A soon-to-be law regulates SC sales of a psychoactive herb. No, it’s not marijuana.

COLUMBIA — An herbal substance used as both a stimulant and sedative will likely soon be illegal for anyone under 21 in South Carolina.

The two psychoactive compounds in kratom, which comes from the leaves of a tree in Southeast Asia, can provide energy in low doses or mimic the effects of opioids in large doses. Lawful and unregulated, the potentially dangerous drug is available for anyone to buy at stores statewide.

Legislation sent Thursday to Gov. Henry McMaster would change that.

The bill approved unanimously in both chambers would ban stores from selling kratom to anyone under 21 and from displaying kratom products in a place where minors can access them.

While kratom products, often sold in capsules or gummies, would still be legal for adults, the bill sets requirements for the packaging. The containers must have “clear” labeling that includes ingredients, the amount of kratom, recommended amount for safe usage, and servings per container.

The bill also bans selling kratom products mixed with other things.

Violators could be fined $1,000 on the first offense and $2,000 for each additional offense.

“There are no restrictions or regulations around any type of kratom product,” Sen. Russell Ott, the bill’s lead sponsor, told the SC Daily Gazette. “A 14-year-old could walk into a store, buy it — buy as much as they want — and it’s legal in the state of South Carolina.”

The law takes effect 60 days after the governor signs it. Ott said that should give owners of the stores that sell the products time to comply.

“We’re not going to have to wait another seven months with minors being able to access something that clearly has an impact,” said the St. Matthews Democrat. “I think it’s appropriate to say, ‘It’s not for the kids.’ I’m excited about the bottom line of getting it out of here.”

There are no federally approved uses of kratom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns against taking it, and the Drug Enforcement Agency considers it a drug of concern.

However, people use the drug to increase energy and alertness (in low doses) and as an alternative to opioids (in high doses) for pain relief and to manage withdrawal from opioids, according to the National Institute of Health. But it is also potentially addictive, linked to liver toxicity, seizures and could even be deadly.

Kratom was responsible for more than 4,100 deaths between 2020 and 2022, according to a Washington Post analysis of 44 states and Washington D.C. That is a fraction of the nearly 320,000 overdose deaths the Center for Disease Control and Prevention tallied during the same period.

Something brand new

Ott, a former House member newly elected to the Senate in November, said he first heard of kratom in 2018, when he got a call from a constituent about an addicted family member.

After that, he started noticing neon kratom signs regularly.

“I started asking some questions, but didn’t really get a lot of answers,” Ott said, adding he “just clearly realized that this was something kind of brand new.”

Then, about 2 ½ years ago, Ott got another phone call about it, this time from a friend’s son who admitted to having a kratom addiction.

Over a 90-minute conversation, the man detailed how the habit hurt his confidence and wallet, but said it’s still less dangerous than opioids and other drugs.

“He gave me both sides of it,” said Ott.

As kratom’s popularity has increased, states nationwide have tried to figure out how to tackle it.

At least six states, including Alabama and Arkansas, have banned kratom, according to an April report from the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association. And in 18 more states the selling, manufacturing or possessing kratom is regulated, the report found.

Ott first proposed regulations on selling kratom last year.

The bill received a single hearing in the House before dying with the end of session. However, Ott noticed that more legislators were getting calls about kratom.

“We finally started getting a little traction, finally started getting people to ask more questions about it,” he said.

House moves quickly

A companion proposal to Ott’s was filed in the House in February. However, Rep. Heath Sessions, a co-sponsor of the bill, said he thought it had little chance this year.

But once the Senate unanimously approved the bill two weeks ago, supporters in the House jumped on the chance to make the bill law, the Rock Hill Republican told the SC Daily Gazette.

The lead sponsor of the House bill, Rep. Don Chapman, R-Townville, has been pushing to regulate kratom since 2023.

Chapman, an architect, had a client with a son who became addicted to kratom while in high school and was eventually sent to rehab.

“He was taking so many pills because he built up a tolerance to it, and then just took more and more,” said Chapman, adding that he knows of constituents who have died from kratom overdoses.

This bill doesn’t stop anyone 21 or older from using it, Chapman said, likening it to alcohol.

But it does ensure that children are kept safe, the primary reason he advocated for the bill to be fast-tracked through the House.

“Time is at the essence when you’re trying to protect our young kids,” he said.