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Utah committee backs sponsor’s push to repeal Kratom Protection Act after expert testimony
Summary
After testimony from medical examiners, poison-control and lab officials and a recovering user, the Health and Human Services Interim Committee voted to send a bill repealing the Kratom Protection Act and rescheduling kratom compounds forward with a favorable recommendation.
Chair Katie Hall presided over a presentation and public testimony on proposed kratom adjustments and a bill sponsored by Senator McKell that would repeal the Kratom Protection Act and schedule mitragynine and 7‑hydroxymitragynine.
Senator McKell told the committee he regretted his earlier vote in favor of the kratom protection law and urged lawmakers to "fix that," presenting nine purchased product samples and test results he said were sent to the state lab. "I regret a vote I made," he said, and asked the committee to use the bill file and advance it unanimously.
Dustin Hawkins, founder of the non‑profit Soarscribe of Addiction Recovery, described relapsing after consuming an over‑the‑counter kratom drink and recounted repeated detox admissions and a 40‑day rehab stay. "Within 7 to 10 days, I was doing 10 a day," Hawkins said, describing daily costs and medical consequences.
Dr. Ryan Stoworthy, an emergency physician at Logan Regional Hospital, said emergency departments have seen primarily withdrawal cases and at least one death and one seizure in the last months. "Kratom works with the mu receptor," he said, noting naloxone has been used to reverse some overdoses.
Michael Moss, medical director of the Utah Poison Control Center, reported that poison‑center calls have roughly doubled and stressed the public is often misled about product composition. He warned that purified 7‑hydroxymitragynine can be 10 to 20 times as potent as morphine and called for limiting consumer access.
Brandon Forsyth, director of the state lab, said laboratory testing on purchased products often shows concentrated mitragynine rather than only 7‑OH and argued that concentrated metragynine itself is harmful. Megan Brockmeyer, the overdose fatality examiner, presented five years of data through June 2025 showing 158 fatal overdoses involving kratom (91% accidental), a 43% increase over the period, an average age of 39, and that 94% of those deaths involved other substances.
After brief public comment from advocacy speaker Walter Plumb, Representative Daley Provo moved to pass Senator McKell’s kratom adjustments with a favorable recommendation as a committee bill. The chair called for a voice vote; members said "aye," no opposition was recorded, and the motion passed.
The committee did not adopt an immediate enforcement schedule at the hearing; the sponsor said the committee will continue work on language and coordination with other committees and stakeholders as the bill advances to the session.
