S.B. 48 Kratom Revisions

What this bill does

This bill would place seven-hydroxy-mitragynine, a substance found in kratom that can also be made synthetically, in Schedule I of Utah's controlled substances list, which means it could not be legally sold. It exempts trace amounts that occur naturally in kratom and includes a clause tying it to a separate kratom bill.

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Every vote

• 4 yes, 0 no, 4 absentSenate Business and Labor Committee: vote to approve it · Jan 21, 2026Who voted how
• 26 yes, 0 no, 3 absentFirst of two Senate votes · Jan 22, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Jan 21, 2026 Senate Business and Labor Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (38 turns)

  1. Committee chair (presiding)1:44:01

     We'll now call Senate Bill 48 Creative Revisions. Senator Vickers.

  2. Sen. Evan J. Vickers1:44:05

     Yeah. Thank you. Um, Mr. Chair and committee, we, you know, there's been a lot of discussion, um, about creto like products, and seven, specifically seven hydroxy matine. Uh, seven hydroxy matine, uh, occurs naturally and creto and very small amounts, but it also can be easily synthesized and added to products. Um, it meets all the criteria of being an opioid like substance. You know, there's like an eight, eight point criteria. It meets those criteria. Uh, if you, if you have someone that has overdosed on it, you can give naloxone and they respond, you know, so it is essentially, you can consider it just like an opioid. Um, there's been a lot of discussion nationally. Um, you may followed some of those stories. Uh, Florida, uh, passed a bill similar to what we're proposing here. Actually, ours is a little tighter, but, uh, they proposed, uh, that it be scheduled a schedule one, seven hydroxy reine be scheduled as a schedule one with an exception that, uh, certain trace amounts. So recognizing that naturally occurring raum, the natural occurring Creto plant does have small amounts of seven hydroxy reine in it. And so they, they defined that, um, I'm trying to remember. I think they defined it as 1% of the total alkaloid in that product. Now, that actually, in my, my mind, uh, you can play with that because you can bulk up the number of alage in a product to where you can get a higher and higher concentration of seven hydroxy. Therefore, we've chosen a little bit of different path in our bill, um, US Department of Health and Human Services under direction of, uh, director RFK came out and made a, a statement that they recommended, very similar to what Florida had done, that seven hydroxy be scheduled, uh, to a Schedule one, which means deems schedule one in a, uh, controlled substance means that is deemed to have no medicinal value and therefore is not legal to cell. Um, currently cannabis is, uh, schedule one, although it's being proposed to be rescheduled. Uh, you can think of there's a number of different illegal substances, LSD and many others that are deemed to be schedule schedule one, and they're still out there, you know, you can find 'em illegally. Uh, but so the proposal form from the Department of Health and Human Services was, we reschedule. And as we've had discussions here in the state of Utah, throughout, throughout the interim, there is a lot of stories. And, and, uh, I think Senator Weiler referenced the one, you know, one most likely. And, and most of the, and I've tried to follow up when people have come, either testified or met with me and said, you know, I've got a, a loved one that was, you know, addicted to a pro, you know, a crad product, or there was a, you know, or died from it or something. I try to dig down and find out if the product they were taking was in the high concentration of seven hydroxy or something else. Typically they were, I've, you know, I've, I've yet to find someone that, that didn't, uh, that the product they were taking didn't have significant amounts of seven hydroxy in it. So it, it, it's obvious that it's, it's a danger to the public. And, um, we seem, you know, we've, we've discussed this throughout the interim, come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is propose that we do something similar to what is being proposed in Florida, and also, you know, from US Department of Health and Human Services. So this bill specifically would, um, schedule seven hydroxy ine as, uh, a Schedule one. And we're also doing something a little different. Now, we do make an exception and say, except for trace amounts, but on our, our definition of the trace amount is much tighter. So we're looking, if you look like lines 5 75, unless specifically accepted or unless listed in another schedule, the following substances commonly found in ragina speciosa, including synthetic versions, isomers ester, ester salts, and salts of isomers esters and that, et cetera, we're going to then going down into line, um, 5 83, say that exception is 0.4% of the total cranium alkaloid. Now, that may sound insignificant, but the difference is this 1% of the total alkaloid of a product could have other, other alkaloids besides cranium alkaloids. We're trying to hone in on the amount of, uh, seven hydroxy that's in that product. So the 0.4% of the total crem alkaloid composition means only, you know, the, the only accepted amount of seven hydroxy that can be in that product is 0.4% of the naturally occurring seven hydroxy. That's in a crem, natural crem product. So it's very inter, it's, it, it basically reduces the amount of, uh, seven hydroxy that could even be available. Now, here, again, recognizing that there's another bill out there that, uh, could pass, and if it does pass in the form that's, you know, originally being presented as a, a complete ban on creto, then there would be a coordinating clause in that bill that would take out that exception. So, seven hydroxy would still be scheduled as schedule one, but the exception, meaning the trace amount would be removed. Now, if you look at the fiscal note and the fiscal note is, is large, and, um, the most of that fiscal note is coming from corrections. I have to admit, I have not had a chance to talk to corrections. I can only assume that their, their, um, validation for that would be a significant increase in people that they would have to put in jail. Now, I don't know, I, I kinda disagree with that, and I'll have some discussions with corrections and we'll work on that portion of the bill, but at least that's, that's what I have to surmise at this point. But I had, I do want to disclose, I have not had those conversations with him, so I don't know for sure. Um, and with that, Mr. Chair, that's, that's the, the bill in a nutshell, it's pretty simple, really. We're just gonna propose to reschedule it and, uh, make it an illegal substance, you know, which means that there's an off, it does mean that there's a lot of creto products that are currently being sold that would no longer be able be able to be sold. You. Essentially, you're narrowing it down to just naturally occurring Creto creto products that have a very, very small amount of seven hydroxy in, in a natural occurring state.

