In recent weeks, attorneys general in at least three states have told retailers to remove kratom products from their shelves.
The orders in Connecticut, Alabama, and Missouri follow Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s February lawsuit accusing a smoke shop of selling kratom products that are almost 50 times more potent than state law allows.
Actions by those four attorneys general represent some of the latest salvos in America’s escalating battle over how to handle the controversial herbal product that comes from a Southeast Asian plant.
Kratom, an opioid-like substance—often marketed as a natural mood-booster—is not subject to federal regulation, although some states and localities have banned or restricted sales of kratom over concerns that it can be harmful.
While Connecticut outlawed kratom just last month, Alabama outlawed it a decade ago.
Despite Alabama’s ban, independent laboratory testing found kratom compounds “in products currently on store shelves across the state,” according to a March 25 statement from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
“Product labels for these items may not fully disclose all ingredients,” Marshall said.
Therefore, people might unknowingly be buying a controlled substance that puts them “at risk of experiencing adverse health events” if they ingest it, the statement said.
