Big news out of San Francisco this week! Assemblymember Matt Haney, representing the vibrant city, introduced a new bill called Assembly Bill 2365, or the Kratom Safety Act. This bill is aimed at bringing some much-needed regulation to kratom products sold in California.
Kratom, for those unfamiliar, comes from the leaves of a tropical tree in the coffee family. It’s often used as a stimulant to boost productivity and has a long history of medicinal use in Southeast Asia.
But here’s the catch: kratom hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Concerns have been raised about contamination in some products and the varying levels of its natural psychoactive compounds—mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has flagged it as a substance of concern.
Assemblymember Haney isn’t taking any chances. He wants to ensure that Californians know exactly what they’re getting when they buy kratom. His bill would ban the sale of adulterated kratom, set up strict testing and registration requirements with the California Department of Public Health, and make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy it.
Haney isn’t alone in his concerns. The lack of federal regulations has allowed some pretty potent and potentially dangerous products to flood the market. That’s why advocates like Matthew Lowe, from the Global Kratom Coalition, are supportive of Haney’s efforts. They want kratom products to stick as close to nature as possible, with the same ratios of alkaloids found in the plant itself.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Some folks swear by kratom for relieving pain, anxiety, and depression. Early studies even suggest it could help with opioid addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is keeping a close eye on it, seeing if kratom could be part of the solution to the opioid crisis.
Haney gets it. There’s still a lot we don’t know about kratom. But until we do, he’s all about giving consumers the information they need to stay safe. That means drawing clear lines on what products are allowed and making sure each one comes with proper health warnings.
So, will California become a trailblazer in kratom regulation? With Haney leading the charge, it sure looks like it!