  3. Committee chair (presiding)1:51:03

     Okay, that's, I don't see any questions from the committee. Is there anyone from the public that would like to testify? Come on up.

  4. Aimee Cooper1:51:27

     Thank you. State your name and be sure you sign up when you leave. Hi, Senator Vickers. Um, my name is Amy Cooper and I live in Orem, Utah. I have a son who returned from an LDS mission, who's a good kid with tons of promise. Um, he's, he was playing collegiate volleyball and a teammate, and him and Uintah the gas station during a tournament to grab some drinks. And it's there where they saw, feel free, it's a small blue bottle, looks like five hour energy, and it's marketed calming energy, focusing your mind. And it was something that spoke to them, and so they bought it. Um, he didn't have to provide id, it was assumed safe. It looked like a botanical, whole food shot of kava. He and his teammates would often drink kava after tournaments or games, and he knew it was a muscle relaxant. It was something he was familiar with. Um, he didn't know what Raum was. He thought it was an added ingredient that wasn't a big deal, and he saw that it wasn't regulated. Again, he didn't have to provide any id. So basically a 10-year-old could walk into a gas station and buy this stuff, and no one would think anything of it. So he bought it. Um, he thought Utah of Allstate would protect him from something this's harmful that anyone at any age could buy at a gas station. This, and I will point out, um, feel free, I think has a 0.2%, um, 7 0 8 content. So, um, just making sure that's clear. But this unfortunately led to an addiction. Um, this poison started negatively changing the way he thinks. It put him on a mental health leave from his job, which he eventually lost. He dropped out of school. It's damaged relationships, and he since moved out of state, He is one of the lucky ones who realized this is bigger, bigger than he is, and he needs professional help. He's been clean for 29 days, and he's working with a sponsor, an addiction specialist, and a counselor to help him detox this poison from his life and to get his life back as a family. We're doing all we can to support him through this, but I lost my son for a year, and it could have been forever. So many families and so many innocent victims fall victim to this harmful substance, and it's destroying their lives. A close friend of mine, sister used Kratom, and it became a gateway, Juab gateway drug to meth. She's a mother of three who died in November from an overdose. I plead with you as a mom to please ban the raum extract from all gas stations and protect our children and our families.

  5. Committee chair (presiding)1:55:20

     Thank you. Okay. Anyone else? Come on up.

