Copy or download this sample letter to send to your state or federal lawmakers.
[Your Name] [Your Email / City / State] [Date] To the Honorable Members of [State Legislature or U.S. Congress]: As a concerned [parent / pharmacist / healthcare professional / citizen], I am writing to urge you to support legislation banning/regulating kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) and its active alkaloids. Kratom is not a harmless herbal product—it is an opioid-class drug with well-documented risks of addiction, dependence, and death. ⸻ Kratom’s Opioid Nature Kratom’s main alkaloid, mitragynine, is metabolized in the human body into 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a μ-opioid receptor agonist several times more potent than morphine. Even if a product contains little 7-OH, the body produces it internally. Allowing kratom sales is effectively no different than permitting heroin precursors to be sold at gas stations. ⸻ Harm Data • Overdose deaths: The CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) identified over 1,000 kratom-positive deaths per year between 2020 and 2023 across more than 30 states. • Florida medical examiners have documented over 500 mitragynine-caused deaths since 2020. • Poison centers: The National Poison Data System (NPDS) recorded 10,272 kratom exposures between 2014 and 2023. Over half had serious medical outcomes, and nearly half required hospitalization. • FDA Adverse Events: The FDA’s FAERS database includes over 1,200 mitragynine cases with hundreds of deaths; additional CAERS reports describe severe hospitalizations. • Clinical case reports document respiratory depression, seizures, liver failure, and neonatal withdrawal in infants exposed in utero. • Contamination: The FDA has recalled kratom products contaminated with Salmonella, lead, nickel, and hidden drug ingredients. ⸻ Why Action Is Needed Kratom is marketed as a “natural” alternative for pain, anxiety, and opioid withdrawal—claims the FDA has repeatedly deemed illegal. In reality, kratom causes opioid-like dependence and withdrawal symptoms, with documented fatalities. Partial measures, such as banning only 7-OH, will not work; the majority of harm stems from kratom leaf and extracts, which the body itself converts into 7-OH. ⸻ What You Can Do 1. Amend state or federal controlled-substances laws to classify Mitragyna speciosa and its alkaloids as Schedule I. 2. Prohibit retail and online sales of kratom and similar opioid-like products marketed as “supplements.” 3. Protect youth and vulnerable populations by removing kratom from gas stations, vape shops, and convenience stores. 4. Support education and enforcement funding for poison-control centers and local health departments. ⸻ Closing The opioid crisis continues to devastate families across the country. We cannot leave a gas-station opioid loophole open. Please act decisively to ban kratom and safeguard public health. Respectfully, [Your Full Name] [City, State ZIP] [Optional: Title or Affiliation]