Is Kratom Legal in Louisiana?

Unsuccessful efforts to ban kratom in Louisiana have occurred since 2014.

In 2014, HB19 would have added kratom and its derivatives to Louisiana's list of controlled substances. The bill died in committee.

A year later, the same bill was proposed again. Kratom was removed from the bill before it passed.

During an outbreak of salmonella in a shipment of kratom in 2018, three people in the state of Louisiana were affected. This sparked criticism of kratom and calls for it to be banned.

A bill (HR177) asked the the Louisiana Department of Health to officially study kratom and its effects and make a recommendation on whether kratom should be a controlled substance. It passed the House but did not make it past the Secretary of State's desk.

A similar bill (LA HR203) to study kratom passed in 2019. The Department completed its report and concluded, “Kratom currently has no accepted medical uses. Therefore, the Louisiana Department of Health recommends that kratom be banned from general consumption in the state, with exceptions made only in the context of well-designed scientific studies with appropriate oversight, data safety monitoring boards and regulatory approval.”

The Louisiana legislature responded by passing a law in 2019 that would automatically ban kratom in the state should the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) place kratom on the federal list of controlled substances under any schedule.

However, kratom remains legal in Louisiana, save for some parishes and towns. For example, in 2022, Ascension Parish was the first to outlaw kratom, but only prohibited the sale and not the possession of kratom. Rapides and Grant parishes both outlawed sale and possession of kratom, criminalizing not only vendors but consumers.

SB94 was signed into law in 2023. Initially a ban bill, after pressure from kratom advocates, SB94 was amended as requested by sponsor Caleb Kleinpeter to only restrict its sale to adults only. Municipalities and parishes still have the power to ban sales, possession, or both.

The Louisiana Sheriff's Association has lobbied for banning kratom statewide.

Louisiana's prison system is 100% for-profit.