(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s cleared a committee in the Iowa House would ban the sale of kratom – a plant-based stimulant that’s being sold in some Iowa gas stations and vape shops.
The crushed leaves from kratom trees are being used in teas or sold as a powder or pill – plus a new synthetic version has been developed. Bill backers say the adverse effects of kratom are profound. Officials say it’s being smuggled into Iowa prisons and some inmates who’ve used it have become quite violent. Sheldon Bradshaw — an attorney representing a group called the Scientific Association for Botanical Education and Research — says the group supports a ban on the synthetic version of kratom, but he says the natural botanical version of kratom has been used in Southeast Asia for centuries for its pain relieving properties and that form of kratom should remain available for sale in Iowa.
The head of the Iowa Office of Drug Control police says the state medical examiner has identified 92 cases where the primary compound in the kratom plant contributed to that death – and most of those cases were before the synthetic version of kratom was available.
