What’s kratom? Kansas lawmakers are weighing regulation of the herbal supplement
Widely available for purchase primarily in smoke shops around the Kansas City area, kratom — an herbal supplement made from leaves grown in Southeast Asia — is federally unregulated. Users claim kratom relieves chronic pain, treats symptoms of mood disorders and mitigates the effects of opioid withdrawal.
Kansas lawmakers are considering the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which, if passed, would define the supplement as a food product and end what Rep. John Eplee, an Atchison Republican and physician, called the “wild, wild west” of an unregulated industry he said begs to be regulated.
Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy at the American Kratom Association, said the legislation would protect consumers from dangerously adulterated, or kratom products that are contaminated with non-kratom substances, such as fentanyl, and mislabeled kratom products.
