Bill proposes 95% tax on kratom in Washington state, under 21 ban

The price of the drug kratom in Washington state could nearly double under a new bill proposed in the Legislature.

The proposed law would add a 95% tax on kratom products, which would be paid directly by distributors when kratom is brought into Washington for sale. Proceeds from the tax would be used to fund programs that prevent or reduce youth access to harmful substances.

Derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia, kratom sold in America is dried and crushed into a powder and can be taken as a tea or pill. Though kratom is not an opioid, it affects opioid receptors in the brain and can create a similar euphoric effect. Some synthetic kratom products like 7-hydroxymitragynine (also known as 7-OH) concentrate the psychoactive element of the plant.

The plant is not currently regulated by the federal or state government and is available over the counter in Washington state. A pair of bills introduced in the state Senate would create statewide regulation and licensing for kratom distributors, place a high tax on products and ban its sale to anyone under the age of 21.

Bill sponsor Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, said he knows someone who needed opioid withdrawal medication to stop using 7-OH.

“We have people exhibiting opiate-like addiction not from fentanyl or heroin but from things that they can buy at the gas station and are completely unregulated,” Salomon said at a Senate hearing on the legislation.

Salomon’s bill would require kratom distributor and retailer licenses and for any applicants to undergo a criminal background check. Kratom sold in Washington would be required to display a label clearly identifying it as a kratom product and including a list of all ingredients used in its manufacturing. Licenses could be revoked for violations of the proposed law, and operating without a kratom license would be a felony offense.

Salomon said kratom’s availability in Washington is “crazy and dangerous.”

A separate bill proposed this legislative session would ban sale of kratom to anyone under the age of 21.

“I see so many things that (kratom) might be useful for like providing energy or pain relief, but I have two high schoolers. And when it is in the hands of young people whose brains haven’t fully developed, (it) is a real concern,” bill sponsor Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, said at the hearing.

The pair of bills face opposition from kratom distributors and the convenience stores where the drug can be bought.

“Essentially doubling the price of the product by adding a 95% tax would have unintended negative consequences for convenience stores that rely on the product to increase foot traffic and help lose sales of other items like food, bottled water and household goods,” Washington Food Industry Association lobbyist Molly Pfaffenroth said at the hearing.

The food industry supports other aspects of the bill, including the under -21 ban. According to Pfaffenroth, the stores she represents already prohibit sale of kratom to youth.

American Kratom Association lobbyist Tony Sermonti said legislators should focus solely on banning synthetic 7-OH.

“We do not oppose fair, nonpunitive taxation, but this bill functionally treats kratom as a scheduled, controlled substance, which contradicts FDA science and fails to distinguish between lawful, natural kratom leaf products and the dangerous synthetic opioids,” Sermonti said.

The bill would also allow local municipalities to ban kratom completely or enact stricter regulations. Up until this week, Spokane was planning to do just that.

In December, Mayor Lisa Brown proposed a complete ban on kratom products within city limits, but a vote on the proposal was delayed until March. Citing the multiple efforts by state legislators to regulate the drug statewide, the Spokane City Council has deferred any action on a city ban for at least two months.