TENNESSEE PASSES KRATOM BAN, OPTS FOR REDUCED PENALTIES

Sometimes, the lesser of two evils is still a bad option–at least that’s what kratom consumers in Tennessee are about to find out. 

A pair of bills was introduced in the Tennessee legislature this session, both of which banned kratom but contained different levels of punishment for offenders. The bill with more lenient penalties ultimately advanced, and despite pushback from experts and scientists, made it through both chambers of the state house. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill on May 7, leaving kratom customers in the state less than two months before all products are banned.

Of the two bills introduced, HB 1649 emerged as the choice of the legislature and quickly made its way through the House of Representatives. Simply put, the bill makes it illegal to possess, manufacture, deliver or sell any form of kratom in Tennessee. A similar bill was introduced that would have made it a felony to violate any aspect of the law; instead, HB 1649 carries a misdemeanor penalty for possession of kratom and felonies for violating any other subsection of the law. 

Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes authored the bill and included a clause for medical examiners to test for kratom in cases of suspected overdose. The bill was formally titled Matthew Davenport’s law to honor the life of a resident who died due to an overdose.   

Considered in Committee

It took nearly two months for the bill to receive a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. During the public testimony, Davenport's mother told the committee that the medical examiner found mitragynine, the primary alkaloid in natural kratom, in her son's system at the time of his death. That testimony stopped short of claiming that mitragynine was determined to be the cause of death, and included a disclosure that the toxicology screen also found diphenhydramine, duloxetine and buspirone present in his system. 

In her opening statement to the committee, Helton-Haynes incorrectly stated that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "maintains a firm stance against kratom, natural and synthetic." Helton-Haynes also lumped natural leaf kratom and those products with artificially enhanced levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) into the same category.

That testimony was followed by a panel of medical authorities from the state of Tennessee, who also claimed there was no distinction between natural leaf kratom and 7-OH products. What the authorities failed to disclose is that the research linking kratom to opioids and morphine-like potency centered on enhanced, concentrated 7-OH products instead of kratom products that fit the profile of natural leaf kratom.

Advocates Push Back

Dr. Jack Henningfield, who is a researcher at Johns Hopkins University with an extensive history working within the federal government, was quick to correct the testimony offered by the authorities in favor of a kratom ban. Henningfield told the committee he was “probably the only one in this room who has actually done scientific research on (7-OH) and kratom” and made a “factual correction” about the difference between the two products. 

"There's a big difference between natural kratom, which contains almost no 7-hydroxy, and synthetic 7-hydroxy that can be 13 times more potent than morphine — not kratom," Henningfield said. "What we need to reduce deaths across the board is regulation, not prohibition and criminalizing kratom users."

Henningfield also set the record straight on the FDA's stance, and cited comments by Dr. Marty Makary about the difference between 7-OH products and those derived from natural leaf kratom. More specifically, Henningfield referenced the letter sent by Makary to his colleagues across the country that specifically stated that natural kratom is "not the problem."

"I'm going to quote the FDA commissioner: There is a world of difference between kratom and 7-hydroxy," Henningfield said. "Please, take action, make regulations and ban 7-hydroxy as 19 other states have done." 

Advocates for kratom also questioned the suspected overdose that served as the reasoning behind the bill, and used available scientific literature to make their case. 

Dr. Heidi Sykora joined Henningfield in offering condolences to the Davenport family, while also making an effort to educate the committee on the science surrounding the fatal potential of kratom vs. 7-OH. 

Sykora testified that the medical examiner’s report did not list mitragynine as the cause of death. After highlighting the toxicology levels from that report, Sykora told the committee that the amount of diphenhydramine in Davenport’s system was a “fatal level” and explained how other substances could have contributed to the adverse reaction. 

“If he had no other substances in his system, and had that level (of diphenhydramine), it could have led to his death,” Sykora said. “Duloxetine and buspirone were also elevated. These medications can cause serious interactions…they can cause fatal central nervous system depression, cardiac arrhythmia and serotonin toxicity.”

Those claims were repeated in a guest column written by Sykora for the local press. As she explained to the committee, all available research pointed to a diminished risk of a fatal reaction to kratom. 

“There is no known mechanism by which kratom causes sudden death in humans, and this case does not establish one,” Sykora said.  

The list of advocates testifying against the proposed ban also included the former chief counsel for the FDA, who testified against 7-OH and in favor of natural kratom leaf. Despite the impressive credentials of the gathered advocates and the science that backed their testimony, the committee still advanced the bill by a vote of 16-2. 

Moments before the measure was voted on, Rep. Johnny Garrett made a comment that spoke to the prevailing mindset that led legislators to pass the bill.

“You all said so many words in your testimony, I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Rep. Johnny Garrett. “You’re asking for regulation, but you’re too late, and so I think that what needs to happen is that this needs to come off the market.” 

Following its committee stops in the House, the bill passed by a vote of 78-9, and needed just eight days to make it through the Senate by a vote of 23-2. Three weeks later, Lee signed the bill. The new law takes effect on July 1.

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