Only a small handful of states have banned kratom, and Rhode Island is one of them. Although kratom is legal in most of the US, residents of the Ocean State have not been allowed to possess, sell, or buy kratom in Rhode Island since 2017.
Now, six years later, some lawmakers in Rhode Island have changed their attitudes toward kratom. Both chambers of the Rhode Island State Legislature have introduced bills to legalize kratom in Rhode Island. The prospect of another state potentially overturning a kratom ban has stirred support and optimism from kratom community members nationwide.
Nevertheless, not everyone in Rhode Island is in favor of overturning the state’s kratom ban, and these two bills are not free from controversy. Why is kratom illegal in Rhode Island? What would happen if these bills pass? To have a better understanding of the situation, let’s take a deeper look at the legality of kratom in Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Kratom Ban
Kratom was legal in Rhode Island up until May 31, 2017, when the RI State Department of Health (DOH) decided to include two of kratom’s main alkaloids, mitragynine, and 7-hydroxymitragynine, on the state’s list of scheduled substances.
This decision came from within the DOH and fell swiftly and suddenly. Unlike kratom ban bills, there was no debate, no vote, and no room for objections in this case. One day earlier, Rhode Island residents could use kratom as a substitute for coffee—the next, it was a Schedule I controlled substance.
The decision was to become effective on April 10, 2017, but initially, many residents were confused about the legal status of kratom in Rhode Island, as neither kratom nor its alkaloids were actually listed in the Rhode Island Uniform Controlled Substances Act (nor do they seem to be clearly mentioned on the list even today). However, when news stories on kratom arrests in Rhode Island emerged, citizens knew the ban was real.
Why Is Kratom Banned in Rhode Island?
Why does the Rhode Island kratom ban exist? What went into the decision-making process? Well, the decision to ban kratom in Rhode Island came the year following the notice of intent filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was issued, which aimed to list kratom as a Schedule I substance on the federal level.
The DEA’s lack of evidence against kratom and its hasty decision had infuriated various kratom consumers, scientists, and advocates, many of whom would be harmed if the plant were banned on a national level. Thousands of people signed protests and left comments against the pending federal ban. Ultimately, this resistance led to the DEA taking a step back to reverse its decision—the first time the administration had ever reversed course when attempting to schedule a drug.
In spite of the DEA’s landmark reversal of its decision, and in the face of all the public outcry, the mere fact that the DEA had considered banning kratom federally left a heavy impact on a number of state governments. Rhode Island and a few other states responded by passing kratom ban bills.
Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy even wrote a somewhat scathing letter to the state’s Director of Health, Nicole Alexander-Scott, in which he requested to know the evidence used to justify the kratom ban. Representative Kennedy voiced his concerns about the lack of transparency in the scheduling process, asked the DOH to review the scientific literature on kratom, and recommended a reconsideration of the ban.
Unfortunately, we can’t find any publicly available response from Nicole Alexander-Scott or the Rhode Island DOH. The DOH did not understand the science before banning kratom, and Rep. Kennedy’s reasonable and pointed requests failed to make the DOH reconsider its decision.
Fortunately, nearly six years later, Rep. Kennedy’s rebuttals are finally gaining ground.
Attempts to Legalize Kratom In Rhode Island
Since the 2017 Rhode Island kratom ban, various state legislators have introduced bills attempting to repeal the ban and instead legalize and regulate kratom in Rhode Island. In recent years, the American Kratom Association (AKA) has pushed to regulate kratom at the state level according to the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA).
There are a number of benefits to kratom regulation, including preventing kratom sales to minors and requiring proper product labeling and third-party lab testing. These regulatory measures are designed to protect kratom consumers and forbid the sale of adulterated or contaminated kratom products.
Here’s a list of bills that Rhode Island legislators have introduced to overturn the kratom ban in Rhode Island. These bills would have created a Rhode Island Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Yet for one reason or another, each bill died in committee:
- RI House Bill 5542 (2019): Sponsored by Democratic representatives Brian Kennedy and Grace Diaz, HB 5542 would have overturned the ban and passed the KCPA. It was introduced in the House Health, Education, and Welfare Committee, which recommended the bill for further study, but the bill did not move out of committee during that legislative session.
- RI House Bill 7289 (2020): Introduced by Rep. Kennedy and Diaz, with the support of Rep. Stephen Ucci. The bill had the same aim as HB 5542, and sadly, was again held for further study and did not get passed out of committee.
- RI House Bill 5909 (2021): With the addition of Representative John Edwards, Rep. Kennedy and Rep. Diaz again introduced a bill aiming to legalize and regulate kratom in Rhode Island. This time, the committee recommended HB 5909 for further study, then decided to postpone the bill until June 2021.
- House Bill 7595 (2022): Sponsored by the three representatives listed above and joined by Rep. Samuel Azzinaro, this KCPA bill passed the House 47-12 in June of 2022, but unfortunately, it did not make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
2023 Update: Rhode Island House Bill 5330
After four frustrating attempts and failures to legalize kratom in Rhode Island, legislators in Rhode Island are continuing to fight for kratom regulation in the state. Representatives John “Jay” Edwards and Representative Kennedy introduced a KCPA bill once more in February 2023, RI House Bill 5330.
Like the other bills, RI HB 5330 set guidelines for regulating kratom. HB 5330 would have made it legal to possess, sell, and buy kratom in Rhode Island, and would have prohibited the sale of contaminated kratom products. The introduced bill text was amended to raise the minimum legal age for buying kratom from 18 to 21.
Additionally, if HB 5330 had passed, kratom vendors in Rhode Island would have needed to register their kratom products with the state and properly label them with directions “for safe and effective use by consumers, including a recommended serving size.”
On Monday, June 12, the state’s House of Representatives voted to legalize kratom in Rhode Island. HB 5330 passed the House 39-26. The bill was then referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but was sadly rejected.
Will Kratom Become Legal in Rhode Island?
While the fact that HB 5330 did not pass the Senate is a tough setback, the passage through the House of Representatives is a great step forward.
According to Representative Michelle McGaw, the Rhode Island Medical Association and the Department of Business Regulation were two of a number of organizations that opposed the bill during the committee phase.
Furthermore, the Rhode Island Department of Health, which was responsible for banning kratom in 2017, is also against decriminalizing kratom in Rhode Island.
In spite of these detractors, there’s more good news; the RI Senate has introduced its own bill to legalize kratom, which is identical to the House Bill, which will be further assessed.
How to Help Legalize Kratom in Rhode Island
If you want to help improve the legal situation of kratom in Rhode Island, you can use the American Kratom Association’s form to contact Rhode Island State Senators and urge them to support kratom legalization and regulation in the future.
In the meantime, for individuals outside of Rhode Island want to buy kratom, look for a vendor who follows the KCPA’s guidelines for product quality and consumer transparency, even if they’re not headquartered in a state that requires kratom regulation. It’s equally important to avoid certain kratom vendors. Companies that don’t take these measures to ensure consumer safety should understand that they’re missing out on an opportunity to benefit the kratom community as a whole.
Here at Top Tree Herbs, we not only support the KCPA, but we also do everything we can to help kratom consumers across the nation. Our goal is greater than offering the best kratom tea available; we want to help change the way the country (and the world) views kratom.
