North Dakota Lawmakers Opt for Kratom Regulations During Special Session
NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKERS OPT FOR KRATOM REGULATIONS DURING SPECIAL SESSION
It was only a matter of time before opponents of kratom found a way to cut into the developing momentum surrounding the plant.
So as the science and policy approaches to kratom skew in favor of regulated, natural products, North Dakota leaned on the power of their executive branch to push back — and even then, the same scare tactics did not lead to a complete ban.
North Dakota lawmakers ultimately opted for regulation and a ban on synthetics in the wake of emergency actions against kratom that aimed to make the plant illegal to sell, manufacture and possess. The first steps toward a ban came from the governor's desk, with a call for a special session to address the issue. Thanks to pushback against what advocates labeled 'executive overreach,' the state legislature instead went in the direction of limiting specific products and requiring regulation for natural kratom products.
"This is a victory for public health and safety, keeping dangerous synthetic kratom products off the shelves," Armstrong said. "We appreciate the Legislature convening in special session and working hard to pass a meaningful law that protects the well-being of our citizens."
Emergency Action Leads to Special Session
North Dakota's path toward regulation started when Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed an executive order to ban all kratom products for 30 days, starting on Aug. 5.
Armstrong called a special session of the state legislature to codify the ban into law. In his announcement, Kelly claimed that the special session was called to "enact a statutory framework to regulate or prohibit the creation, manufacture, delivery, distribution, sale, purchase, possession, and mislabeling of kratom and kratom products."
The only issue with Armstrong's order is that it contains misleading information and contradictions based on the prevailing science and federal guidance surrounding kratom.
For starters, Armstrong's executive order claims that "kratom leaves contain two psychoactive ingredients, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)." Mitragynine is the primary alkaloid in kratom; 7-OH occurs in trace amounts in natural kratom leaves, and a majority of the states that have passed regulations have set a maximum amount of 7-OH that can be contained in a product labeled as kratom.
While the executive order references positions previously held by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it leaves out that the FDA changed its stance on kratom in July of 2025 to target 7-OH products and support regulation for natural leaf kratom products. The order does properly reference an emergency rule by the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy to make 7-OH a Schedule I substance, but claims that "many kratom products in North Dakota will not be affected by classifying 7-OH as Schedule I."
What that means is that Armstrong's order was intended to defy the FDA's guidance and target natural kratom leaf products with the same treatment as those with elevated levels of 7-OH.
During the press conference to announce the executive order, Armstrong's logic was contradicted by Attorney General Drew Wrigley. When it came time to discuss the "dangerous" products, Wrigley held up three different packages of enhanced 7-OH products, the same products that Armstrong claimed were not covered by the existing rule that made 7-OH a controlled substance.
Lawmakers Choose Regulation Over Prohibition
The special session convened on Sept. 2 and took just two days to pass House Bill 1628.
Despite heavy pressure from the executive branch to pursue a total ban on kratom, HB 1628 was introduced as a ban on synthetic kratom and offered a regulatory structure similar to other states that have passed versions of a Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). The bill received minor amendments in committee in the House of Representatives and another on the Senate floor.
Even with those tweaks, the bill breezed through both chambers and ultimately passed the House by a vote of 86-6 and passed the Senate by a unanimous 46-0 vote. When the bill came back to the House, the amended version passed 91-2 and was signed that same day.
What emerged was a bill that formally scheduled synthetic derivatives of kratom as Schedule I, set a limit for the amount of 7-OH that could be contained in a kratom product and set up a system for licensing and labeling of natural leaf products. Not only does the law call for clear labels that list the alkaloid amounts found in the product, but it also requires independent lab testing so that customers can confirm what they are getting in products labeled as kratom.
Although the legislature did not consider a ban on natural leaf kratom products, Armstrong said that he would have "preferred a total ban" and took shots at "natural kratom" in those same comments. Fortunately for kratom advocates in the state, lawmakers followed the updated guidance from the FDA and targeted synthetically enhanced products.
The growing push toward regulation over prohibition was reflected in the comments made by the attorney general after the passage of HB 1628.
"Public awareness on this critical health issue has skyrocketed, and a meaningful ban on synthetic kratom is now the law in North Dakota," Wrigley said. "The law also provides new and meaningful restrictions on the kratom products left unbanned for now." For the latest on kratom legality in North Dakota and other states, visit our kratom legality map.