  6. Walter Plumb, Drug Safe Utah1:55:39

     My name is Walter Plum again, uh, president of Drug Safe, Utah. I, I'll admit, Senator Vickers Bill is a vast improvement of the 1999 Act, which is now in a place. Um, I think it's a, uh, but it doesn't go far enough. And I'm gonna tell you why. Um, and I'm not going to address 7 0 8, which is illegal under federal law right now. I'm gonna talk about Creighton, less than 2% levels. The Mayo Clinic just said, Creighton, unsafe and ineffective users swear by Creighton for lifting mood and boosting energy. But there are many safety issues. My tra Janine alone produces opiate-like effects and poses. Significant risk. Regular use can lead to physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms, severe side effects, adverse effects, including seizures, liver toxicity, psychosis, cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure. My own daughter who had a preexisting high blood pressure after taking Krato in the form of a T with regular use, her blood pressure Uintah 180, and she had a stroke resulting in eight months of rehab at the University of Utah. It affects the nervous system, causes dizziness, hallucinations, delusions, depressions, trouble breathing, which is the reason for the deaths. Confusion, tremors and seizures. Teens are at a special risk because of easy access in marketing. In Utah, you can be 18 years old, which are some high school seniors, and you can buy Creto everywhere. It's a gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops, and places frequented by teens. Packaging also mimics, uh, candy gummies and novelty items. Calling Creto Natural or an energy booster minimizes perceived risk developing brain, um, brains. A developing brains and adolescents are more susceptible to addiction and long-term cognitive disruption from opiate exposure. Early use increases lifetime vulnerable, vulnerable vulnerability to substance use disorders, withdrawal drives continual use. It mirrors opiate, uh, withdrawal, intense craving, anxiety, agitation, and physical symptoms. I'm talking about regular use. The state has a clear duty to prioritize, uh, child safety. The responsible policy is to prohibit the sale of Kratom and Kratom derived alkaloids statewide. A ban removes the easy retail channels that fuel adolescent experimentation and reduces normalization of an of an opiate. An 18-year-old buying an energy product at a gas station should not risk later psychosis, addiction, liver failure or worse. Utah must put kids first. Let's pass Senator ml's, bill Senator, senate Bill 45 or equivalent legislation. Thank you.

  7. Committee chair (presiding)1:59:00

     Thank you, Mr. Plumb. Come on up.

  8. David Kyle, Utah Eagle Forum1:59:13

     Okay. I'm David Kyle with Utah Eagle Forum, and we want to express our gratitude for Senator Cullimore Vickers and, and, uh, his work in this area. And, um, while we are opposed to this bill, we love the progress that it, that it, it moves towards what we want to e and the reason we want to, uh, explain the reason why we are, um, against this is because we have a menu that we have a menu of bills to pick from. And, uh, we, we believe the responsible choice is to do a full out ban. And with regulation being a false promise, uh, to regulate, would legitimize an opioid acting substance, create a state endorsed liability, shields Lock Utah into permanent, create a marketplace. So, uh, we we're happy that there's a lot of focus and attention to this matter and appreciate, uh, Senator Vickers work. Thank you.

  9. Committee chair (presiding)2:00:17

     Thank You, Senator McCarey. Yeah,

  10. Sen. Daniel McCay2:00:30

      Thanks. Uh, quick question for you, David. So if we don't pass Senator Vickers, bill, we don't get increased enforcement and those components right? Through taxes, right, Right. Through through S Bill. Oh, that's the other bill. That's Right. That's the other bill, yes. Right. Yes. But The three different bills, right. We've got a menu here, Right? So the, I guess the question I'm trying to answer, uh, like I agree with the Senator Kel proposal, right? That's correct. Yes. So I'm trying to figure out what if something else comes up and stops, you know, that Bill and we don't get the enforcement or we, you know, those kinds of things. That's, that's what I'm struggling to figure out. So I'm in favor of Senator, but if you don't get the money for enforcement, Well, no, I'm saying if this studio of bills that Senator Ipson is bringing forward, if for some reason Senator ml's, bill passes Senator Rips or Senator Vickers bills won't matter. But if, um, is that, do you have a correction? Can

  11. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:01:34

      I interject? Actually, that's not actually correct. Okay. Help me out. So his, his bill's talking specifically about Kratom, this is seven hydroxy. Seven hydroxy could still be synthesized and added to other products if we, even if we didn't, even if, uh, we didn't do anything with Kratom. Right? So, seven Hydroxy, we're narrowing down on this fact that seven Hydroxy is a very dangerous product, and we don't wanna see that in Raum or any other product. Right? So this really needs to pass so that we have that on the books, that it takes that off the market. And then you can deal with raum, whether you, That's what I wanted to clarify, because you guys are Yeah.

  12. Sen. Daniel McCay2:02:08speaker not certain

      'cause you guys are, you know, uh, I understand where you're coming from. We would prefer, you know, your group prefers the ban and We're worried about legitimizing, Legitimizing. Well, When you, you know, your tax, if, if you create the loophole mm-hmm. You know, you, you, you, and then we have a plan to, we have another bill to tax it. So you're base, you're creating, I mean, you're, you're, you're shielding this the small percentage, right? Not, not, Not this, the small of, of seven hydroxy, Not this one. No. Yeah. If you shove Shield seven hydroxy anything raised percent, right? No. You're violating the laws. Anything except 0.4% of the, so think of it this way, if I could, I'm sorry, I'm, I'm interjecting Mr. Chair. I, I think there's a fundamental under misunderstanding about what you're trying to accomplish. And that's why I, I would love to hear from you, Senator Vickers. 'cause I I agree with you and I agree with them, and I'm trying to figure out how, why we aren't on the same page, at least on this specific issue. Yeah.

