Committee Hears Extensive Testimony Supporting Kratom Regulation; Bill Approved by Voice Vote

Supporters of legislation to legalize and regulate kratom told the committee that federal and international reviews have not found sufficient evidence to justify scheduling the plant, and they urged a regulated framework to keep adulterated or contaminated products off the market. After extended testimony from advocates and experts, the committee approved the kratom bill by voice vote; the transcript does not list a bill number.

Speakers in favor included Greg Liddings (state senator), Matt Caddo (senior fellow on public policy, American Freedom Association) and an out-of-state advocate identified as "Mr. Haddow," who provided detailed background about federal agency actions. Haddow told the committee that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015 recommended scheduling kratom, but that subsequent events—withdrawal of the DEA scheduling recommendation, federal requests for an eight-factor analysis and later federal studies—showed insufficient evidence to classify kratom as a controlled substance. He said autopsy and toxicology reports in cited early death clusters implicated adulterated kratom products containing other drugs rather than pure kratom. He urged regulation modeled on other states that require product registration, independent certificates of analysis, good manufacturing practices and age restrictions.

Haddow and other supporters cited studies and federal actions during testimony: the FDA's 2015 scheduling recommendation, the DEA's withdrawal of that recommendation, federal eight-factor analyses and an expert UN committee finding insufficient evidence. They noted that multiple states have passed regulatory frameworks requiring testing and labeling, and they referenced academic and public-health commentary that some people use kratom to mitigate opioid withdrawal symptoms. No opposition speakers are recorded in the transcript. A motion for immediate consideration was made, the committee voted "Aye," and the chair announced the bill passed. The transcript does not provide a roll-call tally or an explicit bill number for the kratom measure.