The Missouri House on Wednesday advanced a bill that would enact new regulations on kratom products, which the National Institute on Drug Abuse defines as 鈥渁n herbal substance that can produce .鈥�
Kratom products are currently legal both federally and in Missouri, and the legislation that received initial approval Wednesday would put an age restriction on who can buy the products at 21, along with limitations on ingredients.
The bill needs a final vote in the House before going to the Senate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 usually used to get people off opioid addictions,鈥� state Rep. Tricia Byrnes, a Republican from Wentzville, said during Wednesday鈥檚 debate, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 a pain reliever, instead of getting people hooked to opioids.鈥�
The American Kratom Association, which provided the language for the original legislation, opposes a change made before Wednesday鈥檚 vote, said Mac Haddow, senior policy fellow with the association.
In the version approved in a committee earlier this month, he said, products containing a synthetic form of a substance called 7-hydroxymitragynine 鈥� which he called 鈥渧ery dangerous鈥� and as addictive as heroin 鈥� would continue to be sold in Missouri without any regulation.
The amended version of the bill instead takes aim at 鈥渁ny product marketed or sold as kratom鈥� that contains more than 2% of the substance, also known as 7-OH.
That allows for these products to be sold under a different name, Haddow said, and doesn鈥檛 take them off store shelves as the bill intended.
鈥淲e oppose the addition of the language that would allow for 7-OH products to be sold in the state, not calling them kratom,鈥� he said, though he still supports the bill. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 at least a better compromise than 7-OH products being sold as kratom, which misleads consumers.鈥�
While kratom leaves contain many chemical compounds that may influence the human body, the most-studied is mitragynine, according to the institute. When ingested, mitragynine breaks down into another chemical, 7-hydroxymitragynine. There are also very small amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine occurring naturally in kratom.
Missouri-based American Shaman is the first company to bring 7-OH to market, said company owner Vince Sanders told The Independent in an interview Wednesday, and is a leader in these products nationwide.
Sanders argues his products, which come in pill form, are safe and 鈥渇ar superior鈥� to kratom products on the market. Byrnes鈥� original bill would have banned a number of the products the company manufactures, he said, because they鈥檙e made with a higher percentage of 7-OH.
Sanders said his products start with the kratom leaf and then their production process replicates what happens naturally with the plant itself.
鈥淲e just do it outside the plant, so that we can do it at scale,鈥� he said.
He supports the bill because it creates some separation between his products and regular kratom.
鈥淧eople have been taking normal kratom for, you know, decades plus,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want you to confuse this product with that product.鈥�
People often take several hundred milligrams of kratom, he said, and his 7-OH products are much more potent. Sanders doesn鈥檛 believe the bill applies to his products, because they鈥檙e already not marketed as kratom.
鈥淲e want to make it real clear that this shouldn鈥檛 be marketed as kratom,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd then kratom rules should apply to kratom, not to this because they鈥檙e different.鈥�
American Shaman originally opposed Byrnes鈥� legislation. After the group asked for the change and it was added, the company now supports the bill. Sanders said the bill was a 鈥渓egislative attempt鈥� brought forth by the kratom industry 鈥渢o get rid of a superior product, which is a shame.鈥�
Byrnes said she doesn鈥檛 believe the amendment exempts any products that originate from the kratom leaf.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how saying, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e just going to call it tomatoes,鈥� make it not kratom,鈥� Byrnes told The Independent Wednesday. 鈥淚鈥檓 not picking winners or losers. I鈥檓 not trying to do anything except that if you鈥檙e selling kratom that鈥檚 from this plant, then it needs to have these requirements.鈥�
Matthew Lowe, executive director of the Global Kratom Coalition, is opposed to 7-OH products because, like Haddow, he said they are highly addictive and can seriously injure people if they鈥檙e not aware of what they鈥檙e taking.
Also like Haddow, Lowe supports the bill because it prevents them from being marketed as kratom. And there are other dangerous chemicals the bill prevents from being added to kratom products, they both said.
鈥淚 find it strange that you鈥檝e got individuals who鈥檝e got a synthetic single alkaloid product that鈥檚 more potent than morphine 鈥� even having a seat at the table of a kratom regulatory bill,鈥� Lowe said. 鈥淏ecause they鈥檙e not kratom. They鈥檙e not dietary ingredients. They鈥檙e unapproved drugs.鈥�
