Double M Herbals | Kratom Forum

AKA Legislative Update: Report On Meeting With Michigan State Senator Rick Jones

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July 25, 2018 Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy
REPORT ON MEETING WITH MICHIGAN STATE SENATOR RICK JONES

The good news first: Senator Jones has agreed to file legislation that will
protect consumer access to safe kratom products and specifically target bad
actors who deliberately adulterate or contaminate kratom with dangerous
substances to boost their effects and increase their sales.

When we first heard the report that Michigan State Senator Rick Jones had
announced his intent to file a bill to ban kratom, AKA Chairman Dave Herman authorized me to
immediately contact Senator Jones to see if he would be willing to meet to discuss this issue.
Senator Jones was very willing to meet, open to the discussion, and went the extra mile in
arranging for the legislative team at the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan to join the
meeting. The Prosecuting Attorneys Association had reported their concerns about alleged deaths
in Michigan associated with kratom, and they hoped he would lead the effort to ban it.

We held that meeting on Tuesday morning in Senator Jones’ Capitol Hill office in Lansing, and I am
pleased to report that Senator Jones was generous with his time in a packed schedule, open to
listening to a lengthy briefing on the science, and willing to hear us out on the rationale for keeping
kratom legal. His questions, comments, and conclusions were thoughtful, well-reasoned, and
exhibited a sincere interest in advocating for a good public policy. The attorneys from the
Prosecuting Attorneys Association were equally engaged in pursuing a reasonable policy solution
that protects consumers and targets bad actors who adulterate and contaminate kratom products
and put the safety of consumers at risk.

As a result of our meeting, Senator Jones has committed to sponsor legislation that will ensure
consumers have access to safe kratom products and will make it illegal for any bad actor to
adulterate or contaminate any kratom product. We agree that any production technique that is
used to enhance the effects of kratom by purifying, concentrating, or spiking that natural plant
with products with refined or enhanced 7-hydroxymitragynine, or with other substances (including
opioid contaminants), should be banned.

Senator Jones was briefed on the proposed AKA GMP Certification Program that is designed to set
standards for manufacturing of safe kratom products, and the labeling restrictions that we believe
will add an additional layer of protection for consumers. He agreed with our view that
impermissible health claims for kratom products should be aggressively interdicted and bad actors
should be penalized.

We are grateful for the willingness of Senator Jones to work with the American Kratom Association
to protect consumer access to safe kratom products, and to punish the bad actors who skirt the
law and put consumers at risk. We will continue to work with Senator Jones and the Prosecuting
Attorneys Association on that proposed legislation.

This meeting is the model that should be used for future discussions with state legislators who
receive inaccurate or misleading information about kratom, and we are committed to working with
any public official who is committed to these shared goals.

When I hear the following:

We agree that any production technique that is
used to enhance the effects of kratom by purifying, concentrating, or spiking that natural plant
with products with refined or enhanced 7-hydroxymitragynine, or with other substances (including
opioid contaminants), should be banned.

I read this as it is making extracts and UEI illegal. The broad language that this statement is made with kind of makes you believe that technically any extract, while distilled from leaf originally, would be concentrating/spiking the natural plant. Is the official position of the AKA to be against extract?

When I first started buying Kratom, I got some from PA Botanicals (red fibro) that I didnt know had extract at the time, so it messed up my tolerance right off the bat. Since then I dont mess with them. I personally have some extract I've purchased, but never have used it since I dont want to raise my mu opioid agonist tolerance any higher than it is already.

I am a little torn on how I feel about the AKA being essentially anti-extract. Maybe we have to give a little to get a little? If its between making extracts illegal, and making any kratom product illegal, I guess its the lesser of 2 evils. I do think these liquid extract drinks they sell at smoke shops are whats giving kratom a bad rep, because its marketed as a "recreational" item.

Sometimes you have to burn a village to win the war.

If we did a survey of how many people use leaf or extract on a regular basis I'm sure the majority would say leaf.