Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI) are sponsoring a bill in the US House (HB5905), and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is sponsoring a companion bill in the US Senate (SB3039) that would require the federal government to research and hold hearings on kratom, and limit the power of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restrict kratom.
The “Federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act” would require…
- …the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to hold at least one hearing on kratom that includes input from leading kratom scientists, and a discussion of the number of kratom consumers in the US, the “scope and scale” of dependency and addiction issues, kratom associated deaths, health benefits and adverse effects
- …the HHS Secretary to accept public comments for consideration at the hearing
- …the FDA to publish transcripts of all hearings on its website
- …the HHS Secretary to establish a “Kratom Research Task Force” to coordinate federally funded kratom research, submit quarterly reports to be published on FDA’s website, and hold public meetings for a period of 2 years
- …that HHS Secretary/FDA NOT “impose requirements on kratom or kratom derived products that are more restrictive than the requirements for food, dietary supplements, and dietary ingredients that apply under The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act”, treat kratom “as an adulterated dietary supplement”, or require kratom to undergo requirements for a New Dietary Ingredient, or “issue, implement, or enforce an import alert for a kratom or kratom-derived product unless the Secretary determines that there is a history of such kratom or kratom-derived product being adulterated”
According to the American Kratom Association (AKA), Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ) is expected to co-sponsor SB3039, making both the House and Senate bills non-partisan. Booker sponsored a similar bill that was introduced in December 2022.
The AKA is holding a webinar on the bill on Wednesday, October 11, at 9:00 PM EST via Zoom.
For more information on kratom laws in the US and internationally, see our Kratom Legality page.
So good to know that our elected representatives are grappling with the really pressing problems of our time…I’m sure if you polled a random sampling of the American voter and asked them how important this issue was on a scale of 1-10 you’d get at least 9 blank stares, wth is kratom and a disgusted remark reflecting the abysmal view that We the People have of our government. Mike Lee is Libertarian? He’s no John Galt that I can tell you!