June 06, 2017

Petition was submitted

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Recently Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California dropped a bill in the U.S. Senate that our lobbyists believe can give the FDA and DEA a backdoor way of banning kratom completely in the United States.

S. 1327 is euphemistically called the SITSA Act.  And a companion bill in the US House of Representatives has already been filed, H.R. 2851, by Representative John Katco of New York.  The SITSA Act stands for the "Stop Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017.”

SITSA creates a new “Schedule A” that gives the Attorney General of the United States the broad power to ban any “analogue” of an opioid that controls pain or provides an increase of energy.

Because kratom’s 2 primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, though not opioids, act similarly, our concern is that they could use this legislation to justify a ban.

This legislation could allow the Attorney General to add kratom to Schedule A on a “temporary basis” that will last for 5 years.

And once added to Schedule A, the Attorney General can convert it to a permanent schedule. 

Actions you can take to help:

1.    Click on the link below and sign our petition that the AKA will have delivered to every member of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.  

2.    Please pick up the phone and call Sen. Grassley's office, Sen. Feinstein's office, and Representative Katco's office. When the staff member answers the phone, tell them that their boss should exclude natural botanicals like kratom products from the SITSA Act.

Here are the phone numbers you should call:
Senator Grassley:    (202) 224-3744
Senator Feinstein:    (202) 224-3841
Congressman Katco:    (202) 225-3701

When you call, be polite, but firm.  Kratom should be exempted from SITSA.  We need to block all potential avenues for the government to ban kratom.

Thank you for your support as we work together to protect kratom.