Category: Kratom

The measure is the weaker of two proposals filed this year to add safeguards for kratom to Florida statutes.

After bouncing back and forth between the Senate and House this week, a years-in-the-making measure that would ban the sale of products made from a consumable plant called kratom to people under 21 has finally passed.

Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota County, the only local government in Florida with a kratom ban, accepted a weaker version of legislation he and Pensacola Rep. Alex Andrade carried this Session.

Both bills are named the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act.” Gruters’ bill (SB 136) was far truer to that title and included detailed processing, reporting and labeling requirements. But it was Andrade’s bill (HB 179), which only includes the age limit and a definition for “kratom products,” that could soon go to the Governor’s desk.

Keep reading at floridapolitics.com

‘I’m asking the Senate to stick with our bill this year.’

A House bill meant to be a “first step” in regulating kratom, a consumable plant with opioid-like effects, is heading back to the Senate for reconsideration after Representatives rejected changes the upper chamber made last month.

Pensacola Rep. Alex Andrade explained that while he doesn’t disapprove in principle with the changes, which would require manufacturers to test their kratom products and register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). But they come with a cost neither contemplated in the bill nor accommodated by the next budget.

“While I’m happy to work in the future on consumer protections related to this product, I believe as to be fiscally responsible (that these revisions) would require a fee bill in conjunction,” he said. “I’m asking the Senate to stick with our bill this year.”

Keep reading at Florida Politics

A relative of the coffee plant, kratom has been used for centuries as a euphoric pain reliever.

The Senate approved a House bill Thursday with new rules governing kratom, a consumable plant with opioid- and stimulant-like effects. But since the chamber amended the measure, it must pass an additional vote.

Senators voted unanimously for HB 179, titled the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” which among other things bans the sale of kratom products to people under 21 and defines the substance in state statutes.

While the bill bears Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade’s name, its language is nearly identical to a version Republican Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota carried this year. Gruters amended Andrade’s bill and tabled his own.

Keep reading at Florida Politics

Kratom is currently legal in Montana, but if HB 437 is passed into law this legislative session, it would list kratom as a Schedule I drug, meaning the state sees no medical use for it.

Kratom users advocate for its ability to boost mood and energy, help with chronic pain and potentially replace opioids.

Mitch Ronshaugen owns Hippy Hut, an antique and kratom store. He is speaking out against the bill, as it could impact his life in multiple ways if it passes.

“If this House Bill 437 passes, it will destroy my business and I’ll end up back on welfare,” Ronshaugen said. “I found kratom because of my aversion to use opiate painkillers. I had a friend that ended up with a heroin addiction that started with prescription medications when the doctor yanked the rug out from under him.”

Keep reading at Q2

In previous years, a bill that would regulate kratom has been held up in the Missouri Senate and vetoed by the governor. Now, state Representative Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, has started from scratch and hopes to get his bill passed in these final four weeks of session.

Kratom is an herbal supplement that is consumed in pill form. It has a mild stimulant effect as well as provides mild pain relief for chronic aches and pains. It is also used to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

“We want people to know what they’re buying,” he told Missourinet. “We want things that are sold in the marketplace that say they’re kratom to actually be 100% pure kratom, and we want to make sure that that only adults are using this.

Read more at Missourinet

Texas lawmakers are looking to regulate kratom this legislative session. Bills filed in both the House and Senate, if enacted, would impose age restrictions for kratom purchases, and require proper labeling,  instructions and recommended doses for products.

Kratom is a South Asian plant that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects. Users say the product can provide energy, soothe anxiety and depression, and help with drug addiction.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat; Rep. Angelia Orr, a Freestone County Republican; and Rep. J.M. Lozano, a Kingsville Republican, filed identical bills in the House and Senate to get all of this done.

Keep reading at Dallas Observer

Rhode Island is one of only a handful of states where kratom, a controversial herbal substance, is illegal.

Two lawmakers, Rep. John “Jay” Edwards, D-Tiverton, and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Westerly, want to change that.

Their bill, H 5330, aims to legalize kratom and prevent adulterated products from being sold. Nicknamed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, it mirrors similar bills introduced around the country at the behest of the American Kratom Association.

