Kansas Senate Votes 33-5 to Classify Kratom as Schedule I, Sending Bill to the House

Why it matters

An overwhelming 33-5 Kansas Senate vote moves kratom one step closer to a statewide ban, with possession and sale set to be criminalized alongside heroin, LSD, and marijuana under Schedule I of state law.

The big picture

Kansas has been weighing kratom restrictions since early 2026, with the state health department issuing warnings about 7-OH products in September 2025. Senate Bill 497 is now before the House, where a committee hearing was initially scheduled for March 11 before being postponed. The bill is part of a national wave of state-level kratom bans driven largely by concern over synthetically concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine products, though SB497 would classify all kratom under Schedule I.

Key findings

• The Kansas Senate voted 33-5 on March 5, 2026 to advance Senate Bill 497, classifying kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance
• The bill would place kratom alongside heroin, LSD, and marijuana under the Kansas Uniform Controlled Substances Act
• Proponents cite 7-hydroxymitragynine potency, with one senator claiming it is 13 times more potent than morphine
• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment had already issued warnings about 7-OH products in September 2025, calling them extremely harmful
• Critics warn the ban could criminalize people who use kratom to manage opioid addiction or chronic pain
• The bill also expands the definition of fentanyl-related drugs under state law to cover more chemical variants

What they say

It is 13 times greater potency than morphine, and though we have seen the deaths and addictions to fentanyl go down, we have seen the use of this drug rise, said Republican Senator Beverly Gossage of Wichita, who supported the measure.

Bottom line

Kansas is on the verge of a full kratom ban after an overwhelming 33-5 Senate vote, but the House must still act before the legislative session ends.