NEW JERSEY BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS ENDORSES REGULATING KRATOM OVER PROPOSED BAN

Kratom science surged forward in 2024 with the help of the same federal agencies that once put the plant in their crosshairs. 

Now it appears that momentum is gaining traction at the state level. 

New Jersey recently introduced conflicting bills addressing kratom use, with one looking to regulate and codify the market and the other aiming to ban the herbal supplement. That put the spotlight on the annual meeting for medical examiners in the state, and which side the local medical community would come down on in terms of kratom. Following a careful examination of the case for kratom, the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners (BME) endorsed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) over a ban, marking a significant shift in how kratom is treated by local medical boards. 

The showdown was set when the BME announced its agenda for the annual meeting, which included both S1476, New Jersey’s version of a KCPA, and a bill banning kratom known colloquially as “CJ’s Law,” which would ban certain substances. 

Breaking Down the Bills

Like other KCPAs, the bill introduced in New Jersey would set a strong baseline of restrictions and regulations on that state’s kratom industry. It would ban adulterants, non-kratom additives that affected “the quality or strength of the kratom product to such a degree as to render the kratom product injurious” and kratom products that contain synthetic alkaloids or an unnatural level of certain naturally occurring alkaloids. The law also includes strict labeling requirements and a required age of 21 to purchase kratom products. 

It’s a comprehensive plan to maintain safe access to a plant regulated in more than twice as many states as those that chose to ban it. 

Oppositely, the “CJ’s Law” bill makes the sale, manufacture and possession of kratom products illegal in the state and classifies kratom as a controlled substance–an action that the federal government has twice declined to take up. Rather than relying on updated information by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the law includes text and warnings copied and pasted from previous guidance used in the government’s attempts to ban kratom. 

When that evidence was used at the federal level, it was dismissed as “embarrassingly poor”... and it appears New Jersey’s BME agrees. At the hearing on Jan. 8, 2025, the BME endorsed the KCPA instead of supporting a ban.  

“This is an important step to ensure kratom consumers have access to safely formulated and labeled kratom products to reduce the risk of adulterated or contaminated kratom products,” said Mac Haddow, a senior fellow with the American Kratom Association (AKA). 

Although the state’s BME decided to endorse the KCPA, the matter will ultimately be resolved at the state house. New Jersey’s legislative session started Jan. 14, and the bill to regulate kratom was introduced in the Senate and assigned to the Commerce Committee. 

Supporters of kratom are starting off at a disadvantage since the opposing bill passed through a committee last June by a 7-0 vote. ‘CJ’s Law’ started as a bill in the state’s House of Representatives and passed through its committee with unanimous consent. A companion bill to ‘CJ’s Law’ was introduced in the Senate and handed off to the Judiciary Committee in June of 2024. 

With two bills working their way through the two chambers of the New Jersey legislature, it will ultimately be those lawmakers who settle on which direction to move, and whether or not to act on the endorsement of the BME and create a regulated market for kratom.  

A Shift in Kratom Ideology

The decisive action taken in New Jersey also bucks a recent trend of medical associations holding on to outdated information in opposition to kratom. 

Rhode Island is one of six states that voted to ban kratom when the FDA attempted to enact a federal ban. During last year’s legislative session, a bill passed that would undo the ban and instead regulate kratom in the state. At the urging of the state’s medical board and wider medical community, Gov. vetoed the bill. 

In Virginia, opponents of kratom tried to circumvent the legislature and pass a kratom ban through the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. Pushback from the public was immediate and fierce, and following days of being bombarded with messages in support of kratom, the board announced that it “did not feel it possessed sufficient evidence at the meeting to determine that kratom has no medicinal value” before deciding not to take action. 

Despite those setbacks, the decision in New Jersey shows that less than a year after the FDA announced its first study to establish kratom’s safety profile, medical institutions and established organizations are starting to take a closer look at kratom. According to Haddow, it’s well past time they did. 

“Equally important, this decision sends a clear message that criminalization is not the solution and stands in stark contrast to the persistent misinformation by anti-kratom trial attorneys and anti-kratom advocates,” Haddow said. “New Jersey residents and all Americans should be grateful that the NJ BME demonstrated that evidence-based science should dictate public policy.”