After Metro Detroit resident Daniel Kelly slipped and broke his spine weeks before the birth of his daughter in 2018, he says was sucked into a world of never-ending pain and useless—and at times harmful—prescriptions.
Nothing he tried seemed to work: acupuncture, physical therapy, nerve blocks and pain clinics. In the end, it was natural leaf Kratom, Kelly said — not synthetic variants, nor prescribed painkillers — that offered the relief that saved his life six years ago. The controversial herbal substance gave him the ability to walk on his worst days and let him pick his daughter up for the first time after three years of unbearable pain.
“That plant gave me my family back,” he said.
Kelly’s voice was just one in a long line of emotional pleas from public commenters Tuesday, begging Detroit City Council to vote down a resolution supporting Michigan House Bill 5537, seeking a statewide “blanket ban” on kratom.
“Imagine what it’s like being terrified to be thrown in prison only because you wanted to control pain long enough, sleep to live, work and sleep, and raise your children,” said an unidentified caller during the public comment period. “We have citizens in complete psychological terror due to these bans because they can’t control chronic pain without this weight.”
Pro-kratom advocates were nearly unanimous in their support of natural leaf kratom versus harmful synthetic variants, like 7 OH, which have been receiving increasing national attention and concern in recent years linked to “surging” cases since 2010. Advocates also expressed support for regulating kratom via measures like age limits and testing.
Many highlighted the regulation-centered Michigan Senate Bill 1181, which was introduced late last month by State Senator John Cherry (D-Mich.) This bill would regulate, as opposed to ban, the distribution, sale and manufacturing of kratom products in the state.
Ultimately, Council voted to send the resolution back to its Public Health and Safety Standing Committee, which will convene again in two weeks following a break to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Council members decided they wanted to wait until they could learn more information about both SB1181 and the differences between natural and synthetic kratom.
“I want to note for the record that this is a multi-billion dollar business, and folks are committing suicide. Whether it’s the natural (kratom), I don’t know,” said Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway, who authored the resolution “I don’t know that much about it, but just listening today and reading what I’ve read in the last month or so, I’m being more informed and educated.”
KRATOM, THE RESOLUTION AND WHY THE COUNCIL IS WAITING
Most pro-kratom commenters painted the same picture: experiencing chronic conditions or addiction to other substances amid a broken healthcare system, an opioid crisis, insurance insecurity and stigma lead to weeks, months and sometimes years wracked by excruciating pain, depression, suicidal ideation and — occasionally—active suicide attempts. Natural leaf kratom became a relatively safe and cheap key to getting their lives back without tapping an unreliable, expensive healthcare system.
Kratom is an herbal substance that comes from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree in Southeast Asia. It can be consumed by chewing on the leaves, consuming its diluted brew in liquid form or through various manufactured products, like pills. Kratom can produce a variety of effects, depending on the individual and the dose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In small amounts, consumers report stimulant-like effects and often use kratom as an energy booster; larger doses produce opioid-like effects, and are often used for relaxation, pain relief and support during drug withdrawals.
But Michigan House Bill 5537 — the Republican-backed bill Whitfield-Calloway’s resolution sought to support — would ban the “production, sale and distribution” of kratom and its variants in Michigan. It’s just one proposal in a sea of legislation seeking to ban or regulate kratom in state governments across the US amid its rising popularity. While state and federal health bodies like the Food and Drug Administration have released warnings and generally recommend against kratom use where it is not banned, there is no overarching federal kratom law that’s been approved by Congress.
Kratom critics, like at least one commenter at Tuesday’s meeting, highlight the dangers of the substance, including addiction, adverse health effects and potentially death. While there have been some deaths reportedly linked to kratom across the US, it is important to note many of those have largely were linked to synthetic products, like 7-OH.
After the public comment period, several council members said they wanted more information before moving the resolution forward.
Council President Pro-tem Coleman A. Young II pondered the connection between marijuana tax levies and increased kratom use. He motioned to assign the council’s Legislative Policy Division to draft an analysis comparing that number, which department director David Whitaker said LPD would be “happy” to take on. Young also said he was curious as to how a ban would be enforced: as an addiction problem to receive healthcare, or the more “reflex move” to incarcerate people experiencing addiction.
“There are a lot of people who are hurting,” he said. “A lot of people are going through these alternatives (kratom) because they can’t afford the alternatives (medication) because the cost of living is too high.”
District 5 Council Member Renata Miller said she had received an “overwhelming” amount of emails on the topic. She spoke in support of regulation and taking “a pause” on the resolution. She also expressed her own frustration with her experience with the stigma associated with navigating post-injury pain relief.
“We will look into this because, then again, a lot of people don’t have health insurance either. They cannot get prescriptions,” she said. “So what do you do? How do you maintain?”
As Miller pointed out in the meeting, Detroit’s City Council is the lowest rung on the ladder of legislating kratom in Michigan. Because this is happening at the state level, she encouraged concerned Detroiters and Michiganders to contact their state representatives in Lansing.
Whitfield-Calloway ultimately expressed during the meeting an openness to learning more about regulating kratom versus instituting a blanket ban, once she reviewed SB1181. Still, she said she was frustrated that more commenters cared about kratom than other issues of the day, including youth issues and gun violence.
“We cannot continue to wait on the state (to legislate kratom) while our children are dying, committing suicide, getting hooked on gas station heroin,” she said. “…I appreciate the opportunity to make comment… But you don’t call about when our kids are getting killed, when they’re dying. You don’t call about that.”
