Industry Infighting: AKA, HART, and GKC Fuel Kratom Regulatory Confusion

Why it matters

Three competing kratom industry groups—the American Kratom Association, Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust, and Global Kratom Coalition—are locked in bitter public disputes that observers say are accelerating state bans and undermining both consumers and credible regulation.

The big picture

Kratom is a $2 billion global market projected to reach $8 billion by 2032, and the competing interests of natural-leaf versus 7-OH product manufacturers have created a fractured advocacy landscape. Rather than presenting a unified front, the three major groups are attacking each other's products to regulators and reporters, often relying on disputed or sensationalized data. Industry observers warn this infighting is backfiring, driving state-level prohibition rather than the nuanced regulation the industry claims to want.

Key findings

• The AKA represents natural-leaf kratom manufacturers and wants 7-OH scheduled as a controlled substance while protecting traditional kratom
• HART represents 7-OH manufacturers and disputes characterizations of 7-OH as synthetic or dangerous, calling for milligram-per-serving limits instead of bans
• GKC, founded by industry figure JW Ross, also supports natural kratom and has endorsed a federal bill to schedule concentrated synthetic 7-OH
• Lab results commissioned by the Texas AG found some 7-OH products contain up to 96% 7-OH alkaloids—far exceeding the 2% cap in KCPA-modeled laws
• The FDA requested DEA schedule 7-OH in summer 2025; the DEA has not yet acted, and does not mention kratom in its most recent National Drug Threat Assessment

What they say

AKA Senior Fellow Mac Haddow stated: "Consumers deserve to know the truth. These 7-OH products are not traditional kratom. They are being engineered, concentrated, and marketed in ways that create risks that are not associated with natural kratom leaf." HART countered: "This is part of a broader pattern—misrepresenting the science in ways that benefit certain segments of the market while dismissing millions of consumers who rely on 7-OH products."

Bottom line

**Three rival kratom industry groups are publicly attacking each other's products, and experts say their infighting is accelerating state bans rather than producing the sensible regulation consumers need.**