Ohio State Building. (Photo: David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Ohio’s Republican senator wants to regulate natural Kratom products and ban the synthetic version, while Governor Mike DeWine wants to ban all Kratom products.
Ohio Senate Bill 299 would require those who sell, distribute and manufacture Kratom should register with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
The bill would also ban synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, limiting its content in products to no more than one milligram.
Under the bill, Kratom products will only be sold to adults aged 18 and over.
Ohio Senator Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township introduced the bill, whose sponsor testified Tuesday during a hearing of the Ohio Senate’s General Government Committee.
“This legislation seeks to establish Kratom product standards, labeling requirements, age restrictions and rulemaking so that consumers can make more informed decisions so that we can protect young Ohioans from the dangers of this substance,” he said.
Kratom is a tropical tree to Southeast Asia, and its leaves can be crushed and burned, steamed or placed in gel capsules. Consuming it in tiny doses can cause a stimulant effect, while gigantic doses can cause a sedative effect. People often take Kratom to treat chronic pain, opioid addiction, anxiety, and depression.
According to estimates from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, yes 1.6 million Kratom users annually in the United States. Reported side effects of Kratom include high blood pressure, confusion, seizures, weight loss, vomiting, dizziness, and drowsiness.
Kratom is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns against using kratom due to adverse risk effects such as liver damage, seizures, and substance use disorders.
The synthetic version of Kratom, concentrated with 7-OH, is an opioid-like substance and summer The FDA has recommended planning for 7-OH products in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act. The FDA has clarified that it is not focusing on natural kratom leaf products.
According to data from poison control centers in the United States, there were more than 3,400 reports of kratom use, including deaths, between 2014 and 2019. Mayo Clinic. According to preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health, Kratom was responsible for more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths in Ohio between 2019 and 2024.
However, most deaths are also due to Kratom involved other drugs or substances– reports the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
During his testimony, Blessing told, among other things: An Ohio man who took his own life this fall, after his family concluded he had become addicted synthetic Kratom and experienced severe withdrawal symptoms.
“The goal of this legislation is to prevent tragedies like this by creating commonsense regulations that keep products safe and protect consumers,” he said. “By treating kratom the same way we treat other botanical products, Ohio can prioritize public health while promoting consumer choice and supporting responsible trade.”
In overdue August, DeWine called on the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate all natural and synthetic Kratom compounds as illegal drugs, but he put his call for a Kratom ban on hold after a conversation with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“These modified Kratom products sold online and in stores are essentially legal, over-the-counter opiates that anyone — including children — can buy for a few dollars,” DeWine said in an Aug. 25 statement.
This is it is illegal to buy, use or possess Kratom v Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Kratom is illegal in some countries including but not confined to Australia, Denmark, Israel and Japan.
Blessing said similar kratom bills have been passed in Utah, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Follow a Capital Journal reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
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