Creates new provisions relating to the sale of kratom products
HB 2652 creates the “Kratom Consumer Protection Act” and adds a new section to Missouri law governing the sale and labeling of kratom products. The bill defines “kratom” as products containing part of the leaf of the plant Mitragyna speciosa and defines “dealer” broadly to include manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, food and drink businesses, and other sellers that prepare, maintain, or market kratom.
The bill requires dealers who sell or distribute kratom to disclose the factual basis for any representation that a product is kratom, and it prohibits the sale of kratom that is adulterated or contaminated with dangerous nonkratom substances. It also bars products marketed as kratom if they contain more than 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction, if they contain fully synthetic alkaloids or synthetic derivatives, or if the label does not state the amounts of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Dealers may not sell kratom to anyone under 21.
HB 2652 would also create enforcement and liability provisions. A violation of the disclosure requirement is an infraction, while violations involving adulterated/contaminated kratom or sales to minors are class D misdemeanors. The bill additionally creates a private right of action for people harmed by violations of the disclosure or product-safety rules, allowing recovery of economic, noneconomic, and consequential damages. Dealers have a good-faith defense if they relied on a manufacturer’s or distributor’s representations.
The bill’s impact would be to establish statewide product-safety, labeling, age-restriction, and enforcement standards for kratom sales in Missouri, affecting manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other food-service or consumer-facing businesses that handle kratom. It would also incorporate existing controlled-substance references by tying contamination standards to substances listed in section 195.017.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal floor or committee sentiment is available. Based on the bill text, the measure appears generally consumer-protection oriented, with an emphasis on product transparency and preventing adulterated or synthetic kratom from reaching consumers. The main likely point of contention is whether the bill’s restrictions, age limit, and private lawsuit provision are necessary public-health safeguards or overly burdensome regulation for a legal kratom market.
HB 2652 would add section 196.1170 to Missouri statutes and create a new regulatory framework for kratom products. It would impose labeling, disclosure, product-composition, and age-based sales restrictions on dealers, while also creating criminal penalties, an infraction for false or unsupported kratom representations, and a private civil remedy for injured consumers. The bill would affect manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other businesses that sell or market kratom.
No committee discussion or vote record was provided, so there is no documented legislative sentiment to summarize. From the bill’s structure, the measure reads as a consumer-protection and public-health bill aimed at regulating a growing product category rather than banning it outright. The overall tone is precautionary, with an emphasis on transparency, purity, and restricting sales to adults.
The likely points of contention are the scope of regulation and enforcement. Supporters would likely favor the bill’s labeling rules, adulteration standards, and under-21 sales ban as protections against unsafe or misleading kratom products. Opponents may object to the criminal penalties, the broad definition of dealer, the 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine threshold, and the private right of action, which could increase compliance costs and litigation exposure for retailers and other sellers.