Is Kratom Legal in Oregon in 2023?

Oregon is the 33rd state of the United States. It’s the state with the most ghost towns in the country.

It’s also the home of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US, and Hell’s Canyon, the deepest river-cut canyon in the nation. It’s also where you can find the largest living organism in the world.

Oregon is also one of the 5 states in the United States that has no sales tax.

The Beaver State pioneered the legalization of marijuana for both medical and recreational use in 2014. In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the state made another bold move. It chose to decriminalize the possession and use of small amounts of hard scheduled drugs like LSD, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine.

While it’s not accurate, authorities refer to kratom as a dangerous drug. Where does Oregon stand in terms of Mitragyna speciosa, a herb from Southeast Asia commonly known as kratom? Let’s find out.

Is Kratom Legal in Oregon?

Currently, kratom is legal throughout the state of Oregon. There have been bills with the intent to ban kratom, but they did not pass. Oregon was one of the states that were affected by the 2018 Salmonella outbreak as well as other instances of contamination. A bill to regulate kratom in Oregon passed in 2021, but the governor decided to veto it. 

In 2017, a year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to get kratom banned on a federal level, a bill was introduced. It proposed that the State Board of Pharmacy conducted a study on whether kratom and its derivative should be a controlled substance. It took a few Oregon-based core members of the American Kratom Association (AKA) by surprise.

Nonetheless, the bill failed.

In February 2018, a salmonella outbreak involving kratom began. In early March, two people were affected in the state of Oregon. Officials issued a statement urging people not to use kratom.

Later, the numbers rose to 8 in April. The Food and Drug Administration linked Oregon-based retailers to selling salmonella-contaminated kratom.

According to the last reports on this Salmonella outbreak, 199 people in 41 states suffered from it. 13 of them were in Oregon making it one of the states with the most affected people.

Studies identified several Salmonella strains that affected a number of different kratom strains with no common source.

No other attempt to ban kratom has taken place since then. Thus, kratom remains legal in Oregon.

Bill on Regulating Kratom in 2019

Another incident of impure kratom reaching the market occurred in April 2019. It involved various retailers, including some from Oregon, selling kratom with high levels of heavy metals. As a result, a series of rules were amended into an unrelated to the kratom bill. It would have required regulating and labeling kratom.

Kratom activists voiced their arguments in favor of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). It’s legislation developed by the American Kratom Association. Its aim is to make access to kratom safer for buyers and help reduce kratom-related issues.

Nonetheless, in late June 2019, the authorities amended the bill and left kratom out of it.

Legislators explained that they did not have enough time to work on the regulations. They stated that vetting and testing would have needed using new staff and equipment. They did, however, admit that they would review the regulation of kratom again in the future.

Bill on Regulating Kratom in 2020

Another bill to control kratom in Oregon was introduced at the end of January 2020. You can read more about this bill here.

Unfortunately, this kratom bill did not take effect. It died in chamber, leaving kratom unregulated in Oregon.

Efforts to Pass the KCPA in 2021

After a bold move to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs, the state may once again be on its path to regulating kratom. A new bill was introduced in January 2021 and sponsored by a substantial number of state representatives (11 Republican and 4 Democrat).

The bill aimed to:

• Prohibit kratom that contains poisonous, dangerous, or illegal substances.
• Forbid access to kratom that has been adulterated with substances that alter the potency of alkaloids and compounds naturally present in kratom.
• Prohibit distribution of kratom that contains more than 2% 7-hydroxymitragynine of the total alkaloid composition.
• Forbid selling any kratom products that contain synthetic kratom alkaloids or other derivatives of the plant.
• Require kratom merchants, manufacturers, and distributors to place labels on all kratom products disclosing the concentration of kratom alkaloids as well as dose suggestions.
• Prohibit kratom sales to persons who are under than age of 21.
• Enforce fines of up to $500 for the first offense and up to $1,000 for any subsequent offense for violating the law.
• Classify the sales of kratom to those under 21 as a Class C misdemeanor. This would lead to up to 30 days of jail time, a fine worth $1,250, or both.

This House bill successfully passed. However, Oregon Governor Kate Brown decided to veto it along with another Senate bill on mental health oversight.

The Oregon Kratom Consumer Protection Act proposes that the Oregon Department of Agriculture should regulate kratom. The governor’s reasoning for vetoing the bill was that the federal government (the FDA) is better suited to regulate the Southeast Asian herb.

Where Can You Buy Kratom in Oregon?

Since kratom is legal in Oregon, it is available in some vape, smoke, and herb shops across Oregon.

Yet, since kratom remains unregulated, this may not be the best option to purchase kratom. The fact that hard drugs are now legal in Oregon, increases the risk of buying adulterated kratom if you choose a questionable vendor. This can not only endanger your health but also put kratom legality at risk.

Therefore, we always recommend that you buy kratom online. Always do proper research and purchase kratom only from a trusted and reputable seller.

And even if you choose to order kratom online, make sure to choose kratom businesses carefully. Go for ones that are trustworthy and honest about their products. The case with Oregon-based merchants involved in the kratom Salmonella outbreak even further proves how important it is to choose a good kratom seller.

For more information on whether kratom is legal in your state and the most recent kratom legality map, you can view this blog post. 

If you are looking for a reliable and trusted kratom vendor that sells fresh, potent, and lab-tested powder, check out our kratom powder. We are a Nevada-based kratom vendor and fully comply with the Nevada Kratom Consumer Protection Act.