Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB497

Introduced
2/6/26  
Refer
2/9/26  
Refer
2/10/26  
Report Pass
2/18/26  
Refer
2/19/26  
Refer
2/24/26  
Refer
2/25/26  
Engrossed
3/6/26  

Caption

Adding kratom to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and making conforming amendments to the definition of fentanyl-related controlled substance in the criminal code.

Impact

If enacted, SB 497 would amend existing Kansas statutes, specifically K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 21-5701 and 65-4105, targeting substances currently unregulated by providing strict guidelines for their handling, use, and distribution. By categorizing kratom and delta-8 THC under the most restrictive scheduling, the bill aims to mitigate health risks associated with these substances. This change may lead to increased scrutiny and enforcement measures against violations related to possession, distribution, and manufacture of these items, impacting numerous stakeholders including users, health professionals, and retailers.

Summary

Senate Bill 497 is proposed legislation addressing the regulation of certain controlled substances in Kansas. Specifically, it aims to add kratom and delta-8 THC to Schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This classification indicates that these substances are deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, which significantly aligns with federal regulations on drug control. The legislation reflects continuing concerns about the safety and legality of such substances amid growing public interest and use.

Contention

However, the bill is not without controversy. Advocates for kratom often argue that it is a natural substance with medicinal properties, claiming it provides relief from pain, anxiety, and withdrawal symptoms. They express concerns that classifying it as a controlled substance may effectively criminalize a safe, alternative remedy for many individuals. Critics of the bill argue that regulation may overlook the nuanced benefits of such substances while failing to consider user experiences and anecdotal evidence of their effectiveness. Furthermore, adding delta-8 THC, a compound derived from hemp, complicates discussions about legal cannabis products already under scrutiny in many states.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS SB8

Exempting the sale of firearms, firearms accessories, ammunition, firearm safes and firearm safety devices from the retatilers' sales tax.

KS SB7

Authorizing federally licensed firearm dealers, in addition to county sheriffs, to receive applications for concealed carry licenses and forward such applications to the attorney general, prohibiting sheriffs from assessing any fee related to application services and allowing dealers to assess a fee related to application services not to exceed $20.

KS HB2002

Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the cutting healthcare costs for all Kansans act.

KS SB6

Providing a sales tax exemption for sales of electricity to residential premises by municipally owned or operated utilities.

KS SB5

Authorizing counties to impose an earnings tax.

KS SB3

Clarifying the procedures and restrictions on accepting a nomination for an elected office.

Similar Bills

CA AB1612

Disposition of controlled substances.

MA H2227

Replacing archaic and stigmatizing language for substance use

US HB830

SAFE Act Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency Act

MI HB4948

Controlled substances: other; sentencing guidelines for retail sale of products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine; modify. Amends sec. 13m, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.13m). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4947'25

NJ S829

"CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture, sale, and possession of substances containing kratom.

NJ A1617

"CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture, sale, and possession of substances containing kratom.

NJ A1203

"CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture and distribution of substances containing kratom under certain circumstances.

NJ S2271

"CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture and distribution of substances containing kratom under certain circumstances.