Missouri AG Forces St. Louis-Area Kratom Distributor to Halt All Sales Statewide

Why it matters

Missouri has no statewide kratom ban, making this settlement notable -- the state's attorney general is using consumer protection and unfair business practices law to achieve the same result without waiting for the legislature. It signals an enforcement strategy other AGs could replicate.

The big picture

Attorneys general in multiple states have been testing non-traditional legal tools to restrict kratom sales, particularly after the DEA's July 2026 announcement of intent to schedule 7-OH. Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway's agreement with The Green Dragon mirrors actions taken in other states where legislators have been slow to act: use existing consumer protection statutes to pull the product from shelves without passing new law.

Key findings

• The Green Dragon, a kratom distributor with a retail store in Chesterfield, Missouri, agreed to stop marketing, selling, and advertising 7-OH and all kratom products in the state
• Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced the agreement on August 7, 2026
• The business agreed not to operate any Missouri enterprise that markets or sells kratom in any form
• Missouri has no standalone kratom ban but the AG pursued the case under existing authority
• Health officials describe kratom as an unregulated supplement with opioid-like addiction potential

What they say

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced the agreement, stating that The Green Dragon's owners agreed 'not to operate any business in the state that markets, sells or advertises 7-OH or any other kratom product.'

Bottom line

Missouri's AG just shut down one of the state's largest kratom distributors without a new law -- and the approach is exportable to every state where legislators have not acted.