DENVER — Colorado lawmakers are seeking stricter regulations on the manufacturing and sale of kratom in the state, building upon guardrails established through a 2022 law.
Kratom is an herbal substance capable of producing sedative or stimulant effects. It is legal throughout the majority of Colorado.
Senate Bill 25-072 would require kratom manufacturers to obtain a registration of the product from the Department of Revenue. The registration would be valid for one year, meaning it would need to be renewed annually.
The annual fee paid to maintain the registration would go toward the Kratom Consumer Protection Cash Fund, which can be used for the administration and enforcement of state laws regarding the substance.
One of the sponsors of the bipartisan bill is State Senator Kyle Mullica, District 24 - D, who works as an emergency room nurse in addition to his role at the Colorado State Capitol. Mullica said he has seen people come into the emergency room as a result of consuming kratom.
“It can go from hallucinations to even seizures," Mullica said. “So we're regulating an industry that's largely unregulated right now.”
During opening statements in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, Mullica said this bill would modernize Colorado's kratom regulations, aligning them with a state feasibility report that was completed in 2023 as a result of Senate Bill 22-120.
“In 2022, the Colorado General Assembly established some guardrails for the manufacture of kratom in Colorado, including a ban on adulterating kratom with controlled substances, a ban on underage sales, and an ingredient list requirement," Mullica said.
According to Mullica, there are currently no requirements to label recommended doses on kratom packaging.
“New, adulterated, concentrated, synthetic products claiming to be kratom impose even more significant risks to the public health and safety," Mullica said before explaining what the bill would do. “Prohibiting the manufacture and sale of chemically altered kratom — commonly involved in tragedies — capping the intoxicating component at 2%, creating accountability by setting safety testing and registration standards, creating common sense dosage and side effects labeling so users are informed of potential risks and side effects before they consume.”
Sitting next to Mullica during opening statements was State Senator Byron Pelton, District 1 - R, who is also sponsoring SB25-072.
“We're not trying to ban something," Pelton said. “We really want to focus on natural kratom and not synthetic kratom, because the natural kratom is not as harmful to you as the synthetic would be... It would regulate who sells it. But I mean, for the most part, we're just making sure that it's the natural kratom and not the synthetic.”
David Bregger flew from New Hampshire to Denver to testify in support of the legislation. As he spoke to lawmakers, a framed picture of his son, Daniel, sat alongside him.
“I lost my son, my oldest son, Dan, on August 29 of 2021, just miles from where I'm sitting right now," David told the committee. “It was very emotional coming back to this beautiful city of Denver, as the last time I was here was to bring the remains of my son home.”
David described Daniel as a compassionate person who loved to participate in many outdoor activities, including biking, tennis and hiking. David said his son was healthy at the time of his death.
David provided a copy of his son's death certificate to Denver7, which listed his cause of death as "the combined toxic effects of mitragynine and diphenhydramine." Mitragynine is an alkaloid found in the kratom plant, and diphenhydramine is an antihistamine that can be found in Benadryl.
“He had chronic anxiety, and he was always looking for natural ways to deal with this anxiety," David said about his son. "As best we can ascertain, he had purchased two little bottles of kratom two and a half weeks before he died. We don't think he had ever taken it before... There were no dosage instructions, and there were 12 doses in a little bottle.”
For David, SB25-072 could do more when it comes to regulating kratom but he called it a good first step.
“I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to please pass this bill and honor Dan's memory, his love of Colorado and all the others that have lost lives to unregulated kratom," David said as he finished his testimony.
More than a dozen people signed up to speak against the bill, as well.
Joshua Miller from Colorado Springs said the legislation places unnecessary burdens on small businesses while limiting consumer access to kratom products.
“While safety is of utmost importance, excessive regulations and high penalties could push them into the black market, making products less safe for consumers," Miller said. "That not only hurts local Colorado businesses but consumers who rely on safe kratom products."
Matt Caddo, the senior fellow on public policy with the American Kratom Association, said the association was excluded from discussions during the development of this legislation.
“Our view is that this current bill imposes an excessive regulatory burden on the state... and it imposes a high and unnecessary fiscal note," Caddo said. “We know that there are deaths, and those deaths are attributed by the conclusion of the FDA, NIDA and HHS to be rare, but when they do occur, they are because of polydrug use and adulterated products.”
Misty Brown spoke as an advocate for kratom, saying the substance saved her life roughly five years ago.
“I am glad that when I started my kratom journey five and a half years ago that these synthetic 7-OH products weren't available then, because kratom is an exit from addiction. It's not an entrance into addiction, and these synthetic 7-OH products do just that," Brown said. “I love regulations, but the fact that I want to be able to have the option to buy from whatever kratom company I want to buy from, whether they're small brick and mortar companies or big companies, you know, don't squeeze out the smaller vendors that are following good manufacturing practices. That's my right.”
Ultimately, SB25-072 passed unanimously through the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday with two amendments. It now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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