WYOMING PASSES KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, REJECTS ATTEMPTS AT BAN

Lawmakers in Wyoming rode out turbulence during the process, and a push for prohibition, to become the latest legislature to codify kratom regulations. 

Wyoming joins a growing list of states that have opted for regulation over prohibition when Gov. Mark Gordon signed the kratom bill into law on Mar. 6. Although goal of the legislation aimed to establish a simple age restriction for purchases, the details of the bill will provide kratom consumers protection from enhanced and adulterated products, among other regulations aimed at encouraging responsible, informed kratom consumption. 

A back-and-forth in both chambers of the Wyoming legislature led to overwhelming support for SF 56, a bill that would codify a law similar to the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). Despite testimony and attempted amendments to ban kratom, Sen. Bill Landen kept his focus on regulating the market in the face of pressure to expand the scope of the bill. 

Rules for Regulation

Landen introduced the bill after hearing a constituent's concerns. Rather than pursuing a ban, Landen opted for a bill that set an age limit and created a basic structure for what type of kratom products are legally allowed for sale in the state. What emerged was a bill that mirrored other KCPA bills: limits on the amount of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), strict labeling requirements, and a ban on products designed to appeal to children. 

A unique aspect of the bill was the accountability measures put in place. for the state chemist to “analyze kratom products” to determine compliance and to create a structure for compliance inspections in conjunction with local law enforcement. 

To fund those compliance checks, a section of the bill also calls for diverting $115,000 from opioid settlement funds to cover costs. The final section of the bill allocates funds for a full-time employee to test kratom products and directs additional funding for the required equipment. 

It didn’t take long for other lawmakers to attempt to flip Landen’s bill into a ban. 

The bill’s first stop in committee was the Senate Judiciary Committee, where other legislators took a different approach. A proposed amendment in that committee would have added tianeptine to the bill and switched from regulation to an outright ban. Rather than pursue such a switch, Landen kept the bill in its original form and pushed it through the Senate. 

“This discussion is going on across the country,” Landen said. “The Senate Judiciary Committee took the bill and unanimously thought that kratom should be banned. There was a standing committee amendment in the Senate to ban kratom…In the interest of caution and doing the right thing, we encouraged the committee to vote the amendment down and return the bill to its original form.” 

How the Bill Became a Law

In that original form, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 29-2. Once it advanced, the House of Representatives sent the bill to the Judiciary Committee, where Landen made his case for regulation rather than prohibition. Landen said it is easier to start with regulation and consider more restrictive measures later. 

The committee also heard from Sam Kaiser, a legislative aide in Landen's office, who researched kratom and policy in other states. Although there were some issues in the information presented by Kaiser, one of the things he did correctly identify was the difference in how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treats natural leaf kratom and 7-OH products.  

Kaiser told the committee that the FDA had recently announced plans to make 7-OH a Schedule I controlled substance. Later, health professionals in the state explained to the committee that 7-OH only occurs in trace amounts and explained the difference in how 7-OH and natural kratom products affect the brain. 

During that line of questioning, Kaiser fielded a question about whether or not the danger comes from all kratom products or if the risk comes from enhanced and synthesized products. Kaiser confirmed the latter. 

“That is exactly what we are seeing; because of the lack of regulation in some of these states, these products are adulterated and increase the amount of 7-OH to dangerous levels,” Kaiser said.

After hearing from all sides, the House Judiciary Committee attempted to tweak the bill in light of the testimony. A proposed amendment to tighten the limits on 7-OH failed to pass, but a change in the language to keep kratom out of the hands of minors made it through the committee. That switch makes it a crime to “deliver” kratom products to anyone under 21 years old, meaning that older consumers could not buy kratom and pass it on to younger consumers. 

Once the bill advanced out of the House committee, lawmakers took another swipe at switching the regulation into a ban. Two different approaches to pairing kratom and tianeptine were offered as amendments. Both were unsuccessful–one failed a vote, the other was withdrawn. 

The bill that emerged had a few tweaks, but still matched the original intent. It passed with 57 votes for, no votes against and five members excused from the vote. One day after the House passed the bill, the two chambers passed concurrence measures to send the measure to the governor’s desk. Gordon signed the bill two days later. 

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