Congress To Discuss Kratom Products Regulation, Introduce Bipartisan Consumer Protection Act
Congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle introduced a bicameral bill calling for further federal evaluation of kratom’s health and safety and prohibiting the Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) from imposing more restrictive requirements on it than those for food or dietary supplements as a way of creating national regulations.
Companion bills S.3039 and H.R.5905, or the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” clarifies that it does not intend to “preempt” state laws, considering several of them have enacted or considered measures protecting and regulating kratom access.
The HHS secretary would have to hold a public hearing on scientific data regarding the plant’s public health risks and benefits, open a public docket for a minimum of 30 days ahead of the meeting and establish a task force to coordinate kratom-related research conducted or supported by the Federal government.
The proposal is expected to gather bipartisan support in both chambers: Original sponsors Sen. Mike Lee (UT-R) and Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) would be shortly joined by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), reported Marijuana Moment’s Ben Adlin.
To date, kratom is not scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) nor under any U.S.-adhered international drug treaties, amid the FDA’s prior considerations of placing restrictions on it.
American Kratom Association’s senior fellow and lead bill proponent Mac Haddow told the outlet that a “properly regulated” kratom marketplace would ensure consumer access to “properly manufactured and labeled” kratom products that inform on its safe use.
Much needed, he says, in a marketplace where adulteration “occurs frequently,” putting consumers “at significant risk of adverse events and death from irresponsible products laced with dangerous substances.
