SOUTH CAROLINA SHUTS DOWN ATTEMPT TO FLIP KRATOM REGULATIONS TO A BAN

As some lawmakers across the country attempt to roll back kratom regulations, the people of South Carolina have shown that the will of the people still carries more weight than scare tactics.

An attempt to pass a full ban on kratom in South Carolina, which would have replaced existing kratom regulations, appears to have fizzled out after public pushback led legislators to amend the proposed ban. Although lawmakers put forth a pair of attempts in South Carolina's House of Representatives to support a ban, legislators refuted those efforts both times thanks to testimony from kratom consumers.

The bill to adjust kratom laws is H. 4641, an attempt to repeal existing regulations and replace them with a clause that would make kratom and all of its derivatives Schedule I substances in the state. More specifically, the bill, as introduced, would have repealed a version of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) passed during the 2025 legislative session.

After being introduced in January, the bill was heard by a subcommittee before finally being added to the agenda for the Apr. 14 meeting of the House Judiciary Committee. At that hearing, Rep. Thomas Brittain, who is not one of the bill's co-sponsors, introduced an amendment to tweak the bill and target synthetic versions of kratom rather than legislate broadly.

Switching the Scope to Synthetics

Brittain said his amendment was an attempt to address the feedback legislators had received during subcommittee meetings.

"I would say that the testimony was 70/30, more in support of natural kratom products instead of these synthetic kratom products," Brittain said. "I've had many individuals testify, most in support of making sure natural kratom is available but regulated. My amendment would allow for naturally occurring kratom to be sold."

At the heart of Brittain's amendment is 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), which is a lesser alkaloid found in kratom products. Brittain made it clear that his amendment would draw a line between natural leaf kratom and those products with enhanced levels of 7-OH and other synthesized alkaloids.

"Even in natural kratom, there are trace amounts of 7-OH, but they are so minimal that it would take an immense amount for you to come even close to overdosing on natural kratom," Brittain said. "The problem that we're seeing is that people are making it in their garage with synthetics and making products that are more powerful than morphine."

When asked about federal regulations, Brittain told the committee that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had put a process "on hold" to investigate whether or not kratom has medicinal value. Later, Brittain mentioned that the FDA was currently pushing for making 7-OH a Schedule I substance at the federal level, and stated that "the problem occurs when 7-OH is supercharged."

Upon questioning from the committee, one member directly asked Brittain if he was aware that the FDA and other state governments had specifically differentiated between natural leaf and synthetic kratom. Brittain said he was aware that "the target across the nation does seem to be the synthetics," and reiterated that kratom policy was more complicated than simply banning all products labeled as "natural."

"The truth lies somewhere in the middle," Brittain said. "But I do believe that in South Carolina, we need to make sure that if we're not going to ban kratom completely across the board, we definitely take care of the synthetic stuff that is made to be more powerful than the naturally occurring stuff."

Debating the Details

The committee's questions also focused on how the current law applied in the state. Rep. David Martin, who is one of the co-sponsors of the bill, asked Brittain about the details of an overdose that was attributed to kratom.

According to Martin, a constituent approached him after a family member had overdosed. Following a search of the deceased person's residence, a product was discovered that was labeled as kratom, but the only markings on the package were hand-written with a permanent marker. Martin questioned Brittain over the legality of such a product under the current kratom regulations.

"What she bought would have been illegal under the Kratom Consumer Protection Act," Brittain said.

The debate between regulation and prohibition continued during questioning, as members of the committee revisited testimony from earlier committee meetings. Rep. Kathy Landing said she understood why some would want to target all kratom products. However, she said she was still hesitant to regulate with a heavy hand after hearing from constituents who consumed natural leaf kratom.

"This is a really, really tough subject," Landing said. "It is true that we heard probably 70 percent of people who were talking about their own anecdotal experiences…these folks were standing at the podium and seemed very rational and normal and healthy."

Due to that feedback from the community, as well as the guidance from the federal government, Brittain urged the committee to back his amendment to keep a target on synthetic kratom products.

"Doing nothing is just not going to be the answer here," Brittain said.

The amendment passed the committee, and the bill, in that amended version, was then reported favorably. A week later, legislators formally amended the bill on the floor of the House with one small change that removed the word "fully" from the list of banned synthetic additives.

One legislator introduced an amendment to restore the bill as a full ban on kratom products, but that attempt failed by a vote of 54-45 on the House floor.

Following that vote, the House delayed further debates on the bill due to procedural matters. When debate on the bill resumed during the Apr. 23 session of the full House of Representatives, lawmakers agreed to a motion to adjourn that debate.

With less than two weeks remaining in the legislative session, the movement to adjourn debate on the bill effectively ends any attempt to change South Carolina's existing kratom laws.

For the latest on kratom legality in South Carolina and other states, visit our kratom legality map.