The House Committee on Finance has given a favorable report to House Bill 563, allowing it to be referred to the Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee (RCOC), the last step before it can be considered by the full House of Representatives. The RCOC held a public hearing on the measure this morning.

According to its official summary, the measure would:

• Regulate the sale and distribution of hemp-derived consumable products and kratom products.
• Require a license to sell, distribute, or manufacture hemp-derived consumable products and kratom products.
• Ban hemp-derived consumable products from school grounds.

The bill states that “Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain two psychoactive ingredients, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymytragynine. The crushed leaves are generally smoked, brewed with tea, or placed into gel capsules.”

Keep reading at The Marijuana Herald

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – More than 1.7 million Americans used the plant-extract kratom in 2021, according to surveys, but many are now concerned about the drug’s use and wide availability.

The American Kratom Association recently issued a consumer advisory about companies that don’t follow its standards.

The advisory followed reports of a Florida woman who died as a result of taking a product that didn’t follow the association’s standards.

Kratom is an extract from a plant called mitragyna speciosa from southeast Asia, a relative of the coffee plant.

It contains “mitragynine,” which, in lower doses, can combat fatigue and increase focus.

In higher doses, doctors say, the drug can act like a narcotic, activating the same receptors that opioids do. In fact, one of its common uses is to alleviate opioid withdrawal.

There is a risk of side effects, including liver toxicity, seizures, respiratory failure and substance use disorder.

Read more at KMOV4

Like alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets, kratom is now another age-restricted product in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last month signed a bill where products containing the plant Mitragyna speciosa can only be sold or given to people older than 21. The law went into effect July 1. 

Kratom is from Southeast Asia and is part of the coffee family. The leaves contain two psychoactive ingredients. Consuming kratom in small amounts can lead to a stimulant effect, and in larger amounts, it acts as a sedative.

The plant’s effects are felt by consuming capsules or an extract, brewing it in a tea or by chewing on its leaves.

Read more at Detroit Free Press

Washington D.C.—The American Kratom Association (AKA) is raising awareness about efforts to safeguard the millions of Americans who use kratom products. The consumer protection group is working to:

• prevent criminalization
• enact proactive legislation to protect the rights of kratom consumers
• ensure that consumers have access to safe products

About kratom

“Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia that has been used for centuries to help people improve their health and well-being,” said Mac Haddow, AKA Senior Fellow on Public Policy, in a press release. “Our goal is to educate all Americans with the truth about kratom— rom potential consumers to regulators and everyone in between.”

The benefits of kratom for chronic pain have been debated within the natural products industry. In a  column for WholeFoods Magazine, Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., maintained that kratom has a lower risk than opiods.

Keep reading at WholeFoods Magazine

A legal and readily available opioid-like substance should be more heavily regulated in Glynn County, a local group of advocates say.

They are now asking the Glynn County Commission to take action to make Kratom more difficult for youth to get and are hoping a bill introduced in February by state Rep. Rick Townsend, R-St. Simons Island, will help to regulate it statewide.

Kratom is a tropical tree from the coffee family that is native to Southeast Asia. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, said the herbal-based products derived from its leaves can have a range of effects on people, from acting as a stimulant at low doses to producing sedative-like impacts at higher doses.

Read more at The Brunswick News

(CN) — A California man whose companies grossed more than $60 million selling the botanical supplement kratom has pleaded guilty in federal court in California to illegal importation, and faces up to two years in prison at his Oct. 6 sentencing. 

Sebastian Guthery, whose Linked-In profile says he “founded or co-founded over 15 different companies totaling millions of dollars in sales and annual revenue,” agreed to the plea deal on July 10, according to a Justice Department press release. Guthery’s company, Nine2Five LLC, also pleaded guilty to money laundering. It appears to be the first criminal money laundering conviction for illegally importing kratom into the United States. 

“This should put the kratom industry on notice,” Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office, said in the announcement.

Keep reading at Courthouse News Service

Like alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets, kratom is now another age-restricted product in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last month signed a bill where products containing the plant Mitragyna speciosa can only be sold or given to people older than 21. The law went into effect July 1. 

Kratom is from Southeast Asia and is part of the coffee family. The leaves contain two psychoactive ingredients. Consuming kratom in small amounts can lead to a stimulant effect, and in larger amounts, it acts as a sedative.

The plant’s effects are felt by consuming capsules or an extract, brewing it in a tea or by chewing on its leaves.

Read more at USA Today

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A new Florida law states it’s illegal to sell, deliver, barter, furnish, or give, directly or indirectly, any kratom product to a person under 21 years of age.

Kratom is an herbal substance that can produce stimulant and sedative-like effects. Kratom is sold in many kava bars across Florida. Kava is a complex plant that’s root is often brewed into tea.

Both kava and kratom have become a craze in the Sunshine State.

“The first kava bars opened in the early 2000s in South Florida,” said Dallas Vasquez, CEO of Mitra 9. “Now, without a doubt, there’s more kava bars in the state…

Keep reading at ABC7

A manufacturer of kratom whose products were seized by the federal government has filed a “reply brief” in court in its quest to retrieve its products and dismiss a lawsuit. 

In the June 21 filing, Botanic Tonics LLC made its final arguments for why the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma should dismiss the government’s first amended complaint, which seeks to condemn and forfeit the kratom products.

Federal Judge John F. Heil III, who is presiding over the case, is under no deadline to rule, and it could be months before a decision is handed down.

