It is probably safe to assume that you have heard about Kratom by now. In fact, you might have seen a local Kratom store or two pop up in your area as of late. This is especially true if you are located in the greater St. Charles area. A number of Kratom vendors have said that patients have thrown away their prescriptions and opted for the magical powder that is known as Kratom. Kratom is a plant-based drug that is imported from Southeast Asia. Locals of the St. Charles area have boasted about the substances powerful abilities to provide relief for everything from depression to anxiety. Of course, not everyone in the area is saying this. There are some that are saying the unregulated herb is addicting and has even caused several deaths.
Creating Regulations And A Permit System
The St. Charles County Council became investing Kratom and Kratom sellers after the local medical examiner claimed that the substance was linked to several local deaths. At this time the council met and at first proposed a bill to ban the substance altogether. Fortunately, that did not happen and the team decided to focus on a bill that would create stricter regulations as well as a permit system for those individuals selling the substance. It is always the government’s job to investigate after death and it looks like this is just what they are doing, but not everyone was onboard with the decision to table the ban. Councilman John White was one such individual that wanted to ban Kratom and similar substances. He simply stated plain and simple that the substance was a public health emergency.
Hearing For The Members of the Public
It looks like the council really did put their best foot forward in seeking out the truth about Kratom, as they heard from several members of the community. After the council members heard from the community they subsequently heard from five more members from the council. These five other members are the ones that offered a bill that would allow the product to be sold just under stricter guidelines and regulations. This bill was put forth by Joe Cronin, Joe Brazil, Mike Elam, Dave Hammond, and Mike Klinghammer. These five members wanted to make sure that the vendors of Kratom were clearly labeling their products and only selling to individuals that were legally 18 years of age or older.
In addition to this, the bill would also introduce what is known as a Kratom Seller Permit. This permit would be issued by the health department and it would be valid for a period of one year. The council even meet with the chairman of the American Kratom Association where he said that he approved of such regulations and wants to get them established nationwide. It is estimated that 16 million people are already using the substance and doing anything to make it safer would go a long way to protecting the public and the name of the product.
Know The Fine Line Of The FDA
When it comes to the legality of Kratom there really is a fine line. And, this is because the regulations and laws around the substance are somewhat skewed. This has a lot to do with the fact that the FDA doesn’t regulate Kratom. They do not regulate the substance because it is considered a supplement. Even though it is recognized as a supplement there are a now of individuals that will associate it with an opioid because it attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain. This is probably why a few states have already been able to move to ban the substance.
