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Veterans tell Legislative Commission: regulate kratom, don't criminalize
Summary
Three veterans and other callers urged the commission not to treat kratom as a Schedule I drug, arguing regulation and consumer-protection rules better protect public health and veterans who use kratom to manage pain.
Kelly Guidry, a disabled Air Force veteran and co‑founder of the veteran nonprofit Forgotten, Not Gone, told the Legislative Commission she uses kratom leaf to manage service‑related pain and urged regulators to focus on product safety and labeling rather than prohibition. "The plant is not the problem," Guidry said, warning that scheduling kratom as a Schedule I substance "would criminalize people like me" and limit treatment options.
Her husband and cofounder, Peter Guidry, told the commission he works weekly with veterans coping with chronic pain and suicide risk and said a Board of Pharmacy action to schedule kratom would conflict with the Kratom Consumer Protection Act already enacted by the Legislature. He asked the commission to "take a hard look" at whether any Board action aligns with legislative intent and to consider pausing or rejecting regulations that would override the statute.
Callers who joined by phone reinforced those concerns. Camille Henry Love said she used kratom after a serious car crash and credited it with reducing her reliance on prescription opioids; she asked the commission to preserve access while improving regulation. The chair noted that regulation R102‑25 had been pulled from today's agenda and that the Board of Pharmacy has not yet adopted a schedule classification; Speaker Yeager reminded listeners that any scheduling by the Board would require a separate public hearing before it could be presented to this committee for acceptance or rejection.
Why it matters: The public comments flag a potential conflict between agency regulatory action and a recently enacted consumer‑protection law. Commission members and staff will monitor any formal Board of Pharmacy adoption hearing and may be asked to review whether the proposed rule conforms with legislative intent.
Next steps: The commission did not take final action on kratom today; members were advised the Board of Pharmacy must hold its own public adoption hearing before any scheduling would come before this committee.
