Kratom: Consolidated Briefing for Lawmakers

This page provides a centralized, source-based briefing on kratom for legislators, regulators, and policy staff. It consolidates MAHA’s kratom-specific research, surveillance data, regulatory analyses, and supplemental policy reviews into a single reference point.

I. Core Kratom & Alkaloid Information

• Kratom Overview
• 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)

II. Scientific & Medical Literature

General Literature

• Kratom Literature Index

Clinical Case Reports

• Published Case Reports Involving Kratom

Adverse Event Reporting

• FDA Adverse Events – Kratom (Part I)
• FDA Adverse Events – Kratom (Part II)

Poison Control & Mortality Data

• Poison Control Reports – Kratom
• CDC SUDORS Mortality Data – Kratom

Medical Examiner & Mortality Data

• Florida Medical Examiners Commission: Mitragynine in Post-Mortem Toxicology (2020–2024)

III. Supplemental Policy & Enforcement Analysis

This section explains how kratom laws work in the real world — not just on paper. It shows how kratom has been regulated, misregulated, or left unenforced, and why lawmakers often discover problems only after harm has already occurred.

These materials are intended for legislators considering whether kratom should be allowed, restricted, regulated, or scheduled, and what consequences follow each choice.

Early Regulatory & Congressional Context

These materials explain how kratom entered the market and how early legislative and regulatory decisions were made without full information. They show what lawmakers were told, what they were not told, and how those gaps still affect current policy.

• California Leading the Way — Shows how California treated kratom as an unapproved drug rather than a supplement, and how states can act even when federal agencies have not issued clear rules.
• What Congress Wasn’t Told — Explains key safety and regulatory facts about kratom that were missing from congressional discussions and hearings.
• Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act Violations — Describes, in plain terms, why kratom products are considered unapproved drugs under federal law and why that matters for state enforcement.

Adulteration & Statutory Conflicts

This section shows what happens after kratom is legalized or loosely regulated. Once kratom is allowed, other psychoactive plant compounds quickly follow — often with far less safety data and no warning to consumers.

• If You Allow Kratom, This Follows: Akuamma — Demonstrates how allowing kratom opens the door to similar plant-based drugs.
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• New York Statutory Contradiction — Shows how kratom-specific laws can conflict with existing drug and food laws, creating loopholes that prevent effective enforcement.
• Florida SB 994 Analysis — Explains how a well-intended kratom law created enforcement problems and left regulators without clear authority.

FOIA, Registries & Scheduling Analysis

These materials explain how kratom policy decisions are actually made — through public records, studies used to justify legislation, state registries, and formal drug-scheduling analyses.

• Limitations of the Huestis Kratom Dose Study for Policy Use — Policy-focused summary of the January 2026 human kratom dose study, including study scope, adverse events, funding disclosures, FDA regulatory context, and limitations relevant to real-world safety.
• FOIA Emails Related to Kratom Advocacy — Public records showing how kratom policy has been influenced behind the scenes.
• Nebraska Kratom Registry — Reviews a registry-based approach and explains why registries often fail to prevent harm or improve oversight.
• FDA NDI Loophole & Enforcement Discretion — Documents the NDI notification for MitraLeaf dried kratom powder, FDA’s rejection letter finding the safety case inadequate, and how enforcement discretion allows the same product to remain on the market.
• Ohio Board of Pharmacy – 8-Factor Analysis — Shows how a state formally evaluated kratom using controlled-substance criteria.
• Extraction & Scheduling Rationale — Explains why ease of extraction matters for abuse potential and scheduling decisions.

IV. Intended Use

This briefing is intended to support legislative research, regulatory review, enforcement hearings, and policy analysis. All materials are provided as primary sources or direct analyses without editorial framing.

Mothers Against Herbal Abuse (MAHA)
https://www.mothersagainstherbalabuse.org