Kratom language in late package draws fierce House opposition but conference report passes
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Summary
Lawmakers spent much of a late-night floor debate opposing the insertion of kratom/metrogynine language into a conference committee report; proponents said the changes were technical, opponents warned the move would criminalize powder kratom and hinder research. The House adopted the CCR on Senate Bill 430, 78‑44.
Representative Will Carpenter moved adoption of the conference committee report on Senate Bill 430, saying staff corrected missing language and folded several small technical fixes into the CCR.
Representative Susan Ruiz urged rejection of the conference report, arguing the change lumps kratom’s powder form into Schedule I and would immediately criminalize ordinary users and block university research. “It is still not a good bill,” Ruiz said, adding that “there’s an estimated 180,000 Kansans who are currently using the powder form of kratom” for pain management and that KU studies could lose funding if the substance is criminalized.
Other members said the package combined unrelated measures into a single CCR and pressed for more debate. Representative Fairchild said he supported the cattle‑theft and grain‑theft provisions in the report but opposed the kratom ban and preferred separate votes on each item.
Proponents characterized the changes as technical corrections that had already been enacted by the governor; they argued the CCR simply fixes drafting errors. Carpenter told colleagues the corrected text restored a missing word and incorporated small technical amendments.
After extended debate, the House adopted the conference committee report on SB430 by recorded vote, 78 in favor and 44 opposed.
The vote concludes final action on the CCR; members opposed to the kratom language said they would continue to press for research‑friendly regulatory alternatives in future sessions.
