In this legislative session Utah lawmakers have looked to ban or severely restrict the drug that they are calling “Gas Station Heroin.”

In my opinion it is important that lawmakers pass SB 48 as it serves as protection from a potentially dangerous drug that is easily accessed.

Banning the most dangerous forms of Kratom will protect the community for a drug that is proven to be addictive and that has little to no medical purpose. Utah lawmakers previously put consumer protections on Kratom in 2019. The main purpose of the bill is to ban the 7-OH concentrate of Kratom. 

Kratom originates from Southeast Asia and was likely introduced to Americans while they were fighting in the Vietnam war before they brought it back to the States.

There are multiple ways that Kratom can be ingested, but the two most popular are through pill form or drink form mainly through tea. Kratom currently is mainly advertised as an opioid substitution along with a multitude of other claims. Kratom’s side effects are similar to that of opioids including drowsiness, insomnia, and even death (although almost all of the deaths with Kratom had other substances involved). Kratom is considered addictive and symptoms of withdrawal have been observed with the drug. The FDA has issued warnings about Kratom, however no federal level action has been taken.

Multiple states have banned the potent 7-OH compound including Florida, Indiana, and Vermont. Other states have put consumer protections on Kratom, like raising the age to purchase to 21. SB 48 would classify it as Schedule I drug, meaning that it would be classified along Heroin, LSD, and Peyote. Schedule I means that a drug has no medical qualities and has a high potential for addictiveness. While the long term effects of Kratom still have not been studied, the current risks should be considered a problem. People who want Kratom to stay at its current status argue that it is a safer alternative to harder drugs although that claim has not been backed up by science.

I strongly urge you to consider asking your lawmaker to consider a ban on the most dangerous forms of Kratom.