RINGGOLD, Ga. - If state lawmakers regulate kratom in Georgia, the drug's advocates ask them to be gentle.
Charles Haddow, a lobbyist for the American Kratom Association, said during a House and Senate study committee at the Catoosa County Colonnade on Wednesday morning that the organization could live with an age restriction, allowing only people older than 18 to buy the drug. He added that state lawmakers could demand a label on the products, warning pregnant women that the purchase could pose a health risk.
He also said they could require a certification, in which the makers of the product promise not to artificially enhance the amount of alkaloids that can act similar to opioids or other stimulants. The alkaloids - mitragynine and 7--hydroxymitragynine - can have psychotropic effects.
But Haddow said the amount of those alkaloids that naturally occur in the plant is not a threat. He argued that problems occur only when chemists increase their levels through extraction methods.
"The natural plant doesn't cause any problem," Haddow said. "People should have the freedom to buy, if it's the natural plant, not enhanced by any chemical formulation."
State Rep. Dewayne Hill, R-Ringgold, and state Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, hosted the study committee hearing. They are considering whether to propose a bill to restrict kratom when the Georgia General Assembly resumes business in January.
Kratom is made from the dry leaves of a tree in southeast Asia. It is usually offered in capsules or as a powder, to be mixed in with your tea. Advocates tout its effects - namely, the ability to treat chronic pain, anxiety and depression. Because the alkaloids interact with opioid receptors in the brain, some say addicts can use the drug to effectively treat opioid withdrawals.
But federal regulators are concerned about kratom. In 2017, the Federal Drug Administration tied 44 deaths to its use. Drug Enforcement Administration officials, meanwhile, have debated a ban across the country.
"While it is important to generate more evidence, there is evidence that certain substances found in kratom are opioids and data suggest that one or more may have a potential for abuse," FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement Sept. 11. "And its use has been on the rise and is of concern to the FDA."
Six states and several cities have banned kratom. On Wednesday, Hill and Mullis said they weren't sure what they wanted to do yet. They plan to hold another study committee hearing, though they haven't picked a date or time.
"[Georgia's] motto is 'Wisdom, Justice and Moderation,'" Mullis said. "Lots of times we fail on the wisdom and justice part. But maybe we can moderate this issue."
Catoosa County Coroner Vanita Hullender urged the lawmakers to ban kratom until the science is clearer. She compared the drug to previously legal substances such as cocaine and heroin.
Some coroners across the country have told lawmakers they have seen an uptick in deadly overdoses attributable to kratom. But the science on the issue is hotly debated. Reviews of some of those autopsies show the presence of other drugs, including lethal amounts of opioids. At the same time, some researchers have argued, kratom may have deadly consequences when interacting with other drugs.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the medical examiner's office identified the drug's active ingredient in five cases in 2016 and 17 cases in 2017. So far this year, they have identified the drug in five cases.
Haddow said some states began to ban kratom after nine deaths occurred in a cluster in Sweden over 12 months in 2009-10. The FDA created an import alert. But, he said, those deaths were attributed to a kratom-based product that also contained an opioid substance.
In 2014, the Tennessee Legislature passed a law that banned the alkaloids found in kratom. But in December, Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion that the law applied only to kratom in synthetic form. In its natural plant form, the opinion read, the drug is still legal.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.