State Rep. Jim Prokopiak, (D-Bucks,) said praised the House of Representatives’ unanimous passage of the Kratom Standards, Labeling and Consumer Protection Act.
Kratom is a plant from southeast Asia used for its psychoactive properties. The Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have recommended that the Drug Enforcement Agency classify 7-OH, a compound in kratom, as a Schedule 1 controlled substance – placing it in the same category as heroin and LSD.
Last month Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan took “historic legal action” shutting down the sales of tobacco and kratom products to minors at a Buckingham Township smoke shop.
House Bill 2657, introduced by Rep. Kosierowski, (D-Lackawanna,) along with Prokopiak and Reps. Kyle Donahue and Dan Frankel, would ban the sale of synthetic kratom, and create a statutory framework for the sale, distribution and quality control of kratom products within Pennsylvania.
Under the bill, according to Prokopiak, retailers registered with the state would be allowed to sell natural-leaf kratom products to people 21 or older. Packaging would have to list the manufacturer’s name and address, carry a warning that the products have not been evaluated by the FDA and make no medical claims.
Packaging would also have to be child-resistant and designed not to appeal to minors. Kratom products would be subject to the tobacco tax.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health would enforce standards and collect taxes, the measure says.
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“Far too many Pennsylvania families have been negatively impacted by kratom, unaware of the addictive qualities of a product sold legally all across the state. Pennsylvanians deserve protection from these potentially deadly products being sold in our communities,” said Prokopiak.
“This legislation eliminates the potent synthetic kratom products that are the most dangerous and establishes common-sense standards for kratom products and will help ensure greater transparency for consumers.”
“As officials in Harrisburg and Washington debate how to regulate dangerous kratom-derived products, this is the kind of swift and decisive action that will protect our children today,” Khan said
House Bill 2657 is now in the state Senate for further consideration.