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Legislative Update out of Maryland on proposed Kratom Ban. A day Kratom Warriors should remember! 

January 22nd, 2020

Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy

It was my honor and privilege to stand with more than two dozen kratom advocates before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee today and fight the proposed ban on kratom. I have personally participated in dozens of hearings on kratom across the country, and hundreds of similar hearings both at the federal and state levels spanning the last 40 years of my advocacy career, and I have to say that I never witnessed something as extraordinary as what transpired today in Maryland.

First, the Senate sponsor of the kratom ban (SB0147), Senator Ronald N. Young, listened with respect to the testimony (following a meeting the previous day in his office both with the Senator and his legislative staff) of each witness, and the proof of that was Senator Young’s statement at the end of the Hearing that he was willing to consider provisions of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) as an option to his bill. Senator Young stated his support of the age restriction that the AKA promotes, and clearly showed that he was interested in getting the kratom policy right for the benefit of the people of Maryland.

Second, and equally surprising, was that I was stopped in the hallway after the Hearing by Representative Ken Kerr, the House sponsor of the kratom ban legislation. Representative Kerr stated that he was moved by the testimony and asked for more information on the available science on kratom, and specific language for the KCPA.

Normally legislators are unwilling to accept any contrary views or criticisms of their proposals, but these two Maryland policy makers are clearly committed to finding the right answers on how best to regulate kratom to protect their constituents. I look forward to working with them with the hope they will accept the tenants of the KCPA in amending the existing legislation.

For those who want to watch the video of the Senate Hearing, and hear with your own ears the respectful, compelling, and persuasive testimony of these Maryland kratom advocates, you can click on this link: 

Maryland Hearing Link 

The deliberations for the kratom ban legislation, SB0147, starts at 1:08:34 on the tape.

The next scheduled Hearing on HB0283 will be at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 in the House Judiciary Committee in Room 100 of the House Office Building, Annapolis, MD.

Every kratom advocate who is able should arrange to attend this Hearing if you can. The voices of kratom advocates made a huge difference, but you can bet the FDA will be recruiting critics for the February 4^th Hearing.

Here are the Witness Guidelines to help you if you can make this Hearing:

Witness Guidelines

Hearing Procedures:

Public bill hearings typically begin at 1:00 PM. Anyone wishing to testify on any bill must sign up using one of the electronic screens outside of the committee’s hearing room. Oral testimony will typically be limited to 3 minutes, but may be changed at the discretion of the Chair. Sign up will start at 9:00 AM the day of the bill hearing and close at 12:00 PM on the day of the hearing. You *must* provide an e-mail address on these screens when signing up to testify.

Testimony:

If you have written testimony, you *must* submit one hardcopy of your testimony and one electronic upload to the committee staff by 12:00 PM prior to the hearing. All written testimony must have a visible bill number. In addition to your one hardcopy of testimony, you *must* bring your written testimony in PDF format on a flash/thumb-drive. All testimony must be submitted between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM on the day of your bill’s hearing. After first signing up on the touch-screens, you *must* use the computers in the Committee Room to upload your written testimony located on your flash/thumb-drive to the electronic testimony system.

On the first computer, you will need to scan your flash/thumb-drive for viruses. After your flash/thumb-drive is cleared for viruses, you will disconnect your flash/thumb-drive and reconnect the device to either the second or third computers. On the second or third computers, you will then upload your testimony to the electronic testimony system. To properly upload your testimony, follow the instructions on the computer screens. If you have any questions, Committee staff will be available to assist you. FYI: if a virus is recognized on your flash/thumb-drive, you are not permitted to upload your testimony on the second or third computers.

And I encourage all kratom advocates to follow me on my twitter feed to keep up with breaking news on kratom -- https://twitter.com/HaddowMac

December 2019 

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.