Gov. Armstrong announces special session, emergency actions to ban kratom in North Dakota

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Monday declared a public health emergency banning all kratom products and called a special session of the Legislature for September to further address enforcement.

Kratom is a substance derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia that officials say can be synthesized into highly potent forms and put into products readily available at gas stations and smoke shops. They have linked those products to overdoses and deaths. 

“Doing nothing is not an option,” said Armstrong, flanked by Attorney General Drew Wrigley, top lawmakers and others at a Capitol press conference. 

Kratom has been used as an energy booster, for pain management and to cope with withdrawals from drugs such as fentanyl and heroin. Two psychoactive ingredients known as mitragynine and 7-OH are found in kratom leaves. State officials point to rising calls to Poison Control and a “health crisis” of deaths resulting from the substances.

Growing concerns prompt calls to address kratom substances in North Dakota

The special session is set to begin Sept. 2, with a goal of lasting three days. Armstrong said the issues can’t wait for the regular legislative session, which begins in January, because new laws take effect Aug. 1, roughly a year from now.

“This is, quite frankly, too important to wait that long,” the Republican governor said.

Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, who has been drafting legislation to ban kratom, will take a lead in bringing proposals for the special session.

Lawmakers might address other topics in the special session, such as a fundraising shortfall that paused construction of the Military Gallery on the state Capitol grounds.

From 2019 through June 2026, kratom and related substances were part of the primary cause of death for 23 people, according to the State Epidemiology Office.

That means “the medical examiner or certifying physician determined that (kratom’s) effects contributed to, whether alone or in combination, the fatal toxicity,” an office spokesperson said.

The substances were part of the contributing cause of death for one other person, and were present in the toxicology results of 26 other cases during the same time period, according to the office.

Kratom-related calls to Poison Control in North Dakota have risen in recent years, from seven in 2024 to 22 last year, according to a state epidemiologist report. That threefold spike suggests “a true increase in kratom-related exposures,” the report said. At least three-fourths of those calls from 2021-2025 were for males. Nearly half of the calls were for people ages 20-39.

Last month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration moved to temporarily classify 7-OH and three related compounds as controlled substances. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed restricting certain 7-OH products.

Armstrong said the DEA’s actions are what led to the emergency orders in North Dakota. His public health emergency order is effective Aug. 5 for 30 days.

The governor also said he has authorized an emergency rule by the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy to classify 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance, effective Wednesday and consistent with the DEA’s action.

Reach reporter Jack Dura at [email protected].

Reach reporter Michael Achterling at [email protected].