Mississippi representatives attempting to ban kratom again next year
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Oct. 13—JACKSON — House members for the second consecutive year appear on track to pass legislation that would make kratom, a green powdered herbal supplement, illegal in Mississippi.
House Drug Policy Committee Chairman Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, told the Daily Journal that he's planning to advance legislation to ban the supplement, but he also wants the Capitol's other legislative chamber, the Senate, to support him.
"I have asked the Mississippi Medical Association to work on the Senate," Yancey said. "I would love to see it come out of the Senate. The House has expressed our preference."
Yancey during the 2022 session authored legislation banning the product which remains largely unregulated in Mississippi. The House approved the bill 81-30, but it died in the Senate.
Kratom derives from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree and is currently legal under federal law and Mississippi state law. The product is available in whole leaves, powder and capsules, and it's currently legal under federal and state law.
Mississippians can order the product online, or they can purchase kratom — or at least what's advertised at kratom — from gas stations and convenience stores. Consumers claim the product helps with pain management, while some physicians claim it's dangerously addictive.
Some states, including Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee, have banned possession or sale of the herbal supplement.
Members of the House Drug Policy Committee on Monday heard from both physicians who want the product banned and industry insiders who think the supplement provides pain relief to people.
Mac Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association, told lawmakers that when someone dies from a kratom overdose, it's usually because the product has been tainted with other products.
Haddow proposed that lawmakers should keep kratom legal, but ban minors under 21 from purchasing it. Maddow also suggested lawmakers require the supplement to be "unadulterated."
Dr. Randy Easterling, a former Mississippi State Medical Association president, told lawmakers that he has not seen sufficient data to show that kratom is a safe product for managing pain.
"Of all the studies that have been done, the risk of using kratom far outweighs the benefits," Easterling said.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly voiced concerns about kratom, but the agency has not been successful in its efforts to restrict the product. In 2017, the federal Department of Health and Human Services recommended kratom be given Schedule I status. The department rescinded this recommendation in 2018.
Absent federal and state action, local governments have filled the current gap on regulating the drug. In Northeast Mississippi, the city of Fulton, the town of Mantachie, the city of Houston and Itawamba County have outlawed the product.
Lee County, the largest county in Northeast Mississippi has taken a pass on regulating the drug and has decided the Legislature should provide ultimate clarity on the issue.
The 2023 legislative session begins in January.
