December 2019 Legislative Update

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December 2019 Legislative Update

December 2019

21 in 2020 – The State Kratom Consumer Protection Act Challenge 

Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy

UPDATE FROM LAST REPORT: The goal set by the AKA 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.

I wanted to give you an update on that goal, with some details on where things stand to date. All of the efforts undertaken both at the federal and state level are funded by kratom advocates, and we may have to make some adjustments based on the funding that is current available for this project just after January 1, 2020.

STATES WHERE LOBBYISTS HAVE BEEN RETAINED:

 1. Oregon 5. Missouri 9. Ohio
 2. Idaho  6. Illinois  10. Tennessee
 3. Colorado  7. Michigan  11. Alabama
 4. Kansas  8. Wisconsin  12. Florida

STATES WHERE LOBBYIST FUNDING IS NEEDED:

 1. Louisiana 4. West Virginia  7. South Carolina
 2. Mississippi  5. Virginia  8. Pennsylvania
 3. Oklahoma  6. North Carolina 9. New York

STATES WHERE AKA IS HANDLING CONTACTS WITH STATE OFFICIALS:

  1. Arkansas (no legislative session in 2020)
  2. Rhode Island
  3. Texas (no legislative session in 2020)

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.

In Rhode Island, the Director of the Department of Health has held meetings with the AKA team, Utah State Senator Curt Bramble, and leading science expert on kratom, Jack Henningfield, Ph.D.

As previously reported, the Director has formally opened a review of the current ban on kratom and has pledged to review the regulatory scheme in the Kratom Consumer Protection Act to determine if they might fit the needs of Rhode Island.

mapaka

The states in highlighted in red on this chart are the priority states where kratom has been banned but real opportunity exists to overturn those bans in most of those currently banned states. AKA believes Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, and Rhode Island are prime targets in 2020 to overturn existing bans.

States in orange are the targeted states for passage of the KCPA in 2020. It is an ambitious effort that can only occur with the help of the kratom advocacy community.

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.

Original Post By https://www.americankratom.org/update.html

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