North Dakota lawmakers are grappling with how to restrict kratom and related products after a stream of testimony Wednesday from people including a concerned mother, a smoke shop owner, medical professionals and others with varying views on the substance the governor recently banned.  The Legislature’s Kratom Working Group heard the testimony as it works on […]

North Dakota lawmakers on Friday began talks about restricting kratom and related substances, part of a process the public will get to weigh in on next week. Lawmakers are preparing for a special session next month called by Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong to consider prohibiting and regulating aspects of kratom products, including criminal penalties. Kratom […]

Kratom and derivative products are now illegal in North Dakota just days after Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced a ban on the substance and related derivatives.  Lawmakers are preparing to draft legislation restricting kratom for a special session. The attorney general has announced how to dispose of kratom products. And police and prosecutors will be dealing […]

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Monday declared a public health emergency banning all kratom products and called a special session of the Legislature for September to further address enforcement. Kratom is a substance derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia that officials say can be synthesized into highly potent forms and put into […]

Twenty-three deaths in North Dakota since 2019 were linked to kratom and related compounds, part of a pattern that has worried officials and sparked talks of a special legislative session to do something about it. Kratom is derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia. It’s been used as an energy booster, for pain management […]