12 April 20–26, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Kratom retailers can avoid these fines if they can prove the violations were uninten- tional and “due to the kratom retailer’s good faith reliance on the representation of another kratom processor,” according to SB 497. The laws are being billed as the Texas Kratom Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act. In an emailed statement, Zaffirini said she was inspired to file SB 497 by Texans who shared their stories about using kratom for medicinal purposes like pain relief, and about losing loved ones to adulterated products. “My intent in filing this bill was to make regulated, safe kratom products available to those needing them while discouraging ille- gal distribution and use,” Zaffirini said. She said research has indicated that kra- tom has some medicinal benefits for pain re- lief without the addictiveness of commonly prescribed opioids. Research has also shown that access to kratom products re- duces or stops illicit opioid consumption, which has grown to be a leading cause of death in Texas, Zaffirini said. Some states, such as Arkansas, Alabama and Indiana, have banned kratom. But Zaf- firini said time and again complete bans of substances have resulted in an increased number of overdoses and fatalities related to drug use. “It is difficult to prevent drug us- ers from finding their illegal and/or harmful drugs of choice, but it’s possible to provide alternatives with safeguards to protect those who seek it,” she said. “Given the dangerous threat posed to our communities by illegal fentanyl and the knowledge that Texas has led the country in the number of kratom buyers for the last five years, it is imperative that we ensure the regulated sale of only un- adulterated kratom.” Zaffirini said there are also economic benefits to keeping kratom in Texas, which has become home to the largest kratom manufacturing and distribution companies in the country, creating jobs and investment opportunities for people across the state. SB 497 hasn’t faced any major opposition yet but Zaffirini filed a similar bill during the last legislative session that failed to pass. She said she feels better about the legisla- tion this time around. “We are cautiously optimistic about our success on our second attempt, especially because the bill was recommended unani- mously by the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services,” Zaffirini said. The American Kratom Association, a group focused on consumer protection in the kratom industry, has supported legisla- tion like SB 497 and HB 861 in multiple states. Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy of the American Kratom Association, said most small to mid-sized kratom ven- dors don’t want regulations because they claim they can’t pay to keep up with them. Haddow said: “I get calls every week from people claiming that I’m trying to put them out of business and I tell them ‘Yes I am if you’re not willing to produce a product that’s safe for consumers and properly la- beled, and that can be certified by an inde- pendent lab to be in compliance with the standards.’” Haddow said contamination can be an is- sue with any consumable product, and that’s one concern regulation seeks to address. Another is guarding against people who add adulterants to kratom to make their prod- ucts feel stronger. “Vendors will try to spike it in order to make their product distin- guishable from pure kratom, meaning that it will give it a kick,” he said. “So they put in all kinds of crap. The adulterant of choice now is fentanyl: cheap, they can spike it a little bit, gives you that euphoric high, and it feels different from the pure product.” He said, “It is critically important that we eliminate those people from the market- place.” Haddow has heard stories about people who overdosed on fentanyl and died after taking spiked kratom. “That’s what we’re trying to avoid,” Haddow said. There’s not a whole lot preventing that from happening in Texas under the current laws. Nine states – Utah, Georgia, Nevada, Ari- zona, Oregon, Colorado, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Virginia – have passed what’s called the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which is similar to what’s being Danny Fulgencio Kratom is sold in a variety of forms in shops across Texas. Unfair Park from p10 >> p14
