MICHIGAN'S ATTEMPT TO BAN KRATOM PASSES HOUSE THANKS TO PARTY POLITICS, MISLEADING INFORMATION

Conversations around kratom have shifted to the extent that opponents of the plant have developed new ways of pushing policies that limit access in an attempt to subvert science and the prevailing public opinion. 

Lawmakers in Michigan have offered the latest glimpse into the underhanded tactics used against kratom. 

A bill was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives to ban all forms of kratom, and it passed through the lower chamber without a public hearing. The bill was assigned to a committee in the state Senate, but has yet to advance beyond that first step. Without any back-and-forth between lawmakers and citizens, advocates for kratom regulation are sounding the alarm about misleading claims made by the sponsor of the ban bill, and are hoping to keep the measure from advancing in the state Senate. 

As introduced, House Bill 5537 was a straightforward attempt to make it a misdemeanor for Michiganders to “grow, synthesize, sell, or offer to sell kratom or a synthetic version of kratom.” Rep. Cameron Cavitt, a Republican from northern Michigan, introduced the bill on the floor of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and used that party's control to steer the bill through that chamber. 

Dodging Discourse

The bill was initially referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform in February, but never made it onto the agenda for a committee meeting. Instead, the House suspended the rules and the bill was discharged from the committee and sent back to the floor. That same day, the House amended the proposed measure and immediately advanced it to a third reading and a vote. The bill passed by a vote of 56-48. 

Republicans control the Michigan House of Representatives by a margin of 58-52. All 56 votes for the bill came from Republicans, while a single Republican joined the 47 Democrats who voted no. Six members did not vote. 

Upon arrival in the Senate, the bill was assigned to the Government Operations Committee. There has been no action on the bill since it arrived to the Senate on Mar. 24. The good news for advocates is that the Michigan Senate has a 20-18 margin in favor of the Democrats.

Even if the bill were to gain traction in the Senate, a statement from the House Democratic caucus indicates that the upper chamber would revert to a more traditional process in considering the proposed measure. 

"There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn't justified," said the statement. "What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution."

Fixing the Facts

Beyond the procedural concerns and the lack of a public hearing, advocates have also challenged the factual basis behind the bill. 

During an appearance on Stateside, a podcast hosted by Michigan’s NRP affiliate, Cavitt defended his bill with a variety of misleading claims about kratom.  

“They’re marketing this product to children, and that is our primary concern,” Cavitt said.

Rather than establishing a regulatory system to keep the product out of the hands of children, Cavitt’s proposed legislation simply enhances penalties for those caught distributing kratom to minors. 

When it comes to other regulatory measures, the bill introduced by Cavitt makes no distinction between mitragynine, the primary alkaloid in natural leaf kratom, and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). A large majority of the states that have regulated kratom have set strict limits on the amount of 7-OH that can be included in a product labeled as kratom. 

Those limits are usually set around 2 percent of the total alkaloid composition, which is similar to the amount of 7-OH found in natural leaf kratom. The AHPA has similarly warned against conflating 7-OH with natural kratom, and the FDA has drawn a clear line between the two. Instead, Cavitt did not mention mitragynine or natural leaf kratom and presented all kratom products as 7-OH products. 

“It’s not the kratom itself, it's the chemical component called 7-OH,” Cavitt said. “Very much like marijuana has THC, this gives off a chemical component called 7-OH, and that’s what opens up your opioid receptors.”

If Cavitt were truly concerned about access to kratom, he could have signed onto a past attempt to regulate kratom in the state. That bill was HB 4061 and was introduced during Cavitt’s first term as a state representative in 2023. Not only would the bill have established an age requirement for purchase, but it would have set a 2 percent cap on 7-OH and banned all synthetic alkaloids and additives to kratom products.

That bill died in the same committee that Cavitt’s bill bypassed on its way to passing through the House. 

Cavitt also displayed an astounding lack of knowledge when it came to kratom’s origin and basic facts about the plant. In the interview, he referred to kratom as a “byproduct of a conifer tree, it’s the inside of a bark.” The scientific name of the kratom plant is Mitragyna speciosa, something Cavitt did not mention, and the plant is a tropical evergreen tree, not a conifer. Traditional kratom products are made using the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, not the bark. 

When the subject switched to who exports kratom, Cavitt claimed that China and Vietnam are the leading exporters of kratom to the United States, and pointed to China’s ban on kratom products as reasoning for his bill to ban kratom in Michigan. 

“When I saw that Chinese people weren’t allowed to take kratom, that they could push this.. I got to thinking, maybe they know something that we don’t,” Cavitt said.

In truth, multiple reports indicate that around 95 percent of kratom is produced in Indonesia, where kratom has been used for centuries. There is no credible source that indicates China produces or exports any amount of kratom.