Is Kratom Legal in Virginia?

Virginia has a rich cultural heritage, a diverse landscape, and is home to several prestigious universities and colleges. Virginia's economy that includes agriculture, manufacturing, technology, government, and defense sectors. The Northern Virginia region is known as the "Silicon Valley of the East" for its various tech companies.

Some Southern states have very strict laws against plant medicine. Where does Virginia stand?

In February 2016, a bill was introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that sought to classify kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance. However, due to public outcry and advocacy efforts from kratom supporters, the bill was ultimately withdrawn before it could be voted on.

Again in 2018, Virginia proposed a bill (HB 1248) to include kratom in the list of controlled substances. However, this bill did not progress and died in committee during the 2018-2019 session.

Another bill (HB 1492) was introduced in 2019 that aimed to classify kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance. However, this bill was also not passed and died in committee during the 2019-2020 session. Again during the 2020 session, Virginia considered another bill (HB 1332) that would have classified kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance. However, like previous attempts, this bill did not advance and died in committee.

In 2022, Virginia finally introduced a bill that would regulate instead of ban kratom. This bill failed to pass, but in 2023, SB1108, the Virginia Kratom Consumer Protection Act was signed by the governor into law. This adds kratom to the existing consumer protection law for other substances. It restricted the sale of impure or synthetic kratom, and maxes out the amount of 7-hydroxymitragynine at 2% of alkaloids. Only persons 21 or older can purchase kratom in Virginia. This bill went into effect in July 2023.

Therefore kratom is legal and regulated in Virginia with some protections in place for consumers.