  13. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:03:09

      So, and, and I know that, uh, Mr. Kyle is talking about the fact that he favors a, a complete ban on Krem. Yeah. Now, that would take away any Krem product, including naturally occurring seven hydroxy, but that seven hydroxy is still capable of being synthesized and putting in, in any many other products. Mm-hmm. So if we don't pull seven hydroxy off the market, but it as a Schedule one, then even if that bill passed, we could still have seven hydroxy, uh, damaging people in the state of Utah. Yeah. So that's why you need, you need both. Sorry.

  14. Sen. Daniel McCay2:03:44

      So you're saying Mike's bill, um, it would not, would not cover the seven hydroxy, right? If it was separated, correct.

  15. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:03:51

      Right. Seven hydroxy is a separate entity that yes, it's naturally occurring in natural kratom, but if you disband the sale of Kratom products, other individuals could synthesize seven hydroxy and put it in hemp. They could put it in whatever product out there.

  16. Sen. Daniel McCay2:04:08speaker not certain

      This is what I understood. If we don't have the regular, this is, this is the part that I understood, which is why I think, uh, this is, I'm just taking some leisure, I guess, or some leave here.

  17. Unknown speaker2:04:22speaker not certain

      The, I think we want to take and ban that hydroxy seven period and your goal Van Kratom. I think those are both complimentary, is what Senator Bickers is saying.

  18. Sen. Daniel McCay2:04:34speaker not certain

      But I, I think, I mean, in as to, uh, Mr. Plump's comments, like any level of seven hydroxy is Is Yeah. Is not safe. And if, if I could continue to clarify.

  19. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:04:45

      Yeah, yeah. So what he, and, and you're right, we're all talking about the same goal, trying to get these dangerous products off the market to harm, to harm people in the state. This bill doesn't go as far as the Senator ML'S bill would be, simply because we're, we do recognize that if raum stays on the market in a naturally occurring, we're going to limit the amount of seven hydroxy down to the very smallest amount that could be naturally occurring in cradle. So if you think about, um, a bucket and you've got this bucket out there, and it's, it's got seven hydroxy and both naturally occurring and synthesized, we're gonna take care of all of it except this little bit.

  20. Sen. Daniel McCay2:05:30

      Yeah. And then, and then if Senator ml's bill passes, then that goes, So if I understand correctly, this is a belt and suspenders type of, uh, type of deal where we've got, we've got Senator Vickers with the just in case approach on Hydroxy seven, and the other limitations taxing component, if the policy of the legislature is to leave the enforcement, that that's one component, right?

  21. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:05:57

      It's possible for both to pass. And it seems like you would be happy with that outcome because Senator ML'S bill will ban all of those issues, the taxing component, all of that will go away.

  22. Sen. Daniel McCay2:06:14

      You know what I mean? Is your, is your concern, uh, that if those things pass it, that this bill, that ML'S bill won't get the same consideration as as these parts? I believe That was, um, one of the concerns. Okay. Moving forward. I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to boil into, because I, I legitimately, I think you're kind of, I mean, you're on the same page in a lot of ways. Senator ml wants to go, you know, four or five, 10 steps further than Senator Vickers. He's setting up a, you know, a regulatory structure that if we continue to sell, but if Senator ml's bill is, we just ban it. I, I don't think Senator Vickers bills will be as important in that structure, but if for some reason it doesn't pass or there's some other issue or whatever, it happens, my fear is if we don't do that, and then we can't enforce and deal with, you know, like the limitations on hydroxy seven so that it's not an, an enriched product or, you know, supplemented with those things. My fear, I, it's just I look at both of those and I'd love to see them continue to move forward. And maybe Senator Vickers would say, well, Senator McGill's bill is going to pass. You know, it's just, I guess it's the tortoise in the hare of the legislature like this, this bill.

  23. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:07:26

      Actually, I'm gonna have to reiterate though, that this particular bill Is still Yeah. Right. Yeah. It needs to, it needs to pass. We need to get seven hydroxy off the tail, no matter whether it's in crem or not. Yeah. So, you know, if you, if you're a purist and you want to totally ban creto and ban seven hydroxy, you gotta have both. Yeah. This bill's this bill is, is, is, I think augmenting helping.

