Kratom advocates push regulation, not ban

Natural kratom helped Stacey Zippmann's daughter through opioid withdrawal. She couldn't sit still, the Piney Flats resident said, and was having really bad symptoms after years of issues with substance use. That's when she tried natural kratom capsules. Kratom is an herbal extract that comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia. Advocates of natural products from the plant say it helps with withdrawal symptoms and chronic pain. Zippmann said her daughter took kratom for about two weeks and has not used it since. "She is now free from the opioids that nearly destroyed her life," she said in an email. Zippmann started using the products herself to reduce her chronic hip and back pain. She said it also improves her focus. "It helps with my ADD," she said. "It helps with my health and my pain." There's a lot of debate around kratom and its effects. As state legislators like Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Brainerd, propose legislation that would ban all kratom products in the state, others like Rep. Joe Towns Jr., D-Memphis, propose regulation that would control "bad actors" but allow for people to still use products that help them. Chris French, a pro-kratom advocate opening a kava and kratom bar in Chattanooga later this year, said much of the issue comes down to a distinction between natural and synthetic kratom. In Tennessee, kratom is only legal in its natural form. It's also only legal for people 21 and older and requires labeling that warns consumers to not combine products with alcohol or medication. Legislation like Helton-Haynes' would make even these products unavailable. "There's nothing else to natural kratom except for the actual plant ground up and then served as a capsule or a tea, typically," French said. "It is hugely, hugely different from synthetic kratom." "Synthetic kratom" often refers to the substance 7-hydroxymitragynine, also known as 7-OH. Synthetic products contain as much as 500% more 7-OH than would occur naturally, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA recommended in July to schedule 7-OH products under the Controlled Substances Act, which would bring them under agency regulation. In its announcement, it said the substance is recognized as having abuse potential because of its ability to bind to opioid receptors. The agency also specified that "it is not focused on natural kratom leaf products." French said 7-OH has done a very good job at confusing the public about what it actually is. "When you concentrate (7-OH), when you extract it unnaturally from the plant, it does have very addictive properties on its own," he said. "But because it makes up less than 2% of the natural kratom leaf, natural kratom, while it may be habit forming, the abuse potential, it is low." These concentrated 7-OH products are the ones often sold in gas stations and vape shops, according to the FDA. Zippmann said she thinks these products shouldn't be able to be marketed as kratom. "You don't know where it's coming from," she said. "I'm all for them banning anything that's not natural kratom." Zippmann gets her products from a distributor certified by the American Kratom Association. The bags she receives come with a QR code she can use to see each batch's lab results. Both Zippmann and French have heard many personal stories from people who have said kratom saved their lives from chronic pain, alcoholism or hard drug addictions. "It's not going to hurt you, it's not going to make you high," Zippmann said. "It'll probably help you in some respect." French said an overall ban would jeopardize the health and well-being of people who rely on natural kratom, as well as many small businesses across the state. "I admire Rep. Helton-Haynes taking a stand on kratom, because it is something that we need to address," French said. "I am disappointed that Rep. Helton-Haynes decided to skip regulation entirely and go straight for a ban."