April 13, 2020 

Send a message to the FDA and the President by adding your name to the AKA's letter demanding the FDA stop the war on kratom. 

Sign here

Dear Kratom Warriors,

Hydroxychloroquine has been used safely for decades, and the patent on it expired long ago. It’s cheap, and it has been a life-saving option for some critically ill Coronavirus patients.

And the FDA said NO!

President Trump correctly asked the important question: “What do we have to lose?”

Coronavirus has killed over 22,000 Americans so far...and increasing daily. Coronavirus deaths will likely decrease with use of hydroxychloroquine and certainly when a vaccine is developed, but drug overdose deaths will continue to climb without your help

Last year, more than 70,000 Americans died from overdoses and, over the past five years, nearly 500,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses.

Kratom has been used safely for centuries, and the opioid manufacturers fear kratom because it offers a life-saving option compared to highly-addictive and often fatal opioid drugs.

A study from Johns Hopkins University researchers showed that among kratom consumers using it to fight opioid abuse, 87% reported relief from withdrawal symptoms.

The more important finding: 35% were free from opioids after a year of kratom use.

Yet, the FDA continues its War on Kratom.

This is a horrific and cruel policy by the FDA, and those trapped in opioid addiction are left to die.

If you agree, add your name to the letter asking President Trump to tell the FDA:

STOP THE WAR ON KRATOM!

What do we have to lose?

CLICK TO SIGN LETTER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP

The Opioid Crisis is every bit the threat to Americans as the Coronavirus.

Help us get this message to President Trump immediately!

The American Kratom Association stands with you in this fight, and we will not fail if you help today.

The AKA Board of Directors

April 6th, 2020

Latest Legislative Update from the AKA on our state and federal legislative efforts. Please watch and share with other Kratom Warriors and be sure and sign-up at the join link to subscribe 

March 30th, 2020

The AKA is receiving amazing stories of kratom vendors and manufacturers all over the country who are helping their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. These wonderful accounts continue to come in about vendors who are donating materials, volunteering in the community, and even converting some of their manufacturing into producing hand sanitizer.

We want to share these stories with the kratom community and inspire others. If you are aware of other groups helping out, please email our Executive Director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please visit our new page here 

March 25, 2020 

The AKA is aggressively monitoring and fighting back against renewed pushes to ban kratom from the FDA on the state and national level. To help inform kratom warriors on what to do and what's occuring, the AKA held a webinar on March 24th, 2020, the recording of which can be found here. 

March 23rd, 2020

We would like to invite you to attend a special webinar, hosted by the AKA, Tuesday, March 24th at 8:00pm EST. 

Our sources have been telling us that FDA officials are telling Congressional members and staffers they remain resolute on pushing their proposed scheduling of kratom’s two primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine as Schedule I substances – effectively banning kratom and stopping new research in its tracks.

We would like to use this webinar to provide you with more information on our strategy to fight back against the FDA and how you can help.

You can register for this important webinar by CLICKING ON THE FOLLOWING LINK:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0SejEtp2QmeTypZk16Nt7g 

Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy with the AKA, and Dave Herman, Chairman, will be in attendance to discuss and answer questions.

March 23, 2020

The FDA intent to ban kratom hasn't dimissed even as world health crisis increases. The AKA is working hard to remain vigilent and monitoring legislatures even as closures continue. 

FDA officials are telling Congressional members and staffers they remain resolute on pushing their proposed scheduling of kratom’s two primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine as Schedule I substances – effectively banning kratom and stopping new research in its tracks.

It seems almost unthinkable that this position would be taken given the new science that has emerged since the FDA submitted their scheduling recommendation in October 2017, and the worsening opioid crisis where kratom offers a far safer option for management of acute and chronic pain.

The FDA is strongly opposed to states passing the Kratom Consumer Protection Act because they claim kratom is an unapproved drug – not a dietary supplement or food. Now, in a dramatic expansion of their anti-kratom campaign, we are seeing some state regulatory agencies are buying the FDA propaganda that kratom has not been approved for use as a tea or food and therefore should be banned. The fact is, there is no premarket approval for food products and the FDA can only react when legitimate safety issues arise.

The FDA does have the authority to approve certain ingredients before “they are used in foods.” Kratom used to brew a tea is not an “additive” nor can it properly be treated as an “additive” unless the FDA wants to claim putting kratom into water for the tea meets that definition. The FDA is now promoting the theory that putting kratom powder into a capsule makes kratom a “food additive.”

This is not the first time the FDA has tried this nonsense. FDA has previously claimed that adding any ingredient to a capsule made that ingredient into a “food additive” simply because it was added to a capsule or tablet. That allowed the FDA to ramp up their enforcement on any food that was provided in capsule or tablet form.

The courts issued a scathing rebuke of the FDA’s position the first time they tried this regulatory plot stating that “the only justification for this Alice-in-Wonderland approach is to allow the FDA to make an end-run around the statutory scheme.[1]” Yet, the FDA is trying to do the very same thing today in reportedly advising state regulatory agencies they should ban sales of kratom as unapproved food ingredients only because they are sold in capsule or pill forms.

The AKA has been forced to open negotiations with the Ohio Department of Agriculture all based on the false information being disseminated by the FDA that kratom is an unapproved food ingredient, particularly when sold in capsule or pill form.

In fact, the capsule or pill forms do not interact with or change the character of kratom, but merely act as a container comparable to a bottle containing liquids for teaspoon consumption. The FDA’s newest recreation of this theory to apply to kratom defies logic and common sense.

• The FDA has been unsuccessful in their application to the DEA to have kratom scheduled.
• NIDA is actively studying the potential value of kratom as a non-addictive alternative to deadly opioids to manage acute and chronic pain.
• The FY2020 Budget Bill approved by the Congress recognized the reports by kratom consumers who are successfully using kratom as an alternative to opioids.
• States are approving the Kratom Consumer Protection Act to stop kratom product adulteration – a job the FDA should be doing.

In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the FDA’s cynical push to advance their anti-kratom agenda is unconscionable. We have to fight back hard to educate the Congress and state regulatory agencies about the deeply flawed FDA disinformation campaign against kratom.

[1] U.S. v. Two Plastic Drums, 984 F.2d 814 (7th Cir. 1993)