Government attorneys earlier this month objected to Botanic Tonics’ request to dismiss the lawsuit.

Keep reading at Natural Products Insider

In recent years, more and more people have been asking questions about the legality of kratom capsules. After all, this herbal supplement has exploded in popularity due to its energy boosts and relaxation relief capabilities – but it still hasn’t been regulated as a generic medication or approved for over-the-counter sale by the FDA. With statutes continually changing and new regulations cropping up, it can be hard to keep track of where Kratom stands legally speaking with any certainty. That’s why we’ve gathered an exhaustive list of four key points you must understand before making assumptions about the Kratom capsule legality in 2023.

Read the story at MarylandReporter.com

Full Story: A new law concerning the sale and distribution of kratom goes into effect on July 1, 2023. During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act passed the legislature unanimously and makes it illegal to “sell, deliver, barter, furnish, or give, directly or indirectly, any kratom product to a person under 21 years of age.”

Source: Yahoo! News

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Beginning July 1, it will be illegal to sell kratom, an herbal substance from southeast Asia, to people under 21 years of age in Florida.

“We give everyone who sells this the opportunity to understand this will get you locked up if you sell it to anyone under the age of 21,” said Sheriff Grady Judd.

The Florida legislature passed the ban for people under the age of 21 unanimously this legislative session.

Sheriff Judd refers to the substance as “dangerous” because of the “euphoric” sensation it can give to people who consume it.

“It can create hallucinations, confusion. It’s dangerous,” said the sheriff.

Kratom can be consumed in tea/powder or capsule form.

There is no approved use of kratom by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In fact, in a release from this month, the FDA warns against using kratom.

Keep reading at MSN

The Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 39-26 on Monday to legalize and regulate the sale of kratom, a herbal substance that state health officials previously banned.

Kratom is currently legal on the federal level, though there have been attempts to ban it. Proponents say that it can be a safer, less-addictive alternative to dangerous drugs like opioids. Skeptics argue that it can be dangerous, and hasn’t been adequately studied.

House Bill 5530, introduced by Rep. John “Jay” Edwards, D-Tiverton, and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Westerly, seeks to create guardrails by requiring lab testing, and prohibiting the sale of kratom products that are contaminated or adulterated “with a dangerous non-kratom substance.”

Read more at The Providence Journal

Beginning next month, kratom sales to anyone under 21 will be illegal in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has authorized Florida’s first strictures on the sale of kratom, a consumable relative of the coffee plant native to Southeast Asia that for centuries has been used as a euphoric pain reliever.

The legislation (HB 179), dubbed the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” bans the sale of the substance to people younger than 21. It also defines “kratom products” in state statues.

Beginning July 1, anyone who sells kratom products to customers under 21 will face a second-degree misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

DeSantis signed the measure Friday, roughly a month after both chambers of the Legislature approved the measure from Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade.

Read more at Florida Politics

BILLINGS, Mont. – Users of Kratom in Montana are relieved after the legal status of the plant-based substance was up in the air during the last legislative session. 

“It’s been really helpful for me after I couldn’t use prescription drugs,” said Lindsey Jellum, a real estate agent in Billings.

“I was in a car accident years ago, and eventually I wasn’t allowed to take prescription drugs to help. I turned to Kratom, and it’s been really helpful for my health and getting my energy back.” 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports Kratom to have opioid and stimulant like affects. 

While not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, NIH reports Kratom use to manage withdrawal symptoms, something using it as an alternative to get off of drugs.

Read more at KULR-8

A manufacturer of kratom products seized by U.S. authorities has asked a federal court in Oklahoma to dismiss a civil forfeiture action.

In court papers filed May 17, lawyers for Botanic Tonics LLC argued the government’s complaint “fails to even reference, let alone allege non-compliance with, the specific statute addressing whether new dietary ingredients are deemed adulterated.”

“Further, the complaint and its boilerplate language are bereft of facts that support the government’s conclusory allegations about the safety of kratom,” asserted the motion to dismiss, filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

FDA, with the help of U.S. Marshals, recently seized articles containing kratom manufactured by Botanic Tonics of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Read more at Natural Products Insider

LAFAYETTE, La. — Next week, the Louisiana Senate will consider a bill classifying kratom as a Schedule I narcotic.

This classification means that kratom would be categorized alongside other substances such as heroin, LSD, marijuana, and peyote. The term Schedule I refers to substances that are not currently accepted for medical use and have a high likelihood of abuse.

The leaves of this tropical tree native to Southeast Asia can produce a stimulant-like effect when consumed. Local tobacco shops and gas stations here in Lafayette sell kratom pills, powders, and liquids.

Asher Lansiquot co-owner of Lit Smoke Shop, says that besides CBD kratom is the next highest product he sells. His customers tell him that taking the plant has been life-changing for them.

Get the full story at katc.com

The City of Alton formally banned the drug known as Kratom in March of 2018, but the current city council has been asked to take another look at its policy. The request didn’t make it far, with only two aldermen voting yes – 2^nd Ward Alderwoman Carolyn MacAfee and 7^th Ward Alderman Nate Keener.

In other business, ARPA Funds were approved for additional work on the Riverview Drive Project in the amount of $355,000. Twenty resolutions calling for the commencement of demolition proceedings for properties around the city were approved, and a handful of street closures were also given the green-light.

Keep reading at advantagenews.com