Why 2 more states will soon ban kratom, a potentially addictive herbal product

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(NEXSTAR) – Two more states will soon impose bans on kratom, an herbal product that has, in some cases, been associated with “gas station heroin.”

The kratom tree, native to Southeast Asia, is a member of the coffee family. Traditionally, it has been used to fight fatigue, improve work productivity, as an herbal remedy, and in religious ceremonies.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any uses of kratom, it has more recently been used to treat pain or opioid withdrawal symptoms; improve mood, focus, and energy levels; and manage mental health problems.

The substance can interact with the same brain receptors that chocolate, coffee, and exercise impact, the American Kratom Association (AKA) notes.

“[Kratom] really deals with the normal stresses of daily life and the aches and pains related to it,” Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the AKA, previously told Nexstar’s WPRI.

However, several states have taken action against kratom. Much of the focus has been on a chemical compound in kratom, 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), especially synthetic versions of it. Considered an opioid, the non-natural form of 7-OH can be far more potent and addictive than kratom.

Kratom is sometimes referred to as “gas station heroin,” but that name is more frequently associated with tianeptine, which can be found in products often sold alongside kratom-related items. Synthetic 7-OH has also intermittently been called “gas station heroin.”

A 2025 report from the FDA said 7-OH can be 13 times more potent than morphine, a Schedule II narcotic in the U.S. The agency last summer recommended that certain 7-OH products, not natural kratom products, be scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.

Research into the short- and long-term effects of kratom continues. So far this year, officials in multiple states have linked kratom to dozens of deaths.

Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Vermont, Louisiana, and Wisconsin have banned kratom. It was classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in Connecticut and Kansas (here, the declaration impacted 7-OH kratom-related products) and banned earlier this year. Last month, Utah’s ban limiting the sale of kratom products also took effect.

7-OH kratom-related substances were designated as Schedule I controlled substances in Kansas earlier this year. The state’s ban on the sale and possession of the products will take effect on July 1.

At the same time, Tennessee’s kratom ban will begin. “Matthew Davenport’s Law,” named after a 27-year-old who died after taking kratom along with a prescription medication, makes possession a misdemeanor and manufacturing or distributing a felony, Nexstar’s WKRN reports. Tennessee already regulates the sale of the kratom plant and bans synthetic kratom alkaloids.

Rhode Island recently became the first state to roll back its ban on kratom, with a new law permitting the sale to those who are 21 and older and shopping at licensed businesses. Nexstar’s WPRI reports that applications for licensure opened earlier this month, and the synthetic form of kratom remains banned.

Rhode Island joins several other states – Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and New York – which have passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act touted by the American Kratom Association. These broadly impose age restrictions and require products to detail ingredients and warn of possibly addictive qualities.

The organization says that kratom remains legal in more than a dozen other states: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Maine. Missouri launched a statewide investigation into kratom and 7-OH products earlier this year.

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