What Is the Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
What Is the Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
The Kratom Consumer Protection Act and Why We Support it
Nature is a beautiful thing, providing us with a multitude of plants across the globe that offer benefits from health and medicinal, to recreational. Many of these plants have been used for centuries by indigenous peoples, healers, shamans, or adapted for use in Eastern Medicine.
For many consumers, natural holistic approaches to health concerns are a more attractive proposition than taking something synthetically created in a lab.
However, lack of clinical research and involvement from pharmaceutical companies has led to increasing regulations surrounding some of these medicinal herbs and recreational botanicals. While regulations surrounding safety, potency and efficacy are encouraged, other types of restrictions often result in difficulty of access and/or increased prices.
Since the 19th century, kratom has been used for a wide range of purposes, but has recently come under the watchful eye of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has, in the past, pushed for a total ban on the plant.
Luckily, organizations such as the American Kratom Association (AKA) have made headway fighting back and working hard to keep kratom accessible and affordable for the more than 14.5 million US customers who rely on this plant.
The Kratom Consumer Protection Act is a good thing, providing a potential path and framework for standardizing safety and product quality across the board, ensuring consumers are well-protected and informed, while still allowing them access to the plant.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the Kratom Consumer Protection Act in more detail, what it is, why it’s important, and the states where regulations have already gained a foothold.
What Is The Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
Abbreviated as the KCPA, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act refers to legislation developed to provide better oversight across the kratom market, reducing the sale of potentially harmful, unregulated or dangerous kratom products.
The overt purpose of the legislation is to limit the sale of kratom products to those that have been vetted and approved. The act aims to keep the market open to educated consumers while improving overall safety and quality with standardization. It also aims to remove the looming shadow of a potential complete ban (something that the FDA/DEA has sought in the past).
The Act itself lays out detailed requirements kratom vendors would have to adhere to, including but not limited to:
- Truthful and informative labels on products
- Quality assurance measures
- Safety testing standards
- Regulations regarding dosages
- And more…
The Act Also:
- Clearly defines what kratom is and isn’t
- Prohibits the sale of certain types of kratom products
- Establishes penalties for any violations
- Requires registration for those wishing to produce kratom
- Requires that the Department of Agriculture and Food establish and enforce standards for the production and sale of kratom
Why We Support the Kratom Consumer Protection Act
As a company steadfastly and relentlessly committed to consumer safety, we strongly support regulations that focus on ensuring only quality products make their way into consumer’s hands.
Doing so would ensure that kratom plays within the confines of the FDA’s playbook, reducing consumer risk from products brought to market by ‘shady’ or ‘fly by night’ sellers looking to make a quick buck at the expense of consumer safety.
At The Kratom Connection, we aim to set the gold standard in quality control and safety. Our forward-thinking approach already incorporates much of what is proposed in the Act, including a rigorous vetting process for sourcing farm to shelf, GMP certified manufacturing practices, and third-party testing for contaminants at an FDA registered lab.
What States have Passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
With the regulation of kratom up to each state, legislation will be implemented on a state by state basis with variations expected. To date, a few states have passed a version of the KCPA, each with varying regulations and rules.
*Keep in mind that legislation is in a constant state of flux and that the rules specific to your jurisdiction could change at any time.
- Arizona – On May 1st 2019 Arizona’s version of the KCPA was passed into law
- Georgia – On April 27th 2019 Georgia’s version of the KCAP was passed into law
- Oregon – Although the Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved the bill, it still needs to pass the floor where it will be voted on soon
- Utah – On March 26th – 2019 Utah passed its version of the KCPA
Why the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) is Needed: closing thoughts
The kratom market has been largely unregulated, leaving room for unscrupulous sellers to take advantage of consumers. In reality, much of the fear-mongering and ‘danger’ associated with kratom is simply due to poor quality product made without clear safety, quality, purity, and manufacturing standards.
KCPA aims to ensure safe kratom remains available for consumers, while stopping out dangerous products from hitting store shelves.
