Kratom: Summary of State Laws LAPPA

AKA works to give a voice to millions of Americans by fighting to protect their rights to access safe and natural kratom. American Kratom Association (AKA) is a consumer-based, nonprofit organization, focused on furthering the latest science as guidance for kratom public policy. The AKA strongly supports federal and state actions targeting chemically manipulated 7-OH products.

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Natural kratom remains legal for adults, but enhanced products face scrutiny. The FDA's recommendation specifically targets concentrated and synthetic 7-OH products. The FDA draws a hard line between trace amounts in whole-leaf kratom and the concentrated versions showing up in gas stations and smoke shops. 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is one of the active alkaloids found naturally in kratom leaves.

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In fact, the Association has consistently advocated for strict regulation and scheduling of chemically converted 7-OH opioids that are marketed as kratom despite possessing pharmacological characteristics far removed from natural leaf material. That is fundamentally inconsistent with the narrative that natural kratom leaf is itself a significant public health threat.” They are highly concentrated opioids manufactured through chemical conversion processes that fundamentally alter the natural composition of kratom.” For example, Tennessee has explicitly banned synthetic alkaloids while permitting natural plant products. According to agency statements, natural kratom leaf products are not the focus of this action. New York state assembly member Phil Steck co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that passed this month – which the governor must still approve – would ban 7-OH but not so-called natural kratom products.

That happens when the liver processes and converts mitragynine, another kratom alkaloid, into even more 7-OH. Trump’s remark about “natural 7-OH” soon became a Rorschach test for rival advocacy groups in the kratom industry. The HOPE Act wants to test “ibogaine as a medication to treat opioid use disorder, co-occurring substance use disorder, and other neurological or mental health conditions for which ibogaine demonstrates efficacy.” When lawmakers banned kratom in Tennessee earlier this year, it became the eighth state to do so.

The AKA remains committed to advancing science-based regulation, protecting consumers from dangerous synthetic and chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products, and preserving access to properly manufactured natural kratom leaf products that meet established safety and quality standards. The FDA itself has warned consumers about concentrated 7-OH products, and both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary have emphasized that federal enforcement efforts are focused on chemically manipulated 7-OH products rather than properly manufactured natural kratom leaf products. Current federal and state actions specifically target concentrated 7-OH products, not natural kratom leaf.

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They are chemically altered substances that carry potent opioid-like effects and pose an imminent threat to consumers,” Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy at AKA, said in a statement. “We are targeting a concentrated synthetic byproduct that is an opioid.” Some of these souped-up products contain 109% to 509% more 7-OH than what’s naturally in the plant. “These people find it difficult to control their use of kratom and experience opioid-like withdrawal symptoms when they stop.” “In the past two years, I have noticed an increased number of people coming to my clinic for the treatment of kratom addiction,” Volpicelli said. Its popularity has soared in the US in recent years, with many turning to it as a so-called natural fix for pain, anxiety, depression and even to kick opioid addiction.

• The largest number of kratom bills that have been introduced this legislative session do not look to ban or schedule the substance, but instead add regulations for how kratom and kratom-related products can be made and sold in the state.
• Investigators are also tracking down out-of-state distributors who are shipping the products into Alabama.
• “My office is aware of multiple cases where kratom products have been sold to minors in violation of state law and we are working to hold these bad actors accountable,” said Attorney General Mayes.
• Kratom originally hails from southeast Asia, where, Stanciu says, people have used it for centuries as a kind of herbal remedy for the ailments of every life.

Trouville’s son Tyrell died of mitragynine toxicity in 2024 after, she said, he regularly drank kratom products and considered it safe and natural. FitzGerald said he plans to draft a proposal that would ban synthetic versions of the drug, and potentially place age restrictions requiring ID at the point of sale for non-synthetic, or natural, kratom. As access to prescription opioids declined during the opioid epidemic, people turned to kratom as a legal, “natural” alternative. Check out all of our products, like kratom capsules and 7-Hydroxy tablets, to unlock a naturally better you. We should be concerned because there’s probably more people out there like him who unknowingly took more concentrated products without understanding how risky they can be, especially when taken with other drugs that cause sedation.

Emily Beutler says she became addicted to kratom in 2022 after trying a tea with it at a kava bar in Arizona. "These are not drug people that I talk to for the vast majority of them," he says. At first, he says, he used kratom like an energy drink. "And so, the argument can be made that they're not opioids, because they don't have a specific shape like opioids. And that's despite the fact that they work in a very similar way." "The shapes of these molecules from kratom are very different than the shapes of things like morphine or fentanyl," huntington blogs Fenno says. "We've been advocating for exactly this type of regulatory approach − one that protects consumers from synthetic derivatives while preserving access to traditional botanical ingredients with centuries of safe use," Korehbandi said.

In recent months, the FDA has also issued warnings on other unapproved drugs sold as supplements or energy drinks, including the antidepressant tianeptine. But the plan stalled after a flood of public complaints, including a letter signed by more than 60 members of Congress. An industry group, the American Kratom Association, has lobbied Congress for years against restrictions on the plant. "Alabama will continue to aggressively investigate violations involving illegal controlled substances, and will remain committed to protecting our communities."

Some countries, like Indonesia and Thailand, have recently moved toward regulated legal production for medical use. Kratom has been used for managing chronic pain, for treating opioid withdrawal symptoms, or for recreational purposes. In 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that there is no evidence that kratom is safe or effective for treating any condition. Kratom contains multiple alkaloids (primarily, mitragynine and to a lesser extent, 7-hydroxymitragynine) that bind to opioid receptors, mostly as partial μ-opioid agonists.