Michigan House votes to ban all production, sales of kratom

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Lansing — The Republican-controlled Michigan House voted narrowly Wednesday to prohibit the growth or sale of kratom, a substance sometimes referred to as “gas station heroin” for its opioid- and stimulant-like effects.
The bill, which passed in a 56-48 vote with all Democrats and two Republicans opposed, was adopted without any committee hearings on the issue and will move next to the Democratic-led Senate.
The legislation would ban the sale of both kratom itself, a tropical plant found in Southeast Asia, and a synthetic variant of kratom sometimes referred to 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH. The product is sometimes sold in liquor stores, smoke shops and gas stations and has become a concern among some policing agencies in Metro Detroit communities.
More: Metro Detroit communities grapple with what to do about ‘gas station heroin’
State Rep. Cam Cavitt, a Cheboygan Republican who introduced the bill, said he was first made aware of the issue by a mother from his district who’d lost a child to the drug.
“These products are being marketed towards our kids, and many parents aren’t even aware that it’s happening,” Cavitt said. “Our children are being poisoned by products that they can easily purchase at gas stations.”
House Democrats argued in a Wednesday statement that the legislation should have been discussed in committee and not rushed through with little to no vetting of the policy.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the caucus statement said. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The legislation was approved as Patti Wheeler, a mother who lost her 27-year-old son Wyatt Wheeler to the drug in 2022, watched from the House floor. Wheeler started a foundation after her son’s death and has been advocating for bans on the product in recent years.
As of January, 30 states and the District of Columbia regulate kratom in some way. Six states have adopted a ban of the substance: Wisconsin, Vermont, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana and Alabama.
“This needed to happen,” Wheeler said of the House’s Wednesday passage of the bill. “Real lives are being lost because of kratom.”
The American Kratom Association told The News last year that it supports the regulation of kratom, but not an all-out ban. The association, however, did say it backs a ban of the synthetic, 7-OH.
“Consumers are being deceived, thinking it’s regular kratom, and they take it, and then when it has the effect that these products have, they get hooked and they have adverse events,” said Mac Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy at the association.
The Food and Drug Administration bars the marketing of kratom as a drug product, a dietary supplement or food additive and, last year, the Trump administration said it would recommend 7-OH be scheduled as a controlled substance.
The substance has been used by some individuals for pain or anxiety relief or, in higher doses, to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, according to the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. Users report both stimulant-like effects, like energy or alertness, as well as sedative-like effects, such as relaxation, pain relief or confusion.
Depending on the potency or what other drugs it is mixed with, kratom products can cause mild side effects such as nausea, dizziness or drowsiness, or severe effects, such as seizures, tremors, high blood pressure, vomiting or slow breathing, according to the NIH.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has warned that kratom consumption can lead to addiction and that several cases or psychosis resulting from kratom have been reported.
Under the legislation, a person who grows, synthesizes or sells kratom or synthetic kratom would face a misdemeanor charge carrying a penalty of up to 90 days in jail or a fine of $5,000.
Penalties would increase for subsequent offenses and for sales to individuals who are 18 years old or younger.
The bill was amended Wednesday to allow for exemptions only if kratom is first approved by the FDA.
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