Advocacy 11/29 Nick Wing Article | Ohio Update | Arizona BoP

[bubbles]

11/28 Article by Nick Wing
Is Ohio Cracking Down On Kratom? Here’s What We Know So Far.

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11/29 AKA Advisory Update
ADVISORY UPDATE: AKA Update on the Fight to Protect Kratom in Ohio

Kratom Warriors:

Yesterday, the AKA participated in a conference call with the State of Ohio Department of Agriculture regarding their current regulatory actions against kratom vendors in the State of Ohio. The position of the Ohio Department of Agriculture is that because kratom is not listed on the FDA's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list, it cannot be marketed or sold as a food or dietary ingredient. They will not stop the sale of kratom, but no vendor can make any representation of its use as a food or dietary ingredient.

The AKA has asked legal counsel to provide an analysis of the federal law on dietary ingredients and foods, and how the Ohio statutes align with them. We will provide that analysis on an expedited basis and hopefully that will lead to a compromise on the current position of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. These officials assured the AKA they have not provided any instructions to their staff, who are visiting kratom vendors, to state that kratom is on the controlled substances list, or that it is an opioid.

The AKA will vigorously pursue this issue in the hope that kratom sales can resume and that its use as a food or dietary ingredient will not be the basis for any regulatory seizure or ban on sales.

In addition, AKA representatives and Dr. Jack Henningfield are meeting with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy next Monday on their proposed regulation to ban kratom in Ohio, and testifying before the Arizona Board of Pharmacy on Thursday, December 6.

We remain vigilant in protecting the rights of kratom users to have unfettered access to safe kratom products, and will fight to retain the freedom for Americans to make their own choices on the products they use to maintain their health and well-being.

Sincerely,


Dave Herman
Chairman
American Kratom Association

[whiffypants]

Thanks, Bubbles!

[bubbles]

Thanks, Bubbles!

No problem whiffy! I hope all is well!

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I didn't post this because it's classic FDA fear mongering but just to be aware of what they're putting out there:

FDA Press Release: Statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on risk of heavy metals, including nickel and lead, found in some kratom products

They say they "tested 26 separate kratom products" that were collected as part of the "multistate outbreak of salmonella infections" and "Among the heavy metals we found were lead and nickel at levels not considered safe for human consumption."

However, they don't specify vendor or brand or even location. They don't give any specifics on the actual type of levels of metals found. It resulted in a few articles with headlines like "FDA Finds 'Disturbingly High' Levels Of Metals In Kratom."

Someone brought up the point that if you are immunocompromised, consider how much this could matter to you, even if it's only a small chance. People were talking about kits you can get to test your water for lead. I don't know enough about that to make any suggestions.

If I find any actual concrete details I will let you know.

[whiffypants]

Thanks! I had seen that latest FDA release; I find it wholly infuriating. I honestly think that if they had positive tests they'd give more detail -- this is way too much like the salmonella scare where they concluded X number of people got it from kratom when only a very small subset of them had even taken kratom. Pisses me off. Thank you for keeping us informed.

I hope things are well with you and yours too!