A few months ago, in April 2021, the Texas House of Representatives passed this bill- HB-1097, otherwise known as the Texas Kratom Consumer Act. More recently, the Texas Senate Committee on Health & Human Services also voted ‘yes’ to HB-1097. Let’s take a look at what that all means.
These votes are a big positive for kratom legality. This legislation, the Texas Kratom Consumer Act, will protect the sale of kratom products, people who use kratom, as well as kratom processors & manufacturers like us.
But there are some questions you may have about the Texas Kratom Consumer Act. Will it change shopping for kratom in Texas? What does it mean for kratom vendors like GRH Kratom? Will it affect those shopping for kratom outside of Texas in any way?
We’re going to take a look at the Texas Kratom Consumer Act up close, and see just what the effects might be.
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The Texas Kratom Consumer Act covers everything from the “Manufacture, distribution, and sale of kratom products.” Basically, it outlines new kratom guidelines for the state of Texas. If these guidelines are met, the kratom product is legal. It also defines some terms legally.
Let’s look at HB-1097 piece by piece. Then, we’ll talk about how the bill may impact businesses, especially small businesses like ours.
“Kratom” is defined in the Texas Kratom Consumer Act as “any part of the leaf of the plant Mitragyna speciosa.” As most kratom users could tell you, that Mitragyna speciosa plant is the same as the kratom plant. The leaves of kratom trees are dried and ground into kratom powder, which is the raw material for kratom products you use. Kratom powder is typically left as-is; adding kratom to vegetable capsules is a typical way to make kratom capsules.
They state a “Kratom processor” is any individual or institution that:
Under this definition, GRH Kratom is a kratom processor. We manufacture, prepare, distribute, and maintain kratom products for sale. We are responsible for advertising our kratom products, making sure all our products are of premium quality, and guaranteeing that these products are adequately and accurately labeled.
In the new bill, “kratom products” are defined as “a food, including an extract, capsule, or pill, containing any form of kratom.” Because kratom is a stigmatized product, processors often deal with advertising restrictions. Some manufacturers have put “not for human consumption” on their kratom products to avoid scrutiny. Texas is ending this and calling kratom what it is.
We’ve been hoping for years for more kratom regulation. You might wonder, as kratom manufacturers, why we’d want that! The more regulation of kratom products, the safer the products available to you are. And since we already make safe products, we think that’s great! We think states should require proper labeling. Texas is taking a stand with the Texas Kratom Consumer Act: they are now requiring serving size on kratom products.
This is an important piece. Up to this point, kratom processors and retailers could NOT offer serving suggestions to consumers. Now, kratom products will only be legal in Texas if they include accurate serving sizes. This decision definitely benefits the consumer more than anyone else. We think it is the kind of regulation that should be expanded to other states.
This is a less-surprising but still important section. This part of the Texas Kratom Consumer Act states that a kratom processor or retailer may not “prepare, distribute, sell, or offer to sell a kratom product” with at least one of the following criteria:
This is another section that is quite straightforward. It reads: “A person may not distribute, sell, or expose for sale a kratom product to someone who is younger than 18 years of age.”
This section lists the penalties for violating the laws above. Basically, violation of these laws results in a civil, monetary penalty. For your first violation, there is a fine of $250. Your second violation brings roughly a $500 fine. For all subsequent violations, you’re looking at a $1000 fine for every day that you are not in compliance with the law.
Generally, we think the Texas Kratom Consumer Act is a good decision and will benefit the people of Texas. HB-1097 will take effect and become law on September 1, 2021.
As we mentioned above, the Texas Kratom Consumer Act includes a variety of necessary laws that ensure the future safety of the kratom industry, as well as those that take kratom. On a federal level, there is, in fact, no regulation of kratom products. The US government doesn’t require third-party lab testing to guarantee what you’re buying and taking is actually kratom. This is an unsafe setup. On September 1, 2021, the Texas Kratom Consumer Act will change this, in our state at least. We hope regulations like this spread across the country to ensure safe products for all!
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