  24. Sen. Daniel McCay2:07:49speaker not certain

      And what I'm getting is this will also, sorry, Senator is like, this will also cover, uh, synthetic Yes, yes. That's generated off that There could be, there could be, uh, implemented in other products Yeah. That don't necessarily have the Kratom label. Yes. Right. And so that's why I'm a, I'm just a little bit confused about how we accomplish, uh, both objectives. I think there's a meaningful way forward for both of the issues, but this bill on the Hydroxy seven is, feels more important than the other two of Senator B'S bills given your position on the, on Senator Michel's, is that correct? I, Go Ahead, sorry. Yes, I would say that, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

  25. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:08:28

      The, the, the one that we just, you know, moved forward, you know, one on one simply is setting up a taxing, uh, criteria if Kratom still stays on the market. Yeah. There'll be revenue coming in to regulate it. Yeah. This bill is taken care of a, a very dangerous product that not only exists naturally in Kratom, but is synthesized and added to some CRE products and could potentially be synthesized and put in other products.

  26. Sen. Daniel McCay2:08:54

      Okay. That helps me a ton. So thank you. Appreciate it.

  27. Committee chair (presiding)2:08:57

      Thank you. Alright. Appreciate you. Appreciate you too. Is there anyone else in the public that'd like to speak to this? We, oh, excuse me. Senator Weiler.

  28. Sen. Todd Weiler2:09:08

      I, I, I think my, uh, my questions have been resolved. Thank you.

  29. Committee chair (presiding)2:09:13

      Thank you. No one else in the public. We have some someone online. Ryan, Ryan and Midvale, would you identify yourself and go ahead and speak?

  30. Ryan Niddel, Diversified Botanic2:09:41

      Yes. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I'm Ryan Del, partner and CEO of Diversified Botanic. We're a Draper, Utah based creative manufacturing, sales and distribution company. We manufacture complete alkaloid profile crem products and employ anywhere between 75 and 125 full-time employees that are all Utah residents. We've been in business for roughly 14 years, and have made deliberate science-based decisions to manufacture only complete alkaloid profile products. We have never and will never manufacture seven oh h products or the substrates of seven oh h pseudo andal, MGM 15, and a series of additional other harmful semi synthetics that are on the market. Research has shown that these seven oh products are anywhere between 13 and 46 times more potent than morphine at the opioid receptor site. I wanna take just a moment and thank Senator Vickers for sponsoring not only the Bill 48, but also Senate Bill one oh ones. That's legislation, of course, that continues Utah's national leadership in creating sensible scientific based regulation with establishing funding mechanisms that appropriately place the burden of enforcement on manufacturers where we ultimately think it should be. And thank you to all the members of this body for your commitment, uh, to science-based, evidence-based policymaking that protects etonians while preserving access to legitimate botanic products. Legislation represents a precise regulatory approach that science to us really demands. I'll be as direct as I can be. Seven oh h demonstrates substantially greater mu opioid receptor potency than mitro gyne. And the risk of overdose is on seven oh h significantly more potent than morphine causing almost immediate respiratory depression. A September 25th, a September, 2025 study in rats found that 7 0 8 significantly created respiratory depression comparable with morphine, which was as center of Vicar, made mention reverse by Naloxone. The FDA went as far then as to offer a technical assessment that was documented in July of 2029 or 2025, where they understood the firsthand proliferation of concentrated seven oh H products, newly marked chewables tablets, shots, gummies, syrups, nasal sprays, all created with a chemical oxidation of gyne and sold through both online and brick and mortar retailers. There's a distinct and critical designation that the legislation is correctively, recognizing the 7 0 8 in naturally occurring trace elements, specifically as a metabolite of creto is typically less than a Senator Vicar says, uh, less than 1% of any natural alkaloid profile. However, the semis synthesized 7 0 8 products contain roughly 98% seven hydroxy. This legislation draws a specific scientifically based evidential line, which is imperative. I also stand in strong support of Senate Bill 1 0 1, which of course creates a funding mechanism essential to drive home meaningful enforcement regulation without funding is aspirational without execution. We ultimately believe that a lot of the financial burden should fall on us as manufacturers of freedom products send Bill 1 0 1 ensures that those of us who could profit from the industry also bear responsibility for its integrity. At Diversified Botanic Draper Base Utah Company, we welcome this accountability with open arms. As a responsible manufacturer, we understand that wealth funded regulatory apparatus is separates legitimate operators from bad actors and would ultimately protect both consumers and the long-term viability of our industry. Of course, Utah is not alone in this fight. As Senator Vickers has made mention, diva Divine Diversified Botanic actively supports the Federal Freedom Consumer Protection Act, as well as the actions taken by HHS and FDA, which we've been a part of. The KCPA has been sponsored by Senator Mike Lee, a u Utah Republican Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Representative Jack Bergman of Michigan bipartisan legislation would require the FDA to hold a hearing, to establish a task force to drive this home. We're also supporting ongoing efforts in Florida, Texas, in Utah, and anywhere possible to inform the necessity for responsible guardrails put around the creative industry while banning seven oh h members of Senate. Allow me to illustrate why this distinction matters, using a simple analogy that captures the pharmacological reality. Apple seeds contain a trace amount of a compound called Amin, which converts to cyanide when metabolized. When metabolized and digestive system, the chemical degrades into highly poisonous hydrogen cyanide. A lethal dose of hydrogen cyanide can kill you within minutes. Yet eating a few apple seeds is unlikely to cause any symptoms whatsoever. However, if you drank large quantities or crushed ground seeds could result in cyanide poisoning very quickly. Of course, we don't ban apples. The average adult would need to eat anywhere between 150 to several thousand crushed seeds, depending on the apple variety to be at risk of cyanide poisoning in the natural state. Of course, apples are safe, nutritious, and beneficial, but if someone extracted, concentrated, and sold purified apple seeds, it'd be 50 times more potent than natural apple seeds. The same principle ultimately applies natural crem leaf containing trace elements of seven hydroxy. This matters tremendously, especially as we look at the science and the data. A Johns Hopkins medical survey, over 2,700 krem consumers found that 91% reported to be taking krem to alleviate pain. 67% took it to alleviate anxiety, 65% for depression. 45% said they took it to help with getting off of opioids and treat opioid withdrawal. That same body of research found that fewer than 3% of the responses met any level of criteria for moderate or severe substance abuse disorder. If we compare that to opioids, opioids are anywhere between 10 and 12%. Our veterans, many of who have fought personal battles with chronic pain, opioid addiction, depression, PTSD, deserve access to a naturally occurring product to help alleviate those symptoms. The American C Freedom Association has launched the American Veterans for Kratom Safe Program to ensure that veterans have their voices heard in this conversation around keeping Kratom available. We at Diversified Botanic believe in clear and transparent labeling and having a 21 and over threshold for products. We believe the product should have standard serving sizes, metered serving sizes be sold behind the counter require ID and third party verification. We believe in having it be clear and transparent labeling that's easy to read and easy to understand. We've operated through that lens significantly, consistently over the past history of our business. Many states are adopting the same sort of regulatory frameworks. In closing, I wanna leave you this question. It's not really really to regulate or not to, it's whether we're able to regulate intelligently based off of science. Utah led the nation in 2019 by passing the KCPA, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. This legislation SB 48 and SB 1 0 1 represents the na next natural evolution of that leadership. While strengthening the ban on dangerous synthetics, regulatory responses should be concentrated and focused on the parts that cause the most harm being 7 0 8. I'm happy to answer any questions, and I appreciate your time from the committee.

