ORLANDO, Fla. — Lawmakers are considering cracking down on kratom — a drug you can buy right now at many smoke shops and gas stations across the state.
It’s at the center of growing safety concerns over its powerful, addictive grip.
Two bills in the Florida legislature could overhaul the state’s kratom industry, changing requirements on how the drug is sold, labeled and processed in the state.
“If you don’t regulate and have some kind of method and tools for people to go by, it can be detrimental, and in our family’s case, it can lead to death,” said Brevard County resident Heather Sprankle.
Sprankle’s brother Brandon died in 2023, overdosing after consuming legal kratom tea.
The Medical Examiner’s Office told 9 Investigates he had no other substance in his system.
Senate Bill 994 and House Bill 1205 would require a clear warning about potential health risks, advising consumers to consult a health care professional before use and that the product may be habit-forming. It would also require warnings against pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers using kratom products.
The bill writes out a proposed warning: “These statements have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
If passed, the bill would require clear directions for use, including a maximum recommended serving size, the total number of servings per package, disclosure of alkaloid content so consumers know the strength.
“If your brother were alive today, and he saw this product, it had this warning label, it had the maximum dosage, it was clearly labeled, do you think we wouldn’t be here talking about this today, that it would have changed his story?,” Webb asked.
“I would strongly say yes,” Sprankle said. “I feel like a lot of people could avoid the heartache that our family had to endure if there was a warning out there.”
Dr. Abhisheak Sharma and Dr. Oliver Grundmann with the University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy say the bill could help detour people from overdosing, stressing the importance of warnings and maximum dosage.
Both researchers say the bill would take several kratom products off the shelves like extracts and products that mix kratom with other substances like kava, alcohol, or cannabinoids.
“If we look for the safety data, so far, we only have the safety for leaf material. And the extracts, we don’t know what the dose, and they are easy to overdose on,” Sharma said.
“I think any combinations of products that already by themselves are very complex in their composition, and kratom is very complex. It’s not a single substance, right? We have to remember there’s mitragynine in there,” Grundmann said.
He added, “There are other alkaloids that contribute to the rather complex pharmacology. And then you add another potentially not only impacting the brain and but also complex in its composition like kava. And you’re just having so many potential effects that can occur that it just increases the risk and adverse effect profile as well.”
The bill would require kratom processors to be registered with the FDA and permitted by the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Each batch of finished kratom products would need to be tested by an accredited lab, where they have to sign off that it meets Florida’s concentration limits and doesn’t include any prohibited drugs in it, like concentrated 7-OH that Florida banned last year.
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