Arizona Senator: 2019 Kratom Consumer Protection Act Was Industry Shield, Not Consumer Safeguard — State Must Act Now

Why it matters

A sitting Arizona state senator's detailed critique of her own state's 2019 kratom law — written by an industry trade group — exposes how model legislation promoted by the American Kratom Association may have shielded producers rather than protected consumers, a dynamic playing out in multiple states that adopted similar laws.

The big picture

Arizona passed its Kratom Consumer Protection Act in 2019, one of 18 states to adopt AKA-drafted model legislation intended to regulate rather than ban kratom. Seven years later, Sen. Shawnna Bolick argues the law has functioned as an industry shield as product potency escalated and adulteration increased. Her own ban bill was killed by committee after more than a thousand opposition emails, reportedly generated by AKA lobbying. A competing AKA-written bill, HB 2415, passed the House with watered-down consumer protections.

Key findings

• Arizona's 2019 Kratom Consumer Protection Act was written and pushed by the American Kratom Association — a $1.5 billion industry trade group
• Sen. Bolick sponsored a kratom ban; AKA lobbying killed it in committee after generating more than 1,000 opposition emails
• Scottsdale Recovery Center reports patients experiencing opioid-like withdrawal from kratom products with wildly variable potency
• Federal officials — including HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary — now support classifying 7-OH as Schedule I
• The U.S. military bans kratom for service members, citing threats to readiness and health
• Former Congressman Matt Salmon has served as a paid AKA lobbyist, shaping state policy across multiple states

What they say

"Arizona's current law leaves consumers exposed to the very products federal officials and military leaders warn are most likely to cause addiction, toxicity and severe withdrawal." — Sen. Shawnna Bolick, Arizona 2nd Legislative District

Bottom line

**An Arizona senator's firsthand account reveals how AKA-drafted model legislation may have entrenched industry interests over consumer safety, a concern now relevant to 18 states that adopted similar laws.**