KRATOM: LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
If you believe the State of Ohio is taking a wrong turn, you now have an opportunity to make a difference if you so choose.
House Bill 236 (HB236), presented by Rep’s Lipps and Frazier, is currently under review. This Bill places Kratom under the control of the Department of Agriculture which prohibits the Board of Pharmacy from making this a controlled substance. HB 236 would require the Ohio Department of Agriculture to create a program to monitor and regulate Kratom processing and the sale of Kratom products. It would also prohibit the State Board of Pharmacy from regulating Kratom as a controlled substance and specifies that Kratom, and Kratom products are not drugs for purposes of the pharmaceuticals law and criminal drug offenses.
WHAT IS KRATOM?
Kratom is an herb from a tree in southeast Asia which produces an opiate-type response. There are many different reported uses for this “herb,” and we have attached a few links to different sources for you to learn more.
READ this link from the DEA: Kratom is addictive and is abused. Note the SIDE EFFECTS
WHY DO WE NOT WANT HB236?
Although this is an herb, it is being used in more of a pharmaceutical way, and we don’t know a lot about this herb or its effects. Like many things, the more we learn, then we need to be able to move quickly. Should we learn that this product has detrimental effects or needs to be utilized in a more controlled way, then the department best prepared to deal with that should have oversight. We believe that is the Board of Pharmacy not Agriculture.
In no way are we expressing an opinion on Kratom but are simply looking for the safest path to manage this until we have more research – essentially avoid mistakes of the past!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Easy 5 minutes of work! Use the links below to find your Representatives and send them an e-mail telling them you do not support HB236. It’s simple and quite rewarding to be part of the process.
Medina State Representative Sharon Ray; https://ohiohouse.gov/members/sharon-a-ray/contact State
E-mail State Senator Mark Romanchuk ; https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/romanchuk/contact
Find you State Representatives here if you are not sure who they are, click on contact and send them an e-mail.
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislators/district-maps
LINKS ABOUT KRATOM
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/kratom/art-20402171