Kansas and Tennessee Kratom Bans Take Effect July 1, 2026

Why it matters

Two additional states banning kratom on the same date signals growing legislative momentum — and raises the total number of states with full or near-full kratom bans to 10, a meaningful shift in the national regulatory landscape.

The big picture

The kratom regulatory map has changed sharply since 2024. Kansas and Tennessee join Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Vermont, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Utah in restricting or banning kratom outright. Tennessee's ban, "Matthew Davenport's Law," is named after a 27-year-old who died after taking kratom alongside a prescription medication. Kansas enacted a de facto ban by scheduling 7-hydroxymitragynine without a plant-material exemption. Meanwhile, more than 30 states have passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act — regulations rather than bans — and Rhode Island made news as the first state to overturn its kratom ban, allowing sales to adults 21 and over at licensed retailers.

Key findings

• Kansas House Bill 2365, signed in April 2026 and effective July 1, schedules 7-hydroxymitragynine as a controlled substance with no plant-material exemption — a de facto ban on all kratom products
• Tennessee's ban, "Matthew Davenport's Law," makes kratom possession a Class A misdemeanor and manufacturing or distribution a felony
• Tennessee previously banned synthetic kratom alkaloids; the new law extends the ban to the kratom plant itself
• Rhode Island became the first state to overturn a kratom ban, permitting adult sales at licensed retailers
• More than 30 states have enacted the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which regulates rather than bans the supplement

What they say

Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow at the American Kratom Association: "[Kratom] really deals with the normal stresses of daily life and the aches and pains related to it." The AKA maintains that banning natural kratom punishes consumers for the harms caused by concentrated 7-OH products.

Bottom line

Kansas and Tennessee bans taking effect simultaneously mark the first time two states have implemented full kratom restrictions on the same date, pushing the total to 10 states with full or near-full bans while Rhode Island's reversal shows the politics can run both directions.