Currently, kratom is legal and largely unregulated on the federal level, though there have been attempts to ban it.

What is kratom?

Kratom is typically available in powder form and is made from the dried leaves of a tree that grows in southeast Asia. Its proponents insist that it should be described as a “nutraceutical” and not a drug.

Keep reading at The Providence Journal

A negligence ruling by a Washington State Judge in a kratom wrongful death lawsuit is the first of its kind in the United States. Judge Gary Bashor entered a summary judgment against Society Botanicals, finding the Oregon company negligent due to “inadequate warnings and instructions” on the packaging of their product, Kratom Divine.

A negligence ruling by a Washington State Judge in a kratom wrongful death lawsuit is the first of its kind in the United States (Order on Summary Judgement – Misbranded Drugs No. 20-2-00874-08, Superior Court of WA). Judge Gary Bashor of the Superior Court of Washington For Cowlittz County entered a summary judgment against Society Botanicals, finding the Oregon company negligent due to “inadequate warnings and instructions” on the packaging of their product, Kratom Divine.

Read more at Benzinga

Virginia is the ninth state in the United States to enact legislation on the sale of Kratom.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed SB 1108, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) into law yesterday after it passed Virginia’s House and Senate.

Kratom primarily comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree in Indonesia, Thailand and other parts of Asia and is usually consumed by boiling the leaves to make tea or grinding them up to put in food. An herbal supplement, Kratom has for centuries helped with pain management, energy, depression and anxiety. The KCPA regulates the manufacture and distribution of kratom, ensures and enforces proper labeling and instills age limits on its use.

Read the story at Augusta Free Press

n recent weeks, Florida legislators have taken steps toward regulating kratom, a controversial substance derived from the dried leaves of a tropical Southeast Asian tree. In recent years, its popularity has skyrocketed in the U.S., including Florida, in part because of its purported opiate-like effects and widespread availability.

Kratom is brewed into teas and mixed into sweetened mocktails. It’s sold at electronic cigarette and tobacco shops. You can purchase it at gas stations. You can order it online. You can even get it delivered on UberEats.

The substance is not specifically regulated at the federal level, but several states have passed legislation similar to what’s proposed in Florida.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times via MSN

ASCENSION PARISH – The Gonzales Council on Monday is expected to consider an amendment to the Code of Ordinances that would prohibit the sale of kratom within the city.

If approved, the measure would subject anyone in violation to a fine of up to $500 and a jail term of up to 60 days.

The proposed amendment identifies the “use of Mitragyna Speciosa Korth (Kratom)… a serious problem affecting the health and welfare of all citizens” and seeks to take “all reasonable steps” to prohibit its sale.

Numerous parish and municipal governments have taken up similar proposals in recent months, though a move to ban kratom sales in nearby Livingston Parish failed in February.

Read more at WBRZ2-ABC

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada lawmakers are proposing a ban on kratom, an herbal opioid-like drug that “affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Kratom is produced from a plant that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The FDA placed it on a list of unapproved drugs in 2012, and now reports it is actively evaluating kratom, but there are no FDA-approved uses at this time.

Assembly Bill 322 (AB322) would ban kratom unless the Nevada Board of Oriental Medicine lists it as a registered product. The bill was introduced Thursday, effectively delegating the decision to the state board on which substances will be permitted and which ones will be banned.

Read the story at 8newsnow.com

AUSTIN, Texas — Kratom seems to be popping up more at mom-and-pop health shops, convenience stores and vape shops.

These Kratom pills, which are in marked or unmarked packages, claim to offer benefits like more energy and anxiety reduction. The substance comes from Mitragyna speciosa tree which is native to Southeast Asia.

“Many people use it like as a conventional food. These people found it helped them to increase their energy and to increase focus,” said Mac Haddow, a Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association. 

Now, the State Senate is pushing forward with a bill that would protect Texans by regulating the substance.

Keep reading at KVUE ABC

The Florida Legislature’s second recent endeavor in regulating kratom, an herbal extract that creates effects similar to stimulants and sedatives, won unanimous approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday and is on its way to the Senate.

