- Sen. Mike McKell's bill initially aimed for a complete kratom ban in Utah.
- The new version of the bill would only allow pure kratom to be sold in the state.
- One of the components of kratom is known to be highly addictive and linked to overdoses.
One debate that has carried through Utah’s Legislature this year is how to handle kratom, a drug that has been nicknamed “gas station heroin.”
Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, has been working to completely ban the drug in the state through SB45. But on Wednesday, he introduced a substitute that would change it from a complete ban to tightly restricting where kratom can be sold and what types of kratom can be sold in Utah.
After the substitute was introduced, the bill passed through the Senate unanimously, and it will now be sent to the House.
The new bill would only allow pure kratom leaves to be sold, and the drug would no longer be available at gas stations.
“There are some members in the House that are really, really clear that they want pure kratom leaves sold somewhere. We’ve been trying to find a model where that could happen; to me, my preference has been from day one to have a full, complete ban,” McKell said.
Kratom comes from a tropical tree, Mitragyna speciosa, in Southeast Asia. Based on dosage, it can have both sedative and stimulating effects and is used by some people for pain management. Kratom leaf contains two main psychoactive ingredients: 7-hydroxymitragynine, better known as 7-OH, and mitragynine.
Kratom is a less-studied and less mainstream drug, and McKell’s bill isn’t the only piece of legislation dealing with kratom this session.
Both Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, and Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, have introduced bills that would regulate kratom in different ways.
What is kratom, and why is it an issue?
The kratom leaves are in products sold both in retail shops and online. Kratom products include powders, gummies, teas, energy drinks and more.
Kratom is not approved by the FDA for any medical use.
As previously reported by the Deseret News, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021. It is believed that number is growing.
7-OH is the stronger component in kratom, and its synthetic version can be especially addictive. Because of that, it is the subject of bans and regulations across the U.S. Health experts have said that as many as 1 in 8 people who start taking kratom will become dependent on it. This is similar to the number of people who drink alcohol and become addicted.
It is possible for people to overdose on kratom, but overdoses typically involve another substance along with 7-OH.
As previously reported by the Deseret News, kratom has been linked to seizures, decreased sex drive and organ failure. Data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services shows that kratom was involved in 152 overdose deaths from 2020 to 2025. Deaths have also increased by 43% between 2021 and 2025.
Since before the legislative session started this year, McKell has pushed for a complete ban on kratom.
“I think this is an industry we shouldn’t trust. I think they’ve proven that to us as they grow and have targeted folks,” the senator said during Senate media availability on Wednesday.
He added that he wanted to work with the lawmakers in the House on this compromise so that he could stay in control of the bill and make the changes while the bill was still in the Senate.
“The bill today enhances a strong regulatory structure. It gets it out of convenience stores. It gets it out of gas stations,” he said.
McKell said that he has gone shopping for kratom across the state to see what is available to people. He said that most of what people are buying is extracted with 7-OH and is more potent than pure kratom.
Last month, both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps prohibited the use of kratom and its active components.
What would SB45 do now?
Not only would SB45 make it so that only pure kratom can be sold in Utah, it would also limit where it can be sold.
Kratom would no longer be available in gas stations and other general stores; under this bill, it would only be sold in specialty tobacco shops. It would also raise the legal age to buy kratom from 18 to 21 years old.
SB45 also completely repeals the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which the Utah Legislature passed in 2019. The act established penalties for not following specific labeling and selling requirements for the drug, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
What about the other kratom bills in the Legislature?
When asked how this bill interacts with Dailey-Provost’s and Vickers’ bills, he said that the substitute SB45 now overcomes Vickers’ bill.
McKell added that he worked with Vickers a lot on changing his bill and actually used a lot of language from Vickers’ bill, SB48.
“This is the proposal we’re going forward with. I think at this point in time, this is the right one, and I think it’s going to put things in place to allow it, but to be regulated and highly controlled,” Vickers said after the bill was presented on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Dailey-Provost’s bill in the House, HB387, would also regulate kratom instead of banning it.
McKell said the regulations created by Dailey-Provost’s bill are good, and he wants that bill to continue as well.
Kratom documentary screening open for the public
On Thursday, Drug Safe Utah Education is holding a screening of “Kratom: Side Effects May Include,” a documentary examining the public health implications of kratom use, regulatory gaps, emerging scientific evidence and the real-life impact on families and communities.
The screening will be on Feb. 19 at Megaplex Theatres at The Gateway. A dinner will begin at 7 p.m., and the screening will follow. People can RSVP for the screening online.
The movie features the personal stories of people impacted by kratom. One of the stories is that of Patti Wheeler, whose son Wyatt died from a kratom overdose at 27 years old.