North Dakota Lawmakers Weigh Total Synthetic Kratom Ban at Special Session Working Group

Why it matters

North Dakota's Legislature is set to convene a special session in September 2026 specifically to address kratom, with 29 bill drafts submitted. The outcome could set a template for swift legislative action that other states copy as the national prohibition wave gains momentum.

The big picture

Gov. Kelly Armstrong issued an executive order banning kratom by emergency in early August 2026, citing 23 kratom-related deaths in North Dakota since 2021. The DEA's temporary Schedule I placement of 7-OH took effect August 5. North Dakota's special session will attempt to codify the ban into permanent law — one of the first legislative bodies to do so post-DEA action.

Key findings

• North Dakota's Kratom Working Group heard testimony on August 12, 2026 ahead of a September special session
• Kratom-related compounds were linked to 23 deaths in North Dakota since 2021, per the State Epidemiology Office
• Key lawmaker Rep. Pat Heinert supports a total ban on synthetic kratom (7-OH and derivatives) with age-21 restrictions on natural kratom
• 29 bill drafts have been submitted for the September 2 special session
• Johns Hopkins pharmacologist Jack Henningfield told lawmakers mitragynine and natural kratom are difficult to overdose on; 7-OH functions more like morphine and causes respiratory depression
• A smoke shop owner testified that customers use kratom to come off opioids, warning a ban would push people to harder drugs

What they say

"I'm not a kratom advocate. I think that people should be cautious. I think products should be labeled," said Jack Henningfield of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "A huge problem is products masquerading as kratom, making a mess of the marketplace." Meanwhile, addiction specialist Dr. Melissa Henke said: "When someone works really hard to find recovery, it's not fair that they get duped by going to the gas station and all of a sudden they're spending $80 to $100 a day. That's a drug habit. That's not a caffeine habit."

Bottom line

North Dakota is on track to pass one of the country's first post-DEA legislative kratom bans at a September 2026 special session, with lawmakers leaning toward a total synthetic kratom prohibition and age restrictions on natural kratom leaf.