| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4985 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, August 5, 2024. |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | The committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the petition |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3762) of Daniel J. Hunt relative to |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | establishing a penalty for the sale, preparation, manufacturing, or |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | distribution of kratom products that are contaminated with dangerous non- |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | kratom substances, reports recommending that the accompanying bill |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | (House, No. 4985) ought to pass. |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | For the committee, |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | FILED ON: 7/31/2024 |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4985 |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | An Act concerning the regulation of kratom. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 270 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | 2following section:- |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | 3 Section 30. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | 4context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | 5 "Food", a food, food product, food ingredient, dietary ingredient, dietary supplement or |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 6beverage for human consumption. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 7 "Kratom product", a food product or dietary ingredient containing any part of the leaf of |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 8the Mitragyna speciosa plant, or a kratom extract, manufactured as a food, powder, capsule, pill, |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 9beverage or other edible product including any material, compound, mixture or preparation |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 10containing kratom. |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 11 “Kratom retailer”, a person or entity who sells maintains or distributes kratom or |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 12advertises, represents, or holds itself out as selling. maintaining or distributing kratom products. 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 13 “Manufacture” means the production, preparation, compounding, or processing of |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 14kratom, either directly or indirectly or by extraction from substances of natural origin, or |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 15independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 16synthesis, and includes, but is not limited to, any packaging or repackaging of such substance or |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 17labeling or relabeling of its container. |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 18 (b) A kratom retailer shall not sell, distribute or offer for sale a kratom product without a |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 19label clearly stating: (i) the name and address of its manufacturer; (ii) a full list of its ingredients; |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 20and (iii) directions for its safe and effective use including the recommended serving size. |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 21 (c) A kratom retailer shall not distribute, advertise, sell or offer for sale: |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 22 (i) a kratom product that is adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom substance. A kratom |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 23product is adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom substance if the kratom product is mixed or |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 24packed with a non-kratom substance and that substance affects the quality or strength of the |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 25kratom product to such a degree as to renders the kratom product injurious to a consumer; |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 26 (ii) a kratom product that is contaminated with a dangerous non-kratom substance. A |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 27kratom product is contaminated with a dangerous non-kratom substance if the kratom product |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 28contains a poisonous or otherwise deleterious non-kratom ingredient, including, but not limited |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 29to, a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue as both are defined in section 1 of |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 30chapter 94C; |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 31 (iii) a kratom product containing a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 32that is greater than 2 per cent of the overall alkaloid composition of the product; or 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 33 (iv) a kratom product containing any synthetic alkaloids including synthetic mitragynine, |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 34synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine or any other synthetically derived compounds of the kratom |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 35plant. |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 36 (d) A kratom retailer shall not knowingly distribute, sell or offer for sale any kratom |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 37product to an individual under 18 years of age. (e) A kratom retailer who violates |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 38subsection (b) or subsection (c) shall subject to an administrative fine of not more than $500 for |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 39the first offense and not more than $1,000 for subsequent offenses. Upon the request of a person |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 40to whom an administrative fine is issued, the department shall conduct a hearing in accordance |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 41with chapter 30A. |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 42 (2) A kratom retailer does not violate subsection (b) or subsection (c) if they can show by |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 43a preponderance of the evidence that they relied in good faith upon the representations of a |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 44manufacturer, processor, packer or distributor of a kratom product or food represented to be a |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 45kratom product that such product was in compliance with this section. |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 46 (f) A kratom retailer who violates subsection (d) shall be punished by a fine of $1,000 for |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | 47the first offense, $2,000 for a second offense and $5,000 for a third or subsequent offense. |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | 48 (g) The department of public health shall promulgate rules and regulations for the |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 49administration and enforcement of this section including standards for accurate labeling and for |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | 50testing kratom products for safety. |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 51 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect 180 days following its passage. |
|---|