Can Kratom Make a Comeback in Wisconsin?
With regard to the law, Kratom has had some highs and lows over the last decade. Although the Mitragyna Speciosa plant remains unregulated in most states, state and federal politicians consistently try to ban it. One state has already succeeded in criminalizing the plant - Wisconsin.
In 2014, the Wisconsin Senate passed legislation that classified Kratom’s two main alkaloids--mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine--as controlled substances. It was a brash decision that has garnered ethical, constitutional, and political criticisms.
Controversial Senate Bill 325 managed to pass with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Scott Walker just seven months after it was first introduced. The bill was introduced by Republican Senator Sheila Harsdorf and her colleagues, whom were a mix of republicans and democrats.
The bill in question lumped Kratom in with both hallucinogens and dangerous “synthetic cannabinoids,” neither of which Kratom is. Kratom is an indigenous plant to Southeast Asia that has been traditionally ingested by locals for millenia. Today, Kratom is used across the globe for its calming and mood enhancing effects.
Unlike synthetic cannabinoids, whose devastating effects have been felt across the nation, there have been no recorded deaths or hospitalizations attributable to the use of Kratom.
On October 30th, five years after the Kratom ban, the Wisconsin State Health Committee held a two-hour informational hearing dedicated to Kratom. The American Kratom Association was joined by Dr. Jack Henningfield, the face of Kratom 8-Factor Analysis and Utah Senator Curt Bramble, who was the first to pass the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). Over the course of two-hours, politicians, scientists, and business owners engaged in healthy discourse. Everyone who partook in the hearing certainly increased their Kratom knowledge. If you want to watch the hearing and boost your Kratom knowledge, click here: Informational Hearing on Kratom
After the hearing, the feedback from the senators was overwhelmingly positive. We should expect a bill introducing the KCPA in Wisconsin soon. If that passes, Kratom will once again be legal in Wisconsin.
