP Certification Program.

“We assist kratom vendors with GMP compliance to ensure product quality and consumer safety,” explains Stacey Lloyd.

“I began auditing kratom vendors for the American Kratom Association. During my experience working with kratom vendors, I found there was a critical need for compliance support. There currently isn’t an organization that assists kratom vendors with becoming GMP compliant, so they have no place to turn for help.”

Read more at Yahoo Finance

The controversy over the Colorado General Assembly’s passage of a new bill related to fentanyl, which will allow individuals to be charged with a felony for possessing the drug even if they don’t realize it was mixed with another substance, overshadowed the legislature’s approval of another groundbreaking measure: Senate Bill 22-120, also known as Regulation of Kratom Processors, the first major bill in the state to focus on kratom, a popular organic substance of Southeast Asian origin.

Governor Jared Polis, who asked the federal Food and Drug Administration to lift its public-health warning on kratom while a member of Congress, is expected to sign Regulation of Kratom Processors — and that’s good news for Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association, an advocacy organization that pushed hard for the measure’s approval.

Keep reading at Westword.com

With a shift in consumerism towards a more dynamic and natural outlook, it is time to cover grey areas like Kratom under laws. Apart from its popularity among users, Kratom is an excellent industry for investment and growth. The high craze for kratom strains like Red Horned kratom makes it imperative for authorities to keep a check. The last few years have seen a rampant rise in updates relative to the legal status of Kratom. While many blogs focus only on whether buying Kratom is legal or not, the current surge in consciousness demands to look beyond it. The laws related to commerce always protect consumers, and since Kratom is a product, it’s high time the debate to preserve kratom consumers is put forth.

Keep reading at programminginsider.com

A top federal health agency hosted a meeting last week to explore the therapeutic potential of a “controversial tree” commonly known as kratom, which supporters say has pain relieving qualities and can be used as a substitute for opioids.

As part of a lecture series, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invited University of Florida researcher Christopher McCurdy to provide an overview of the science of kratom and what role it could play in mitigating the overdose crisis.

McCurdy, who previously served as the director of an NIH research center, titled his lecture, “Can a Controversial Tree Help End the Opioid Crisis?” He went into detail about anecdotal experience and clinical research, explaining how there’s promising evidence that kratom could help alleviate pain, reduce withdrawal symptoms from opioids and lower dependence on methamphetamine, for example.

Read more at Marijuana Movement

JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate endorsed legislation Monday requiring more regulations for kratom products.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, in the House, and Sen. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, in the Senate, will bar the sale of the product to anyone younger than 18, as well as require sellers to ensure that their products do not contain dangerous substances.

The legislation was approved on a 30-2 vote, with Republican Sens. Paul Wieland of Imperial and Jeanie Riddle of Mokane dissenting.

Kratom is a plant grown in Southeast Asia that affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine. It is often used as a dietary supplement for pain relief and a natural alternative to treat opioid withdrawal, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other health conditions.

Keep reading at stltoday.com

A bill by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who is also chairman of the Florida Republican Party, would have regulated a different drug, kratom, a medicinal plant with opioid properties. 

Gruters withdrew the bill after it passed two committees unanimously but then stalled. The Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act was intended to protect people’s rights to consume the drug safely in Florida, Gruters said.

Sarasota County has banned possession of kratom, citing the decision by the U.S. Army and Navy to ban the drug. Their findings said the drug has addictive properties and causes symptoms like dry mouth, insomnia, anorexia, hallucinations and confusion.

Gruters said the drug is good overall and wants to prevent manufacturers from mixing the drug with harmful substances. The drug can be found in many smoke shops around the U.S. and is typically consumed in tea.

Keep reading at the Orlando Sentinel