Kratom News Today: What You Need to Know About the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act”
In its Southeast Asian region of origin, kratom has been a large part of the surrounding cultures for centuries. However, the plant’s relatively new arrival within the United States has drawn skepticism from legislators. Various state officials and federal agencies believe that, if left unregulated, kratom’s grey market status poses a threat to consumers.
To date, both the DEA and FDA have expressed interest in banning the plant nationwide; however, efforts to ban kratom have outright failed due to support from kratom advocates and the efforts of non-profit organizations.
Now, today’s kratom news centers around how the tides are shifting. In 2019, one of these non-profit organizations, the American Kratom Association (AKA), introduced the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote safe, regulated access to the plant amid mounting threats of illegalization.
Getting to Know Kratom Laws: What is the Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
Much of the controversy surrounding kratom in the United States revolves around a lack of quality control. In states where buying kratom is legal, kratom products can be purchased from various sources, including online sellers and local retailers. However, vendors aren’t required to adhere to any particular manufacturing standards, which has led to incidents of contaminated and adulterated kratom products and subsequent kratom news headlines.
In the interest of protecting buyers from potentially dangerous kratom products and inspiring legislative reform, the American Kratom Association and the Botanical Education Alliance (BEA) developed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). The bill aims to:
- Enforce vendor accountability by introducing manufacturing standards.
- Reduce product ambiguity with stringent labeling requirements.
- Define a legal age for kratom purchasing, possession, and use.
While the KCPA has received some coverage within kratom news today, many Americans are still unfamiliar with what might soon become the template for kratom law in dozens of states. Thankfully, the KCPA can be summarized as follows:
- All kratom products must disclose their kratom content with clear labeling.
- Vendors cannot add non-kratom substances to their kratom products in a manner that influences the kratom’s quality, strength or causes harm to users.
- Kratom products containing more than 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine (one of kratom’s primary and most potent alkaloids) are prohibited.
- Synthetic alkaloids cannot be added to kratom products.
- Vendors can only sell or distribute kratom products to individuals over a certain age.
- Fines apply for any vendors that violate these clauses.
Kratom News Reports that Exact Bill Conditions Will Vary from State to State
Because the KCPA is being adopted on a state-by-state basis, the bill’s individual clauses may be subject to change. States are free to amend the AKA’s original bill as they please which has resulted in notable differences in active policy.
For instance, Utah’s version of the bill requires kratom vendors to register, test, and accurately label each of their kratom products. Meanwhile, Georgia’s KCPA bill states that Georgian legislators will work with the DEA to determine the standard level of kratom alkaloids (most notably mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine) found in kratom. According to kratom news reports, this alkaloid level will then act as the “recommended dosage” for all kratom products sold within the state.
Another notable difference in the various state KCPAs that have been passed concerns each state’s controlled substances list. One of the KCPA’s clauses prohibits the adulteration of kratom products with other dangerous non-kratom substances — a list that includes, but is not limited to, any substances that are already controlled by the state.
So far, the exact conditions of the KCPA across all states of adoption remain fairly consistent. However, as more states enact the bill as kratom law, the differences between each version of the KCPA might become more pronounced.
Many US States are Considering Adopting the Bill According to Kratom News
As of this writing, four US states — Utah, Georgia, Arizona, and Oregon — have all adopted the KCPA. However, American Kratom Association organizers have reported that a sizeable number of other states are also considering the bill, including states that have previously banned the plant.
In Rhode Island, kratom’s primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, were added to the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act in 2017, rendering them illegal. However, state legislators are currently evaluating the KCPA, indicating that Rhode Island’s kratom ban might eventually be overturned.
Like Rhode Island, Wisconsin also opted to illegalize kratom and drafted a bill to ban kratom’s primary alkaloids in 2013. Despite the efforts of some Wisconsinites to contest the ban, state officials were resolute in their decision, and kratom has been banned within the state since 2014. However, kratom news today reports that the state is in the process of revising their decision and enacting a version of the KCPA.
In Ohio, kratom isn’t illegal yet, but the state’s Board of Pharmacy has made prior recommendations to schedule kratom as a controlled substance. Now, the American Kratom Association is reporting that Ohio legislators will pass the KCPA as a substitute for the ban recommendation.
The KCPA is also being considered in states where kratom is presently legal. Today’s kratom news reports that Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan are all currently evaluating the bill with updates to follow.
Kratom Products Must Be Clearly Labeled
Until the introduction of the KCPA, vendors were never required to label their kratom products. As a result, most kratom product labels only included a few sparse details, such as the product’s strain name, weight, and branding.
However, as today’s kratom news is reporting, the introduction of the KCPA kratom law will drastically overhaul the way kratom products are labeled and sold throughout many US states.
One of the bill’s stipulations dictates that vendors must divulge the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine that their kratom products contain. Previously, vendors only made this information available upon request or by posting test results.
To satisfy the new labeling requirements of the KCPA, vendors in affected states will have to routinely test their products — a process that generally requires specialized equipment. Although lab testing methods for determining the alkaloid content of kratom products do exist, testing can be expensive, and schedule availability can be limited.
As a result, some kratom news is predicting that the KCPA’s labeling requirements will likely act as obstacles for many kratom vendors, new and old. That said, the KCPA’s labeling clause could be an invaluable and necessary step towards legitimizing safe kratom use in its states of influence, regardless of its business footprint.
It’s also unclear how the KCPA intends to define or structure the kratom alkaloid testing process. In similar instances, an organization like the FDA would oversee all testing to ensure accuracy. However, the vast majority of kratom product testing is independent — a factor that could jeopardize the legitimacy of claims made by kratom product labels.
Vendors Can Face Fines for Violating the Act
As is discussed in today’s kratom news, the KCPA holds kratom vendors fully accountable for the manner in which they sell, label, and produce their kratom products. In all states where the bill is currently active, vendors that violate or ignore the KCPA’s kratom laws will face fines or criminal charges. However, the exact punishments vary from state to state.
In Utah:
- Failing to disclose that a kratom product is, in fact, a kratom product will result in fines up to $500 for the first offense and up to $1000 for subsequent infractions.
- Selling kratom to a minor (under 18), adulterated products, including more than 2% 7-HMG, adding synthetic alkaloids, or excluding alkaloid labeling will result in a class C misdemeanor.
- The state may seize and destroy unregistered kratom products at their discretion.
As one of the most recent states to pass the bill, Arizona’s version of the KCPA has also received coverage in today’s kratom news. Unlike Utah’s KCPA, most infractions in Arizona’s bill result in penalties rather than misdemeanor charges, with up to $500 (first offense) or up to $1000 (subsequent offenses) for:
- Adulterated/poisoned kratom products
- Including more than 2% 7-HMG
- Including synthetic alkaloids
- Not labeling the MG and 7-HMG content of a kratom product
So far, Oregon is the only state where kratom vendors cannot offer, distribute, or sell kratom products to individuals under 21. In all other states with active KCPA legislation, 18 is the legal minimum age for kratom purchasing and sale.
As reported in some kratom news stories, Georgia’s KCPA is also unique in that the possession of kratom is illegal for individuals under 18 years old. However, in other states with active KCPA legislation, kratom possession by a minor isn’t defined as an offense.
Kratom Laws: The Future
Although efforts are underway to improve safe consumer access to kratom products, it may be some time before kratom is fully regulated throughout the US. Until then, purchasing kratom powder and products from a reputable vendor is the best option for buyers.
