House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer and House Regulatory Reform Committee Chair Joe Aragona are putting increased scrutiny on Kratom to protect public health.

“This is an issue we need to get our hands around,” said DeBoyer, of Clay Township. “This widely available substance carries potential health dangers and we need to look at how we got to this point, what statutes we can be using to address it, where is it coming from, who’s making it, and other critical factors before we see tragic statistics and reports get even worse.”

“Kratom, impacts young people, families, first responders who courageously help assist people in crisis, and our communities across Michigan,” said Aragona, of Clinton Township. “House Republicans have put forth several reforms that bring awareness to this substance and its dangers, and as House Regulatory Reform Committee Chairman I am open to greater discussions and collaboration so that we can prevent people from losing loved ones. We have seen the opioid crisis spin out of control. We don’t want that to happen with Kratom and other synthetic intoxicating substances. We want to have oversight and common-sense laws in place.”

Kratom is also known as ‘Gas Station Heroin.’ Public health officials have warned that chemically enhanced Kratom variants are particularly dangerous, and can lead to respiratory depression, overdose, and death. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated Kratom products are opioids that can be more potent than morphine.

Despite these risks, various Kratom products – including candies, gummies, and flavored drinks – remain widely available at convenience stores, gas stations and vape shops with little to no oversight.

The impacts of this have been incredibly concerning. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports of Kratom exposure and poisoning increased nationally by approximately 1,200 percent last year compared to where they were a decade ago. Most reports involved males and young adults ages 20-39. With multiple-substance drug exposure incidents – ones involving Kratom being taken or mixed with other drugs – there was a significant uptick in prolonged health issued afterwards, hospitalizations and deaths. In 2024, Michigan saw an increase of nearly 20 percent in overdose deaths – nearly 2,000 in total. Kratom was detected in 995 of those deaths. Recent deaths involving a pair of students at the University of Mississippi have kept the substance in the spotlight after authorities found Kratom products during their investigations.

Nearly half of states in the U.S. regulate Kratom in some fashion. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin – states that sit on both sides of the political spectrum – currently ban Kratom.

In March, DeBoyer and Aragona voted to advance legislation that bans Kratom in Michigan. The House plan included language that would exempt Kratom approved by the Federal Drug Administration as a drug product, dietary supplement or food additive from the state ban. This flexibility ensures that as more research is done into the effects of Kratom, there can be a practical way forward. The legislation has yet to be taken up in the Senate.

“We’re talking about months. How many young people have potentially gotten hooked on this stuff since then? We can’t play politics or drag our feet with public health,” DeBoyer said. “The Senate needs to take up this ban and send it to the governor. Lives are at stake.”

Other plans before the House Regulatory Reform Committee, House Bills 5040-43, would target hemp-derived THC that can be purchased online, at gas stations, party stores and elsewhere. The bills require a license for people who make consumable hemp products and update medical marijuana, hemp grower, and adult-use marijuana laws for uniformity.

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