Michigan lawmakers last Thursday debated possible restrictions of kratom, a product largely unregulated now in Michigan.
The Michigan Kratom Consumer Protection Act, sponsored by State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, would do the following:
- Ban distributing, selling, or manufacturing without a license
- Ban sales to anyone under 21
- Require testing of raw materials sold or distributed in Michigan
- Establish labeling requirements, including health and safety warnings
- Ban the sale or distribution of kratom products that contain certain substances
- Require Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to establish rules and enable it to seek declaratory or injunctive relief against anyone violating the rules.
It has a long history of use in Southeast Asia. Kratom leaves are crushed and then smoked, brewed with tea or placed into gel capsules.
But the science over its effects is far from settled.
Its users report increased alertness and energy and argued that people have used kratom in moderation to self-treat pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Others have argued that its components can be addictive and dangerous. Kratom leaves contain two major psychoactive ingredients, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
Users also have experienced nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, irregular heart rhythms, vomiting, drowsiness, loss of appetite and sedative effects. In worse cases, they’ve reported anorexia, insomnia, seizures and hallucinations, according to the DEA. A 2019 review of overdose deaths published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implicated kratom in 152 of the 27,338 deaths; however, the same study noted that other drugs could not be ruled out as the cause of death.
In front of the House Regulatory Reform Committee, the bill’s sponsor Thursday echoed the American Kratom Association, which argues that the bill is “crucial legislation that would establish responsible regulations for safe kratom products while keeping them legal.”
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