  31. Committee chair (presiding)2:17:51

      Thank you for your comments. We have one more online, Mr.

  32. Mac Haddow, American Kratom Association2:18:23

      Hadow. Well, thank you, uh, members of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity. Uh, my name is Mac Hadow, M-A-C-H-A-D-D-O-W, and I'm the Senior fellow on Public policy with the American Kratom Association. I just wanted to speak on behalf of consumers, which our association represents the more than 23 million Americans who consume Kratom on a regular basis. In 2019, when Utah became the first state to enact what is now 19 states that have passed various forms of cre, consumer Protection Acts, its thrust was to protect access of responsibly formulated, properly regulated and age restricted crem products. That pioneering effort by the, uh, the, the state of Utah has led to numerous states now concluding that that's the appropriate regulatory framework. The Food and Drug Administration has made a substantial change in their view of natural cranium leaf products, when in July of, of, of 2025, they announced that they were going after 7 0 8 products, which are chemical, chemical manipulations of the natural cradle product, and that they were not focused on natural cradle products, assuring that individual consumers would have the benefits that dozens and dozens of Utah consumers spoke at the original hearing. And thousands have spoken since across the country about how responsible use of Kratom has helped them improve the quality of their lives. And for many has Im has saved their lives. We think that should be the bedrock principle that Utah will continue to have. And we fully support this legislation that identifies the true culprit in all of the reports, recent reports and spikes in allegedly kratom adverse events and fatalities, which are actually mirroring what happened when the, uh, when the 7 0 8 came onto the marketplace in September of 2025. Uh, these are important distinctions that need to be made, or I'm sorry, 2023 important distinctions that need to be made in order to have the right, correct public policy. And we will continue to work with the legislature to protect consumer access and to make sure that the bad products are appropriately restricted from being available to consumers because of their adverse events. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Glad to answer any questions.

  33. Committee chair (presiding)2:20:46

      If there are any, uh, from committee members. I see none. Thank you for your input. We have one more online.

