REVOLUTIONARY FEDERAL KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT REVIVED

On the heels of what was deemed “groundbreaking legislation” for federal kratom regulation, advocates are renewing the race as they look toward the finish line that is a federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act.

As one of the last acts of the 2022 Congress, a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a makeshift federal KCPA with support from both chambers. Now those same members of Congress are coming back with a practically identical version of the same proposed law, and the coalition behind the measure is pushing to get this attempt over the finish line instead of just settling for entering the race.

In a recent webinar hosted by the American Kratom Association, the consumer advocacy organization announced plans to reintroduce legislation to Congress, this time dubbed the Federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Like the last attempt, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will sponsor the bill in an intentional display that kratom is not a left or right issue.

It’s a matter of protecting consumers from adulterated kratom.

“It will be word for word the same, except for the title,” said Mac Haddow, a senior fellow with the American Kratom Association. “It’s going to take a while to get that bill passed, but it’s the start and it’s going to force the FDA to be accountable going forward.”

From Criminalization to Regulation

Haddow's comments came alongside Jim Carroll, a former White House Drug Czar who was part of the attempt to criminalize kratom during the last presidential administration. While the AKA has made it clear that it feels the Food and Drug Administration’s attempt to take action against kratom was in bad faith, Carroll offered unique insights.

The AKA’s primary point of contention is a letter from the former assistant secretary for health Dr. Brett Giroir that showed the FDA’s claims rang hollow. Carroll saw that saga play out from up close.

“I was at the epicenter of this issue… they first came to my office and presented, as Dr. Giroir said, an incomplete picture,” he said.

But the FDA would not stop there. The next stop for the federal regulators was the Drug Enforcement Agency, the authority needed to sign off on scheduling kratom. Once Carroll found out about the FDA’s intention, he alerted Giroir.

“Brett hung up the phone, dashed to the airport, and pulled the administrator of the DEA into a meeting and said ‘Don’t sign it, we need to present all of the facts to you,’” Carroll recalled. “They’re missing a lot of the story.”

By passing a federal KCPA, Carroll said Congress could make the FDA be more up-front and honest in its kratom discourse. It would also force the FDA to drop its campaign against kratom, including elements of its stance unsupported by available science.

“It is not an opioid, certainly there is a lot of science out there that proves it is not an opioid,” Carroll said.

Assistant Secretary of Health Adm. Brett Giroir, joined by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Office of National Drug Control Policy Former Director Jim Carroll (right), addresses reporters at a press briefing Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)

Accountability in the Industry

Obviously, the intention of the proposed legislation is to maintain a safe, legal supply of kratom–it doesn’t mean there aren’t other perks.

As part of that webinar, Haddow said the passage of a federal KCPA will also force the FDA to target bad actors. In response to a question about the culpability of the kratom industry for adverse reactions, Haddow said that the most pronounced concerns come from manufacturers who do not adhere to the Good Manufacturing Practices encouraged by the AKA.

Kratom itself has a low-risk safety profile, Haddow said. That does little to minimize the risk of bad actors in the industry. Passing a federal KCPA would be a huge first step in holding those manufacturers accountable.

“The majority of them should be put out of business,” Haddow said, “because they’re not manufacturing to good standards. They’re not testing their products, they’re not labeling them properly and they’re not submitting to the type of GMP practices that are necessary.”

“There will be a shakeout in this industry when the federal KCPA passes,” he said, “which will direct the FDA to responsibly regulate kratom.”

Carroll echoed the sentiments about the FDA's role in the process. In Carroll’s years leading federal agencies, he said the FDA had a track record of lagging behind regulatory needs. Numerous examples have shown that the FDA, even with the encouragement of Congress, has still been slow to act to limit bad actors in regulated industries.

Passing a law for the kratom industry would be a nudge the FDA would be hard-pressed to ignore, Carroll said.

“I think this is just another example where (the FDA) is very slow to act, where they don’t understand the power that they have and the responsibility that they have to protect consumers,” Carroll said.

The third party on the webinar was John Shinholser, an advocate for those dealing with addiction and substance abuse. Shinholser has seen the risks and the inevitable outcome of tainted, illegal markets for drugs and substances first-hand. In terms of harm reduction, Shinholser said the solution is pretty clear to him: Regulating kratom and keeping it free from adulteration is the best path to protecting consumers.

Rather than stigmatizing kratom and trying to criminalize the plant, Shinholser said he hopes federal lawmakers can correct the course of the conversation.

“The way I see it, they got this 100 percent wrong,” Shinholser said. “When I found out about that Kratom Consumer Protection Act, a light bulb goes off that this is exactly what the country needs. Anybody that is distributing kratom, if they don’t get on board with this, then they’re helping to fuel that stigma.”

“Let’s get America where we want it to be.”

Visit our latest kratom news section for the latest advancements on the Federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act, and check out our handy Kratom Legality Map for details on kratom regulation in each state.