Ohio lawmakers push back on kratom ban with consumer safety bill

State Reps. Mike Odioso, R-Green Twp., and Brian Lorenz, R-Powell, unveiled House Bill 587, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which aims to protect Ohioans from hazardous synthetic variants while allowing them to use kratom.

This move arrives amid heated debates over the plant’s role in wellness and its risks, as Republican Gov. Mike DeWine pressed to classify it as an illegal drug, then softened his stance.

Kratom, a natural botanical native to the coffee family and found in Southeast Asia, has gained significant popularity across the United States. Retailers sell it as powders, gummies and drinks, with proponents saying it aids chronic pain, opioid dependence, anxiety, energy boosts, focus and overall well-being.

“Ohioans from my district and across the state who consume kratom deserve to know the products they purchase are safe and sold in regulated venues,” Odioso said in a release.

DeWine, citing an imminent public health risk, urged the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate all kratom compounds — natural and synthetic — as Schedule I illegal drugs, making Ohio the first state to do so.

“These modified kratom products, sold online and in stores, are essentially legal, over-the-counter opiates that anyone—including kids—can buy with just a few bucks,” the governor said in a release.

He criticized “clandestine chemists” for altering kratom’s natural chemical compounds into potent, synthetic versions that mimic opioid-like effects and fuel addiction, often packaged to lure children.

Preliminary Ohio Department of Health data reveal kratom’s hand in over 200 accidental overdose deaths from 2019 to 2024, with national poison control centers logging 1,690 exposure cases in the first seven months of 2025 alone—surpassing all of 2024.

The FDA’s recent recommendation to classify the 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) compound as an illegal drug has intensified the urgency, prompting DeWine’s call for swift action. If the board agrees with the recommendation, retailers would be forced to get rid of kratom items.

Odioso and Lorenz’s bill offers a compromise, outlawing the insidiously dangerous synthetic derivatives and compounds laced with high concentrations of 7-OH, while empowering the Ohio Department of Agriculture to license distributors and retailers.

“We are following the FDA’s lead by prohibiting the sale of 7-OH products,” Lorenz said in a release. “This bill will keep Ohioans safe because it ensures any kratom product sold in Ohio meets quality standards established by this bill and the Ohio Department of Agriculture.”

The recent news came after the Ohio House passed Senate Bill 56 to add intoxicating hemp to the state’s marijuana laws, banning sales outside licensed stores overseen by the Division of Cannabis Control.

The measure demands safety testing, potency checks, child-proof packaging and advertising curbs.