  34. Seth Stewart2:21:15

      All right. Uh, can you hear me? Yes. State your name, please. Yeah, this is Seth Stewart, um, American Fork Resident. Uh, just representing myself. Um, I, I, I do have some concern around this, uh, because there have been reports of, uh, propensity for substance use disorders developing around the use of raum. I believe that the, um, rather large market size nationally is a testament to the fact, uh, that it is a, uh, very widespread thing, that there is significant potential for, uh, for, for substance use, uh, disorders and possible addictions and other harms. I don't, uh, feel that this has been adequately studied. Um, I would recommend for the cons, uh, the consideration of the committee, uh, that there be a trust fund that rather than, um, using the fees and tax revenues from this, uh, industry, uh, as revenue for the government, that it be, uh, set aside as a trust fund that could be allocated and earmarked for, uh, essentially on a retainer to, uh, provide reimbursement for people who may be struggling with substance use disorders and other adverse outcomes that may, uh, arise from this. And that would accomplish two things. One, it would, um, eliminate the potential conflict of interest, uh, to where there's now a regulated business, uh, that, uh, they can have an addictive potential and harmful potential to where the government could be profiting off of. That would eliminate that. And secondly, it would, uh, provide a mechanism for, for accountability and restitution for, for victims. And I, I do personally know of some individuals who have, uh, struggled with this and have, have had some interactive effects and so on with other, uh, lifestyle choices that, uh, are not actually healthy for, for consumers nor the benefit to our society. So thank you for your consideration.

  35. Committee chair (presiding)2:23:07

      Thank you for your input. Is that all that appears to be all the online? So Senator Vickers with close public comment and bring them back to committee for action.

  36. Sen. Evan J. Vickers2:23:20

      Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. And I, I appreciate all the comments, questions. I think, you know, some of these clarifying discussions have really been helpful today and trying to understand this very complicated arena. So with that in mind, uh, I, Mr. Chair, I would make a motion that we favorably recommend Senate Bill 48.

  37. Committee chair (presiding)2:23:40

      That's an order. Anyone have discussion with that Bill? Seeing none. Bring it back to you for summation. I'll waive. Okay. I place the motion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Move. I rule that motion passes unanimously

  38. Unknown speaker2:24:14speaker not certain

      Was helpful. What do you mean?

• Jan 22, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (17 turns)

  1. Sen. Evan J. Vickers20:42

     What it does is we're scheduling proposing to Schedule seven hydroxy and another related product as a Schedule one controlled substance. That means it's deemed to have no medicinal value, similar to what heroin is, uh, LSD. And they would take it off, take it off the streets. So there is an exception though, because of currently creto can be sold. There is an exception that trace amounts as defined by 0.4% of the crem alkaloid of the pro of a product, which is a very, very small amount, would be still, uh, legal. Now if, uh, if we move forward and Senator ML'S bill on a band does pass, then there would be a coordinating clause that would pull that out. But think of it this way, if you've got a bucket full of 7 0 8, this bill 48 takes care of all but this little piece down in the corner. And then if, and that would still be there. If Senator ml's bill passes, then that little piece would go away. But the bottom line is 7 0 8. I can't even tell you how dangerous, if you have followed the news, you've seen that there's been deaths associated with it here in the state of Utah nationally. You've seen that, uh, the US Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy have proposed that it be scheduled as a Schedule one. Uh, Florida has taken similar action to what our bill is doing. Only it's our, our definition of trace amounts is actually tighter than Florida's. So that, that's the narrative. And like I say, the misunderstanding last night was that some people that are really in favor of a ban felt like this wasn't going too far. When it took, I think, you know, with the help really is Senator McKay and asking some questions last night in committee, and this is where committee work work really does its job. Asking those questions, I think that we were able to, to clarify that with the public that was there, that, uh, you know, we need both, you know, we definitely need this bill simply because if, if cre, if right now seven hydroxy is primarily found in K*m, but if it goes and say, let's say Creto goes away, but there's, that still would allow them to synthesize seven hydroxy and put it into other elements. Now, seven hydroxy at a higher level is illegal and is, and still, and it's an illegal substance. It's a black market substance. And if you talk to, you know, people that are in the drug task force in that they're, you know, they're rating places and finding all sorts of, this bottom line is it meets all the criteria, the eight point criteria of being an opioid. If you find someone that is overdosed on seven hydroxy, you give 'em Narcan, they respond. It's a dangerous, dangerous, uh, substance, and we need to get it off and get it off the streets and out of our products here in the state of Utah. So that, I know that's a longer narrative than I really need on this bill because it's really pretty simple. But at the same token, I want everybody to understand kind of the dynamics and the political dynamics of what's going on here because we have, we have three bills that we're talking about that are related, at least in the Senate side, they're related to krato. This one is dealing primarily with seven hydroxy, getting that taken care of. And there there'll be a couple of other bills that we'll discuss. Uh, but one, one today probably, and then one later on in, in committee. But anyway, that Mr. President, I'm open for any questions.

