New Kratom regulations to be enforced in Logan
Kratom — an opioid-like drug — will be removed from retail stores and gas stations like Maverik Aggie Station in response to a new Utah law.
Senate Bill 45, which will take effect on May 6, will ban all synthetic, extracted and concentrated kratom products. The natural leaf, which comes from a plant native to Southeast Asia, will still be legal, but it can only be sold in licensed specialty stores and smoke shops to individuals 21 years old and older.
Aaron Hunt, a public health assistant professor and researcher at Utah State University, said he learned about kratom about four years ago, and it has grown in prevalence ever since.
“This myth had started that kratom was a good way to treat your opioid addiction, but really, people were just replacing one opioid for another type of opioid,” Hunt said.
While not technically an opioid, a compound found in kratom called 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, can bind to brain receptors in the same way.
Advertised for its relaxing and euphoric effects, kratom is not approved or regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Synthetic versions, specifically 7-OH, have been linked to addiction, liver failure and overdose death, especially when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.
According to USU Police Department Lt. Scott Murray, excessive kratom use can also impair judgement.
“If you are found in possession of kratom and it’s made you impaired to the point where you are unable to drive safely, you could be arrested for driving under the influence,” Murray said.
However, through Murray’s time in the police department, he has never seen a case involving kratom.
Murray reached out to a sergeant over the Cache/Rich Drug Task Force to see if it was an issue on a larger scale.
“In their investigations and the work they have done, they have seen very few incidents of it,” Murray said.
In case of any opioid-related incident, Murray said the USU Police Department carries Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, which can reverse overdoses.
Enforcing the new kratom regulations is considered a low concern of the department, and Joshua Hatch, manager of local business Timberline Smoke & Vape Shop, said they sell more pure leaf kratom than synthetic versions anyway.
“I definitely sell way more of the powdered leaf, whether it’s just in the powder or in capsules. That’s definitely the more popular thing and more cost effective, too,” Hatch said.
Kratom is most commonly sold in capsules, powder and small energy shots.
While the business is expecting to take a small hit in sales with the new regulation, Hatch understands why it’s necessary.
“With anything, you need to be responsible with whatever you take,” Hatch said. “I think that’s part of what’s caused these regulations to come about, is people not being responsible with it.”
If in possession of synthetic kratom, or other medicines or prescriptions that need to be disposed of, Murray encouraged individuals to drop them off at the USU Police Department.
“We have a drug box in our lobby, no questions asked,” Murray said. “You don’t have to put your name on it or anything.”