An Ohio lawmaker wants the state to crack down on kratom, a mostly unregulated herbal extract that can act as both a stimulant and a sedative.
Introduced by Sen. Bill Blessing (R-Colerain Twp.) last Tuesday, Senate Bill 299 would block Ohioans under 18 from buying natural kratom and establish other restrictions on it, like testing and labeling requirements. The bill also bans sales of synthetic kratom, which can be found at many gas stations and corner stores across Ohio right now.
Blessing said in an interview Monday he is amenable to loosening that language to just restrictions on synthetic concentrates.
“But in all cases, I’m in favor of regulation because at least there’s some accountability and fallback there,” he said.
Under SB 299, those regulations would be overseen by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and violations also could carry civil liability.
Gov. Mike DeWine ordered the Ohio Pharmacy Board to categorize all kratom as an illegal drug in late August, but then walked that back after a call with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has voiced concerns with synthetic kratom. DeWine still wants to see it banned or heavily regulated, he said, but that effort may need to come from lawmakers.
“We’re working on that, kind of trying to work through what the facts are on that,” he said.
Kratom has naturally occurring trace amounts of both mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in July it would move to schedule 7-OH, one of the alkaloids targeted for a ban under SB 299.
Federal efforts to schedule kratom have failed before, though the FDA has not greenlit consuming it or using it medically.
Preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health documented more than 200 unintentional overdose deaths between 2019 and 2024 from synthetic kratom, which comes in everything from tablets to edibles to drinks.
SB 299 has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. A similar version of the bill, also introduced by Blessing, died last General Assembly.
