A noticeable pattern has emerged in recent media concerning kratom regulation. States enact consumer-protection laws, fail to establish effective testing and enforcement mechanisms, find products violating those laws on retail shelves, and then have officials advocate prohibition.
Kratom regulations have been passed in multiple states. Sometimes called the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act”, these regulations often prohibit the sale of products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine (7OH) over a certain threshold (usually 1-2% of total alkaloids). These laws also typically prohibit the sale of other derivatives like mitragynine-pseudoindoxyl (MP), MGM-15, and MGM-16.
Kratom regulations differ from kratom prohibition in that in regulation, only the sale of certain products is prohibited. Consumers are not criminalized like they are with prohibition.
The multi-substance deaths of two Mississippi students have ignited a wave of negative news about “kratom”, which consists of fresh or dried leaf material from the Mitragyna speciosa tree. Investigators reportedly found SMAX Pseudo-DHM pills in the possession of both students. The pills reportedly contained mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and 7-OH.
Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15 were both declared Schedule I substances temporarily by the DEA, making them illegal under federal law. Under Mississippi law, a product cannot contain 7-OH above a 1% alkaloid threshold. Kratom itself is banned by both Layfayette County and Oxford town ordinances. Therefore, several laws were not being enforced in Oxford, Mississippi.
Yet shortly after the deaths, lawmakers called for a ban on products that were already prohibited under municipal, county, state, and federal law. Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann called for a ban on all kratom statewide. Representative Lee Yancey called for a ban on synthetic products that are already banned statewide. According to Mississippi Today, Senator Nicole Boyd “wants to give state officials authority to temporarily remove potentially harmful substances from store shelves”. If making products illegal doesn’t give them that authority, what does? Mississippi is simply not enforcing regulations already on the books.
The director of Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Phillip Pope, argued for a ban because, according to News From the States, “to enforce the law, officials must buy the products from gas stations and send them to laboratories for testing using taxpayer dollars.” Given that investigating, arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating individuals for illegal substance crimes costs taxpayers vastly more than testing substances, it’s hard to see how Pope managed to argue this with a straight face.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr appeared on WSAV3 TV, calling for either a kratom ban or a state registry of available products. Georgia passed a Kratom Consumer Protection Act in 2019 that regulates kratom access to those 18 or older and imposes labeling requirements to include age restrictions, ingredients, alkaloids, producer and distributor information, usage instructions, and disclaimers. The law was updated in 2024 to include strict limits on 7-OH to a threshold amount for naturally occurring trace amounts in kratom. The continued availability of 7OH and other products indicates that Georgia is also refusing to enforce current kratom regulations. According to a report from Georgia Public Broadcasting, illegal products continue to be available on retail shelves, and “Georgia has not created a regulatory body or funding mechanism for law enforcement agencies to test whether kratom products violate the law”.
Like Mississippi officials, Carr is using the excuse that seizing and testing products is too costly. According to a press release, “Carr argues that Georgia’s existing law, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, does not go far enough to address the issue. While this statute bans synthetic 7-OH outright, currently, law enforcement must find and identify a product, seize it as evidence, test it, and then prove what is in it.”
But Carr calls for two more expensive options, rather than one: either prohibition or a system where “all kratom-related products be presumed illegal for retail sale unless the state has affirmatively approved it. Under this approach, policymakers would establish a short, public list of products that meet clear standards, such as independent lab testing, accurate labeling and federal marketing authorization. Products not included on that list would be treated as contraband, subject to seizure by any law enforcement agency anywhere in the state.” Again, both approaches seem far more costly to taxpayers than simply enforcing current laws, however the “public list” approach would not be as costly as prohibition.
In Oklahoma, Rep. Tim Turner announced in September that he wanted to place 7OH, MP, and MGM-15 on the state’s Schedule I list. However these products are already outlawed for sale under Oklahoma law. In 2021, Oklahoma passed a Kratom Consumer Protection Act. In 2024, 7OH was limited to a 1% alkaloid threshold in kratom products. In 2025, all synthesized molecules derived from kratom were banned from the Oklahoma market.
No money was allocated for enforcement of these laws. The Oklahoma KCPA assigns oversight and enforcement responsibility to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, but the legislation did not provide a dedicated enforcement appropriation. The Oklahoma House fiscal analysis explicitly stated that SB 891, enacted in 2025, was not anticipated to have a direct fiscal impact on the state budget or appropriations.
One Oklahoma official provided a voice of reason to KOSU Radio. Oklahoma City drug court Judge Kenneth Stoner said:
“Neither ‘natural’ nor ‘legal’ means harmless, but acknowledging harm does not automatically establish that prohibition is the best response,” Stoner said. “A ban may reduce access, but it can also push remaining demand towards sellers who do not check identification … Criminal enforcement also carries costs: investigations, prosecution, incarceration and the consequences of a criminal record. Those consequences can disrupt employment, housing, family stability, the very foundation that people need for recovery.”
Even where funding has been allocated, illegal products are still being sold. Colorado has allocated funding for enforcement of kratom regulations, yet officials are still calling for restrictions. However, 7OH seems to be still available in some shops. Though recently, according to Fox 21 News, “law enforcement in Colorado Springs seized more than 2,600 pounds of products containing suspected 7-OH. The compound shows up in tiny amounts in the kratom plant, but officials warn that high concentrations are appearing in retail items.”
A local official told Fox21 News that “there are no regulations on the ingredients in these products. There’s nothing governing strength or even identifying what additional substances may have been added.” That’s incorrect. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 44-1-105, there is a 2% maximum 7-OH concentration: Manufacturers and distributors cannot manufacture, package, label, or distribute kratom products containing synthesized or semi-synthesized kratom alkaloids or having 7-OH levels greater than 2% of the product’s total alkaloid composition.
In Tennessee, where all kratom is banned under Schedule I, kratom and alkaloid products continue to be available. In Memphis, 30,000 packages of outlawed alkaloid products were found in a warehouse, and in Lincoln County, 21 businesses were found to be selling kratom and other alkaloid products. Even under Schedule I in Tennessee, according to Fox17, “a comprehensive statewide count of inspections, arrests and criminal charges has not yet been established.”
If the above examples are any indication, kratom will not disappear even if it is outlawed, and kratom regulations will not be ignored if they are not going to be enforced.