news

December 18th, 2019

Some positive news out of Congress this week! The approved FY2020 Appropriations Bill recognized the need for more research for natural products needed to treat pain in place of opioids, and directed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to do research on kratom (page 99 of the Report). Congress got it right this time!

See full report here: 

https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-fy-2020-appropriations-agreement

November 2019

AKA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: 21 States in 2020

Legislative Update: Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy

OVERVIEW: The goal for the upcoming 2020 legislative sessions in the states is to secure passage in 21 additional states for the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), bringing the total to 25 states who have enacted consumer protections for kratom consumers. Some states, like Texas and Arkansas, do not have legislative sessions scheduled in 2020, but there are official “interim meetings” where legislators meet to review proposed legislation and policies for their states. In those states we will aggressively educate and prepare for the introduction and passage of the KCPA as soon as their sessions convene in 2021.

Advocates for medical marijuana have used a similar strategy, and bills were passed in 39 states over the past 10 years allowing for various levels of access to medical marijuana that is currently listed as a Schedule I controlled substance.

The FDA and DEA have been limited in their enforcement powers despite the federal ban because these states have asserted their rights to allow their citizens access to medical marijuana. The number of members of Congress representing the states where medical marijuana is legal, particularly in the Congressional Committees they sit on, is a significant impediment for the FDA and DEA to overcome in trying to interfere with the rights of states to serve consumers interests.

The aggressive FDA anti-kratom disinformation campaign has now shifted to local communities in the states, so it is critical that we seek passage of state legislation to pre-empt local bans (where possible). Some states have policies known as “Home Rule” that allows local communities to enact their own ordinances even if they contravene state law. The AKA has documented that the information being used by law enforcement, pharmacy boards, and local medically assisted treatment facilities to ban kratom in local communities is the outdated, inaccurate, or just plain deceptive propaganda promoted by the FDA.

“21 IN 2020”: The kratom state strategy of enacting the framework of the KCPA has been proven to be successful with passage in Utah, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada (with overwhelming majorities in most of those states) and provides the foundation for action by a significant number of states in the upcoming 2020 legislative sessions if the resources can be applied to advocacy needed to accomplish that goal.

Here are the states that have been targeted for action in 2020:

The states in highlighted in red on this chart are the priority states where kratom has been banned, or in the case of Tennessee where legal uncertainty still exists, but where real opportunity exists to overturn those bans. For example, in Wisconsin the Senate Health Committee convened an Informational Hearing on October 30th following which the Chairman committed to move forward with filing legislation to replace the current ban with the KCPA. The Speaker of the Wisconsin House, Robin Vos, has also committed to support this effort to legalize kratom in Wisconsin.

In Rhode Island, the AKA team along with Utah State Senator Curt Bramble and Jack Henningfield, Ph.D., met with the Director of the Department of Health on November 7th and at the conclusion of the meeting made the commitment to open a review of the current ban on kratom in that state. The sponsor of the KCPA in Rhode Island, Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy, has emerged as a strong advocate for the kratom cause.

In Alabama, AKA has a lobbying firm retained and early discussions with legislative leaders have been promising in terms of their interest in exploring the KCPA option. Legislative leaders in Arkansas have agreed to meet in January with our science and policy advocates.

In Louisiana, a kratom ban bill was filed in the 2019 legislative session and the AKA lobbying team worked with the sponsor on replacing his proposed ban with the KCPA. Representative Christopher Turner agreed, but the Parliamentarian blocked the replacement bill since the Legislature had strict limits on bills during their budget session. Representative Turner amended his bill that would have banned kratom and made the ban effective only if the DEA published a final notice to schedule kratom’s alkaloids – which effectively gutted his own bill. Representative Turner has committed to sponsor the KCPA in 2020 and we will be working with him on that effort.