HB 179, named the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” will establish the minimum age to purchase kratom at 21 years old where there isn’t already a set legal age.

Supporters of the bill argue that kratom has the potential to be addictive, while opponents say it is a healthier alternative to most recreational drugs. With no federal legislation on the substance as more research emerges, states are left to draft their own regulations.

Keep reading at wuft.org

Florida lawmakers are moving forward with a bipartisan plan to regulate the use of kratom, an herbal supplement that causes opioid- and stimulant-like effects.

Florida lawmakers are moving forward with a bipartisan plan to regulate the use of kratom, an herbal supplement that causes opioid- and stimulant-like effects.

“We don’t want anybody to spike it or to cut it,” said state Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota). “We want an unadulterated, pure form going to the consumer at the end of the day.”

The Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act would ban kratom manufacturers and sellers from mixing the substance with illegal drugs and synthetic compounds. It would also set the age limit to purchase and consume kratom at 21 years old. The measure has received unanimous support in both the House and Senate as it moves through the committee process.

Right now, there are no state or federal kratom regulations.

Keep reading at Health News Florida

Most states regulate kratom. Six prohibit it. Sarasota is the only Florida county to ban the substance outright.

A bill to regulate the sale of kratom, a consumable plant that affects some of the same brain receptors as morphine, is heading to a full vote by the House.

Members of the House Commerce Committee voted unanimously for a measure (HB 179) to ban the sale of kratom to people under 21.

The bill, titled the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” would also define the substance for the first time in Florida law and authorize the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services to test and verify the purity of kratom products.

Read more at floridapolitics.com

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Whether in a nearby gas station or your local smoke shop, you’ve likely seen kratom on the shelves of one store or another.

The plant, native to Southeast Asia, has similar effects on the brain as opioids, according to doctors. Some even believe it may be the solution to the opioid epidemic. But folks like state Representative Gabe Firment hold a different view.

“You know it’s a very dangerous drug and it’s not regulated at all. In fact, you know, we had a young man killed by a kratom overdose here in Grant parish and that’s really what prompted the interest at the local level,” said Rep. Firment (R).

Keep reading at MSN

Whenever Jonathan feels a craving for methamphetamine, he turns to kratom. Each time, the 41-year-old from Colorado will take 3 milligrams of kratom extract and “toss and wash”—mix the extract into a liquid, and “chug for dear life.”

Jonathan (who requested omission of his last name due to privacy concerns) is 20 years in recovery from a methamphetamine addiction. It hasn’t always been easy. Five years ago, he went through a terrible period of stress which caused an intense desire to use again. It was through personal research that he came across kratom as a potential cure to his withdrawal symptoms. “After my first dose, something switched,” he said. Since then, it has played a key role in helping him manage his methamphetamine cravings and relapsing.

Keep reading at The Daily Beast

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The General Assembly has unanimously adopted Virginia’s first regulations for kratom, a controversial opioid alternative sold in stores across the state.

The Indonesian herb, sold in gas stations, head shops, and online pharmacies, has been found to help with pain relief and opioid withdrawal symptoms — but the FDA has also issued warnings about the dangers it may pose.

Now, the state is set to adopt bare-bones regulations on the product, banning the sale of kratom to anyone under the age of 21 and requiring manufacturers to add a label reading: “This product may be harmful to your health, has not been evaluated by the FDA, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.“

Still, Sage Giles, a frequent kratom user and Virginia resident, said she welcomes the new law.

Read the article at WRIC.com

ATLANTA — At the state Capitol, a bill to ban an unregulated herb that some say is deadly is being tabled for now.

Kratom is sold as capsules, powder, and liquid in gas stations and smoke shops across Georgia.

Some say the herb has helped ease their pain and anxiety.

Others blame kratom for contributing to the deaths of their family members.

State legislators say they will revise the bill for future consideration.

Back in October, Channel 2 Action News talked to a family from metro Atlanta whose 23-year-old son died after using kratom.

Ethan Pope’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of OPMS Black Liquid Kratom.

Ethan died after taking the popular, but controversial, herbal supplement.

Keep reading at wsbtv.com