Pennsylvania state rep to regulate kratom over health and safety concerns
PITTSBURGH —
A state representative is pushing for regulations on kratom, a substance marketed as an energy stimulant or mood booster, as concerns grow over its health risks and links to deaths, including at least one in Allegheny County.
Rep. Dan Frankel, whose office is located on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, where several businesses sell kratom, said he wants natural kratom to be regulated and synthetic versions, such as 7-OH, to be prohibited.
“Being unregulated, we have no ability to control who it’s being sold to, how it’s being packaged, and we need to find a way to control it because we know that the impacts have been really catastrophic,” Frankel said.
The Pennsylvania House Health Committee is set to consider Bill 2657 next week.
“It would make sure that it’s not packaged in a way that is attractive to children. It would prohibit the use and acquisition of the product by anybody under the age of 21,” Frankel said.
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Dr. Mark Guy, of Allegheny Health Network, warned about the serious health risks associated with kratom, including dependence and death.
“For the last two years, we’ve seen a crescendo of patients who are reaching out and asking for help coming off of the use of a substance that they’ve been buying at the gas station, and most of them are surprised by the fact that they have run into withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop it,” Guy said. “It is a really complicated molecule that stimulates the opioid receptor, plus a number of other receptors, and it absolutely will cause dependence, it can cause respiratory suppression and it can cause death.”
One man, who asked to remain anonymous, shared that he used kratom for pain relief.
“I broke my foot, and after the pain meds — you know, they only give you a week, and I was still in severe pain. I used kratom as a crutch to get me through that,” he said.
However, he did not anticipate the serious effects of synthetic versions and eventually needed medical assistance.
The Pennsylvania House Health Committee will review the bill on Tuesday.
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