Kratom Laws Where You Live

Jemi Fischbach

• November 24, 2019

It’s a minefield, trying to unravel the various rules and regulations surrounding Kratom, and as the laws are changing all the time, it’s prudent to keep up to date with your own local laws. However, we’ve attempted to decipher the rules as they stand, which will give you a good basis from which to start.

On the one hand, you have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) doing their darndest to make it illegal, while those who have actually studied it in depth (i.e. Scientists) are trying to make, and keep, it legal.

So what do we know so far?

USA

It’s cut and dried in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin, where the law clearly states that it is illegal to use, grow, possess, or sell Kratom.

In Illinois (apart from Jerseyville) Kratom is legal for anyone over the age of 18, as it is in the whole of New Hampshire. In California, San Diego and Oceanside is the only city which has banned Kratom. Sarasota County has banned it in an otherwise legal state of Florida, and the only area within Mississippi which has made Kratom illegal is Union County. Colorado is also open to Kratom, with the exception of Denver, and in Tennessee, it was illegal until 2017, when the ban for anyone over the age of 21 was lifted.

They don’t make it easy, do they?

Elsewhere in the US, from Alaska to Wyoming (and anywhere in between not mentioned above) you can buy, sell, and use Kratom to your hearts’ content.

Worldwide

Now, if you aren’t from the US, or you are traveling to far flung climes, the laws are even more confusing, but here’s what we know so far:

Africa – Kratom isn’t widely known in Africa, but in South Africa, at least, Kratom is legal. Asia, however, is more complicated. For instance, Kratom is illegal in Israel, Japan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam, but in Hong Kong it has been legalized – the rest of China, however, is a little more ambiguous, so please check your own area, and in Thailand, laws look set to change from illegal to legal.

Australia and New Zealand have both outlawed Kratom (New Zealand does allow for prescription use, though).

In Europe, most countries have banned any use of Kratom, with the exception of the UK, which does allow for use, but not with intent to supply, and all imports to the UK are banned. However, as with most places, please check as the legal status is changing all the time.

Canada has peculiar laws regarding the use of Kratom – it is legal if sold as an incense, for instance, but otherwise is illegal.

And finally, Latin America appears to allow the use of Kratom in all North and Central countries.

BUT…as we have said throughout this article, please do your own research because although this information was correct at the time of writing, laws can and do change frequently – you don’t want to be caught out, and similarly, you don’t want to go without because you thought you weren’t allowed to purchase it!