  2. President (presiding)24:12

     Thank you for the presentation. Senator Mikel,

  3. Sen. Ann Millner24:16

     Go ahead. Thank you, Mr. President. I wanna rise in support of this bill. Um, I appreciate Senator Vickers. We've been working together right, right from the start when I started, when I opened a bill to, to ban Kratom and the Senator Vickers. Exactly, exactly right. I means 7 0 8 can be synthesized with without Kratom Kratom. Um, I absolutely think we should, we should ban creto. But this is an important, important bill. Um, unfortunately, and I, and I think the center's exactly right. It's, it is way too easy to synthesize and it's, and it's incredibly dangerous. It is, it is, without a doubt, the most dangerous part, part of, of the Kratom. And I think this is a great bill. It is unfortunate what happened yesterday in the committee hearing. I think there was, there was probably more confusion than there needed to be. But this is a great, this is a great step and a great bill. Thank you.

  4. President (presiding)25:02

     Thank you Senator Plumb.

  5. Sen. Jen Plumb25:05

     Thank you Mr. President. I also rise in support of this bill and, and without hopefully being too repetitive, echo the sentiments of both of my colleagues and cannot express how dangerous this seven hydroxy component is. It there has no right need being out in our communities. And it is simply, uh, something that has come to be so that people, uh, can make money. It has, there's no good use for this substance. And I applaud the Senate good Senator Vickers effort for going forward and taking this off our shelves. Thank you.

  6. President (presiding)25:39

     Thank you. Looking for further discussion, saying I to you Senator Vickers summation on motion.

  7. Sen. Evan J. Vickers25:45

     Yeah. Thank you Mr. President. As, and we, and I mentioned in committee last night, if, if you're someone who really wants to ban creto, you want to vote for this bill because you really want to get rid of seven hydroxy. If you're one that just falls in another category that just wants, that wants to allow natural freedom to be still on the market, but be highly regulated, you want to vote for this bill because we still need to get rid of the 7 0 8, which is so dangerous. So with that, I would, uh, wa further summation and move that Senate Bill 48. Be read a third time.

  8. President (presiding)26:20

     Thank you. And the question is, shall Senate bill 48 be read a third time? Roll call vote.

  9. Unknown speaker (roll call)26:25

     Senator Vickers Baldy Aye. Lein Aye. Bramer bus Comore Aye. Escamilla Fillmore Aye. Grover Harper Hankins Ipson Aye. Johnson Aye. K. Juab a McKay Aye. Mikel Milner Musselman Owens Aye. Pitcher Plum Aye. Rebe Sandal Aye. Stevenson Aye. Stratton? Yes. Vickers. Aye. Weer Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye. President Adams Aye.

  10. President (presiding)27:16

      Senate Bill 48, having received 26 sha votes, zero nay votes to three being absent, uh, shall be read a third time.

  11. President (presiding)27:24

      First substitute Senate bill one 17. First substitute Senate bill one 17 Occupational and professional licensing amendments. Senator Sandall.

  12. President (presiding)27:33

      Senator Sandall, hold your mic's on now. Sorry,

  13. Sen. Scott D. Sandall27:38

      President. This, uh, bill is, uh, 5,000 lines of code that, uh, does some cleanup in, uh, in that we've been working on for a couple of years. It also, um, clarifies a, a problem that we had with a cosmetology bill that we, that I ran last year, uh, that, uh, reduces, um, some licensure. And with this, if this bill passes, it, uh, helps a, a segment of the cosmetology industry, uh, only have to have one license instead of three, which was part of a mistake I guess we made last year in the, in the bill that we passed. Um, there are, uh, another, uh, maybe one or two gram or technical changes. I'm waiting for, uh, the attorney to get back on. Uh, eventually there will be another sub with those in it. But for today I would, uh, I would ask that, uh, we, uh, we, we can do that on third reading without, I would be open for any questions.

  14. President (presiding)28:44

      Senator Sandall, I don't see questions, so I'm going to you for action.

  15. Sen. Scott D. Sandall28:48

      I would move that first substitute to Senate Bill one 17. Be read a third time. Thank

  16. President (presiding)28:52

      You. And the question is, shall first substitute Senate Bill one 17? Be read a third time. Roll call vote.

  17. Unknown speaker (roll call)28:56

      Senator Vickers Baldy Aye. Blu Brammer bus Colmore Aye. Escamia Aye. Fillmore Aye. Grr. Aye.