House Bill 1101, a one-line amendment proposing to list kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance under subsection 3 of Section 19-03.1-05 of the North Dakota Century Code, failed on the House floor by a vote of 15 yeas and 77 nays.

The Judiciary Committee sent the bill to the floor with a 10-3 do-not-pass recommendation after extensive testimony for and against the proposal. Committee chair Representative Twite summarized the record: the bill's single change prompted a large volume of testimony, with proponents citing addiction risk, difficult withdrawal and possible deaths, and opponents pointing to kratom's reported role in opioid replacement and functional use in moderation. "The majority of the judicial committee felt there was not enough scientific evidence presented to place kratom as a scheduled 1 controlled substance," Twite said.

Representative Murphy, who spoke in opposition to scheduling, described kratom as "a plant alkaloid" that interacts with opioid receptors and cautioned against listing it as Schedule I without stronger medical evidence. "I would concur that this is something we should watch and we should maybe proceed with caution…listing it on the North Dakota schedule 1 list of opioids would be ... a bridge too far," Murphy said.

After floor consideration, the House recorded a final vote of 15 ayes and 77 nays; House Bill 1101 was declared failed.