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Committee releases bill to classify concentrated kratom alkaloid after heated testimony
Summary
The Senate committee released S301 to classify 7‑hydroxymitragynine as a Schedule I substance after hours of testimony that split advocates, public-health experts and affected consumers over whether banning the compound or regulating its sale better protects public safety.
The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee voted to release Senate Bill 301, which would classify 7‑hydroxymitragynine (a concentrated kratom alkaloid often called 7‑OH) as a Schedule I controlled substance in New Jersey.
John Mopper, a 47‑year‑old licensed psychotherapist who said he is a recovering addict, told senators that 7‑OH available in convenience stores derailed his recovery and nearly cost him his family and livelihood. "It is a illegal drug. It is the equivalent of heroin that's being sold legally in local stores around our communities," Mopper said, adding that extracts and high‑dose tablets appeared in local stores and online. He urged the committee to support prohibition to protect people in recovery.
Opposing S301, Dr. Michelle Ross, an addiction scientist and court‑qualified expert on kratom, urged regulation rather than scheduling. "Criminalizing 7‑OH won't reduce drug overdoses, won't improve public health," she said. Dr. Ross told the committee her national study of kratom consumers found a majority use the products for chronic pain or opioid‑recovery purposes and that bans in other states coincided with spikes in overdoses. She recommended stepped regulatory measures — age gating, serving‑size caps, limits on store types and third‑party lab testing — instead of adding a Schedule I classification.
Other witnesses included business owners and consumers who described using 7‑OH to manage pain or opioid withdrawal and warned that prohibition would harm small businesses and drive demand underground. Supporters of regulation and industry representatives disputed accounts that widespread, high‑dose commercial use is the norm and emphasized differences between kratom leaf and isolated, concentrated alkaloids.
Committee members pressed witnesses about federal Food and Drug Administration findings and poison‑control data, and several senators said release was necessary to refine the proposal. The committee release moves the bill forward for amendment and further legislative debate rather than enacting an immediate statewide ban.
What happens next: S301 was released by the committee, allowing sponsors and stakeholders to craft amendments aimed at youth protections, product standards and enforcement. The committee did not enact a final ban on the floor today.
