A Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) bill that would regulate the distribution, sale, and manufacture of kratom products is being considered in the Michigan House.
House Bill 4969 would:
- Require licensing for distribution, sale, or manufacturing, with licensing beginning January 1, 2027
- Prohibit the distribution or sale of kratom products to individuals under 21 years of age
- Require proper packaging and labeling
- Prohibit false claims on packaging and require the product to be kept behind the counter
- Ban products that are adulterated or contaminated with dangerous nonkratom substances
- Prohibit synthetic alkaloids, including synthetic mitragynine and synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine
- Set a limit that 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction cannot be greater than 2% of the product’s alkaloid composition
- Require labeling to include the alkaloid content, specifically the amounts of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine
Given the 2% limit, this Kratom Consumer Protection Act and others effectively outlaw the sale of novel 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products that have been widely available since 2023, but do not criminalize their possession unless otherwise stated in specific bills.
The bill was introduced into the Michigan House on September 17, 2025, by Representative Cam Cavitt, a Republican from the 106th district of Northern Michigan. “You have to be 21 years old to purchase kratom. No more marketing at the children. They’re using cotton candy flavors and drink mixes and things. It has to have some packaging, no false claims on the packaging. And it has to be behind the counter so children can’t get at it,” Rep. Cavitt said of the bill.
Added Rep. Cavitt, “The regulatory process is so slow. By the time we outlaw the 7-OH, they’re going to spin it into an 8-OH and start selling 8-OH and start skirting the law.”
There is no such thing as “8-OH”. However, mitragynine-pseudoindoxil (MPI) products have appeared on the market. Like 7-OH, MPI is a metabolite that can be synthetically produced from mitragynine.
Since its introduction, HB4969 has passed through the House Committee on Regulatory Reform, and on November 13 was referred again to the House floor for a second reading. The American Kratom Association encouraged its followers to attend a hearing on the bill held in Lansing on October 30.
At the hearing, the AKA specifically supported the regulation of concentrated and chemically manipulated products containing high levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), describing them as “potent opioid class derivatives” that carry risks like respiratory depression and overdose, while asserting that pure, unadulterated kratom is well tolerated.
However, the bill faced opposition at the hearing centered specifically on the proposed 7-OH limits. Opponents, including John Cleveland of Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) and those who submitted written testimony like Nikolas Hartley and Sarah Bauer, urged the committee to remove or revise the 2% 7-OH limit, arguing that this cap was arbitrary and has “no scientific or toxicological basis” and would effectively ban natural kratom products derived from kratom alkaloids, thereby harming consumers and small businesses. They proposed a 25–30 mg limit of 7-OH per product, and claimed that concentrating natural alkaloids is not the same as creating synthetic substances.
Thus far, 15 states have passed some form of KCPA: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi. In these states, the sale of 7-OH dominant products is outlawed due to the KCPA law. Florida went even further by enacting an emergency rule to declare 7-OH a Schedule 1 substance on August 13, which not only outlawed the sale but criminalized those who possess the substance. The California Department of Public Health has recently declared both kratom and 7-OH to be illegal under current laws, and using that declaration as justification to seize products from retail shelves. The interpretation of existing law and the legality of the seizures is up for debate.