As a former Democratic lawmaker who represented Mississippians at the county, state and federal levels, I have a good idea of what the government can and cannot accomplish. Which is why I am concerned that lawmakers in Baton Rouge are about to make a mistake by trying to ban and criminalize all forms of Kratom.
Kratom is often sold as a powder, capsule or liquid supplement at convenience stores and there are various forms of it and are used safely by millions of Americans across the country, including veterans, working people, grandmothers and other law-abiding citizens. There is a natural version that contains the dried leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree that’s native to Southeast Asia. There are also semi-synthesized and synthesized products that are in many cases labelled as Kratom but much stronger and are not anything like the natural leaf Kratom products. These synthetic versions can be very dangerous, and abuse may cause death.
In Mississippi, a state not known for being soft on illegal drug use, a new law has passed that bans synthetic Kratom products and limits the sale of natural Kratom products to those 21 and up amongst other consumer protections. This is the case in 17 states across the country. This is common sense legislation that lets adults decide what they choose to consume, while protecting minors and ensuring they cannot access these products.
I am not naïve, and I understand that even the natural version of Kratom can be abused. But so can beer or whiskey, and no one is talking about criminalizing those products, because America tried that during Prohibition, and it didn’t work because people found workarounds. Similarly, if Baton Rouge bans and criminalizes the products, adult Louisianans who want access to the more natural version of Kratom can just go to Mississippi or worse, buy dangerous synthetic products online.
Therefore, I urge lawmakers in Baton Rouge to take the path that Mississippi has and create a sensible policy that eliminates the most dangerous forms of Kratom and prohibits minors from accessing any version of the product.