What does the KCPA do?
The core elements of the KCPA include:

(1) Product Registration: All vendors have to register with the designated state agency and provide independent lab certifications their product complies with the requirements of the KCPA in that state;

(2) Age Restriction: No sale of any kratom product to anyone under the age of 18 – (some states require a ban on sales to anyone under the age of 21;

(3) Labeling Requirements: Clear labeling on the contents of any kratom product;

(4) No Adulteration: A ban on adding any dangerous non-kratom substance, or a substance that affects the quality or strength of a kratom product to the degree it renders the product injurious to a consumer, including adding any controlled substance(s);

(5) No Synthetic Alkaloids: A ban on adding any synthetic kratom alkaloids (mitragynine or 7- hydroxymitragynine) or compounds of the plant;

(6) Limit on 7-OH: A ban on any kratom product that contains a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction that is greater than 2% of the of the overall alkaloid composition of the product; and

(7) Appropriate warning labels: Include warnings that consumers should consult their doctors for any possible drug interactions with current medications prescribed to them; and warnings that pregnant women should not consume kratom because there is no safety data that has been published.

What the KCPA does not do is limit the product formulations, i.e., powder, capsules, liquids, or extracts as long as they are in compliance with the KCPA in that state.

In the course of the legislative process, all legislation is subject to amendment and AKA works to ensure the core elements of the KCPA are accepted.

CLICK TO HELP IN THE FIGHT

October 30th, 2019

The Wisconsin Senate Health Committee held an Informational Hearing on kratom and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from Senators on the Committee.  Dr. Jack Henningfield and Utah Senator Curt Bramble joined me in making the case to remove the Wisconsin ban. We left the two-hour hearing greatly encouraged that Wisconsin will move soon to replace the ban with the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The bill should be filed in the next few weeks and then we will work to enact it to restore the freedom for Wisconsin citizens to buy kratom.

Listen to the Wisconsin Senate Health Committee Information Hearing on Kratom. Dr. Henningfield reports on exciting new results of research he and his colleagues have published showing kratom is more than 1,000 times safer than opioids for pain management.

How will you join the fight?

Dear Kratom Warriors,

Every day, the FDA fills the information pipeline to Congress, state legislators, and to local elected officials with the lies that kratom kills people, is an opioid, and is as bad as fentanyl and heroin.

Some elected officials get sucked into the vortex of FDA’s disinformation, but many are willing to listen to the truth.

More and more we are hearing elected officials ask: "Who are kratom consumers, and why do they use kratom?"

We can provide the science that dismantles the FDA disinformation, but only you can answer the most important questions.

Will you step up and help?

When an elected official wants to hear from a veteran, a medical professional, a law enforcement official, a senior, or just a regular citizen, we hope your voice will be heard loud and clear!

Please sign up for every group below that applies to you.

Make no mistake, your voice as a kratom advocate is desperately needed – and we want to make certain your story is heard.

Join Veterans for Kratom

Join Law Enforcement for Kratom

Join Medical Professionals for Kratom

Join Moms for Kratom

Join Dads for Kratom

Join Attorneys for Kratom

Join Grandparents for Kratom

Join Business Professionals for Kratom

Please help me to help you have your voice heard in Washington, in your State Capitol, and in your county or city councils.

I hear the questions every day as I advocate for your right to have the freedom to use kratom. Please help me have your voice heard where it counts the most.

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ – GOOD POLICY ON KRATOM WINS, THEN THE SPONSOR OF A BAN DECLARES HE WANT TO REMOVE HIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO BAN THE SALE OF KRATOM BECAUSE “THE BAN ON KRATOM SALES IS GOING TO LOSE!”

It likely is a phrase that is overused, but it certainly applies in this case: “You cannot make this stuff up.”

The Borough Council voted on the proposed ban on the sale of kratom in the town, and then things got very interesting.  After just 2 votes were cast by the Council, the sponsor of the ban called for the vote to be tabled because it was “clear the proposed ban would not pass.”

In my 40+ years of lobbying at all levels of government, I have never seen a motion to stop a vote in the middle of a roll call because you do not want to face the inevitable results of losing on the issue.  In this case, the sponsor himself made the statement that he wanted to stop the vote because he knew the proposed ban on kratom sales was going to be defeated.

Point Pleasant Beach is a small coastal town that is popular with tourists, and the town has a diverse resident population ranging from retirees to young millennials. Several weeks ago, Councilman and Mayoral candidate Paul M. Kanitra proposed an ordinance that would ban the sale of kratom in the town. The proposed resolution to ban kratom reads like the Anti-Kratom Talking Points and anti-kratom disinformation that has been peddled by former-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb for the last several years.  

