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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
DEQ; oil and gas commission
(NOW: regulation; kratom products)
Purpose
Establishes requirements and prohibitions related to the preparation, distribution and sale of kratom products.
Background
Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom, is a tropical plant native to Southeast Asia whose main constituent alkaloids are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (U.S. DEA), the kratom plant's leaves, if consumed or ingested, can produce both stimulant and sedative effects in different doses (U.S. DEA).
Kratom qualifies as a dietary ingredient under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) as a dietary supplement. Kratom has not been approved by the U.S. FDA for any medical use and is not scheduled as a controlled substance by the U.S. DEA (U.S. FDA Import Alert 54-15; 21 U.S.C. §§ 321; 342; and 350).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires a dealer that prepares, distributes, sells or exposes for sale a food product that is represented to be a kratom product to disclose the factual basis on which the representation is made on the product label.
2. Establishes that a dealer who violates the kratom product disclosure requirement is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
3. Prohibits a dealer from preparing, distributing, selling or exposing for sale a kratom product that:
a) does not conform to the product label disclosure requirements;
b) is adulterated or contaminated with a dangerous nonkratom substance;
c) contains a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction that that is greater than two percent of the product's alkaloid composition;
d) contains any synthetic alkaloid, including synthetic mitragynine, synthetic 7‑hydroxymitragynine or any other synthetically-derived compounds of the kratom plant; or
e) does not include the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine contained in the product on the package or label.
4. Specifies that a kratom product is:
a) adulterated with a dangerous nonkratom substance if the product is mixed or packed with a nonkratom substance that affects the quality or strength of the product to a degree that renders the product injurious to a consumer; and
b) contaminated with a dangerous nonkratom substance if the product contains a poisonous or deleterious nonkratom substance, including any controlled substance included in the Uniform Controlled Substance Act.
5. Prohibits a dealer from distributing, selling or exposing for sale a kratom product to an individual who is under 18 years of age.
6. Permits a person aggrieved by a violation of kratom product requirements to bring a private cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction for damages, including economic, noneconomic and consequential damages, resulting from the violation.
7. Stipulates that a dealer does not violate prescribed kratom product requirements and prohibitions if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the dealer relied in good faith on the representation of a manufacturer, processor, packer or distributor that the food was a kratom product.
8. Cites this legislation as the Kratom Consumer Protection Act.
9. Defines relevant terms.
10. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Eliminates proposed language that allows the Director of the Department of Health Services to impose civil penalties against a kratom dealer who violates product label requirements.
2. Makes conforming changes.
Senate Action
NRE 3/28/19 W/D
APPROP 4/2/19 DPA/SE 9-0-0
Prepared by Senate Research
April 11, 2019
CRS/kja