Kratom bills clear first votes in North Dakota Legislature

Two bills with different approaches to restricting kratom in North Dakota cleared their first hurdles Thursday in the Legislature, but they appear to conflict and might complicate the special session as lawmakers look to leave Friday.

House Bill 1628, which would allow but strictly regulate pure-leaf kratom for people 21 and older, passed the House in an 86-6 vote. Senate Bill 2408, which would permanently ban natural and synthetic forms of kratom, passed the Senate in a 46-1 vote. 

The chambers now swap the bills for their second votes on Friday. It’s unclear how much support exists in the House for a total kratom ban, a key vote that could either resolve the special session’s main issue or complicate the matter as lawmakers are eyeing the exits before the Labor Day weekend.

The House bill includes licensing and labeling requirements, criminal penalties for violations and enforcement authority by the attorney general. In the House debate, state reps discussed the bill’s costs, its $10,000 licensing fee for retailers and whether cities or counties could ban kratom on their own.

Some lawmakers pointed out the bill keeps natural kratom available to people who use the substance for pain relief, with more time in the months ahead for the 2027 Legislature to further address kratom.

Kratom bills advance, including a permanent full ban in North Dakota

“It’s unregulated. We need to regulate it. This isn’t a perfect bill, the one exact bill I’d like, but on the other hand, it’s a major step in a direction to protect all of our constituents that use this every day,” said Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, who teaches biomedical sciences at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. 

Under the bill, the attorney general’s office would have to write and adopt rules – a lengthy process – before licenses could be issued to kratom processors and retailers. Likely “very little action” would be taken from the bill in the AG’s office before the 2027 Legislature convenes in January, said Rep. Don Vigesaa, R-Cooperstown.

The Senate bill, brought by Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, would classify kratom alkaloids and synthetic derivatives controlled substances on the same level as LSD and heroin.

Criminal penalties for ingestion and possession would rise in severity with repeated offenses, starting at an infraction – punishable by up to a $1,000 fine – and going all the way up to a class C felony for three or more possession offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The Senate’s debate focused on how some people use kratom for pain and how addictive medical professionals have said the substance is. The discussion also touched upon withdrawals, treatment resources and law enforcement.

“I’d like to make sure that we’re a leader in this space and that we don’t stand in the way of this ban and then become a state that is the dealer to many of this addictive drug,” Axtman said.

Public, lawmakers debate kratom regulation versus full ban in North Dakota

Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, who has used natural-leaf kratom capsules for back pain, pointed out that lawmakers chose not to study kratom issues last year. More than a year later “we went (from) not even interested in studying this issue to a total ban, which doesn’t make any sense to me,” Magrum said. He called it “a reasonable and logical plan” to solely ban synthetic products and pass regulations on natural kratom.

Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, a registered nurse, said the “much smarter move” is to advance the ban and continue monitoring kratom issues, “and if at some day we decide that we can find some sort of thoughtful and deliberate regulatory structure we can do that when we feel that that is prudent.” 

Several House Republicans in a caucus meeting said they wanted to have the option of regulating natural leaf kratom while also banning synthetic substances. 

“I thought we had two options: one to deal with synthetic and one to deal with natural, and that we would make our choice on each one,” Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, told the caucus.

House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, noted the public testimony and overwhelming committee support for a full ban, which he urged the more than 80 House Republicans to support.

Other House Republicans say they oppose a total ban for essentially pulling the rug out from under people who use natural kratom for pain relief. Some said synthetic products are already temporarily prohibited federally by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, a move Gov. Kelly Armstrong has said precipitated his temporary ban of all kratom in August.

For about a month, all natural and synthetic kratom products have been banned in North Dakota by the governor’s executive order, and a synthetic derivative called 7-OH is outlawed by an emergency pharmaceutical rule. 

Friday is the third day of the special session the governor called for the Legislature to address kratom. Some House Republicans wondered about potential scenarios involving the kratom bills that might push the special session beyond Friday. 

Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, said, “Both houses support a ban on all synthetics and derivatives, and we’ll find a way to do that, and that’s all I’d like to say about that.”

Reach North Dakota Monitor reporter Jack Dura at [email protected].