The American Kratom Association (AKA) provided the compelling peer-reviewed scientific research that shows that kratom should not be banned, but appropriately regulated to protect consumers from adulterated and unsafe products that masquerade as pure kratom. Councilman Kanitra refused to budge, and strongly attacked kratom as a dangerous drug that had to be removed from sale in Point Pleasant Beach.

Other members of the Council clearly agreed that kratom should be regulated appropriately, and it visibly irritated Councilman Kanitra. Kanitra argued that all of the kratom advocates were just part of a massive lobbying and grass-roots campaign and he found it telling that no one was there to argue that kratom should be banned. I told the Council in my time to make a presentation that the opposite was true.

The Big PhRMA companies are funding anti-kratom attacks on popular websites like WebMD where millions of people go to get advice on dietary supplements and drugs that can improve and manage their health. There is a huge anti-kratom effort launched by medication assisted opioid treatment facilities who would lose significant revenue if the FDA were to lift the import alert and allow kratom products to go mainstream.

And I pointed out that even Councilman Kanitra, who runs a lobbying firm in Washington D.C., represents a client that markets a medication management product that helps patients monitor their drug intake, including opioids.  If there are fewer people taking opioids because their pain is well-managed on kratom, then limiting or banning kratom makes business sense for any who profit from wide circulation of opioid products.  Setting aside the potential actual or perceived conflict-of-interest on that representation, the financial interest of any group that relies on the continued and widespread use of opioids is obvious.  While Councilman Kanitra did not even see the potential conflict with his own client, there can be no question that the opponents of kratom have the resources and capabilities to make their case.

This strange and arguably legally questionable parliamentary maneuver by Councilman Kanitra sets the stage for another attempt to vote again on the proposed sale of kratom ban. It certainly was a weird outcome.

Here is a link to a news report from the Borough Council Meeting held on Tuesday, October 1, 2019:

http://lavallette-seaside.shorebeat.com/2019/10/point-beach-officials-hold-off-on-banning-kratom-herb/?fbclid=IwAR0xSNij5i5gB8kwLmS0uLvmWOGNFM642M64y3nYDksb_hCtgNcJa909p6Q

AKA RELEASES RESPONSE TO ST. CHARLES COUNTY EXECUTIVE

CRITICISM OF BILL 4721 – THE KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

 September 19, 2019

St. Charles County, MO– The American Kratom Association (AKA) responded today to St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann’s memorandum on the County Council’s passage of Amended Substitute Bill 4721, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA).

LINK TO AKA RESPONSE LETTER CAN BE FOUND HERE

“The County Council enacted a veto-proof ordinance putting significant consumer protections in place that will save lives and protect consumers from dangerous black-market fake kratom that is often adulterated with potentially addictive and deadly illegal opioids,” commented C.M. Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the AKA.

Mr. Ehlmann’s statements on this matter are inconsistent with both the science on kratom and the current public policy positions of the DEA, the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, and a growing number of states who oppose bans on kratom. The AKA response letter outlines the need for Mr. Ehlmann and his staff to work with the AKA to better understand the current scientific and policy landscape on kratom that calls for appropriate regulations, not bans.

The St. Charles Kratom Protection Ordinance does ban dangerous adulterated kratom products, requires strict labeling requirements so consumers know exactly what is in the kratom product they are purchasing, assures the level of the kratom alkaloids have not been artificially increased above what occurs naturally, and prohibits of the sale of kratom to anyone under 18 years of age.

“The St. Charles County Council responsibly enacted needed regulatory controls on adulterated kratom products and took an important step to assure St. Charles County consumers have the right to safely use kratom products free from adulteration and contaminants,’ Haddow concluded.

For more information about kratom and the work being done by the American Kratom Association, visit http://www.americankratom.org/update.html.

ABOUT AKA
The American Kratom Association (AKA), a consumer-based non-profit organization, is here to set the record straight about kratom and give a voice to those who are suffering and protect their rights to possess and consume kratom. AKA represents millions of Americans, each of whom have a unique story to tell about the virtues of kratom and its positive effects on their lives. www.americankratom.org

Contact Pete Candland, Executive Director with the AKA, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or to arrange an interview.

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