When people first learn about Kratom they often wonder is Kratom legal? The answer can be found in this article, and it varies based on which Country, State, and City you are in.
If you have been following the articles here on Kratom Cafe, then you are aware that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been attacking Kratom for years via a vicious misinformation campaign, and these attacks are only intensifying.
However, you may not have known that Kratom is under attack worldwide, and Kratom is banned in a large fraction of the world, as will be discussed in this article. This data shows that the idea of Kratom getting banned in the entire United States is not farfetched, God Forbid, and the Kratom community needs to aggressively fight to keep Kratom legal.
Kratom Legality In The United States
First off, although Kratom is legal in most of the United States, it is banned in plenty of places, including the states of Wisconsin, Arkansas, Indiana, Alabama, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Beyond entire states where Kratom is banned, several counties and municipalities have banned Kratom as well. This includes Sarasota County Florida, San Diego California, Jerseyville Country Illinois, Columbus City Mississippi, Union County Mississippi, and Denver Colorado.
Further, many other smaller cities across the country have banned Kratom, although it is hard to tally up an exact list.
Unfortunately, proposed Kratom bans continue to roll in, and Kratom was nearly banned in numerous other states this year. Only the vigorous efforts of the Kratom community prevented these bans. You can help to keep Kratom legal by heading over to The Kratom Federation and signing a petition to keep Kratom legal.
Kratom Legality In The Rest Of The World
It is perhaps not well known that Kratom is banned across a large swath of the planet, as can be seen in the below map.
Southeast Asia
Kratom is actually banned in most of the native region where it grows in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam. This severely limits the global supply of Kratom.
Further, Indonesia is looking to ban Kratom in the next few years, and that would cut off 95% of the United States’ Kratom supply.
The only potentially good news in Southeast Asia is that Thailand is moving towards legalizing Kratom, which could offset the loss of Indonesia’s Kratom in the future. That being said, Thailand has not finalized its Kratom legalization law, so it is not 100% confirmed yet.
The Rest Of Asia
On this map China is marked as an area where Kratom is banned. Most data sources indicate if it is unclear if China has banned Kratom, and at least one data source indicates Kratom is illegal in China. The exception is Hong Kong, where apparently the Kratom industry is flourishing, since its the only place in China where Kratom can be legally purchased.
Other Asian countries which have banned Kratom include Russia, Japan, Turkey, and Israel. Notably, Kratom remains legal in most of the Middle East despite strict drug laws in that region.
Oceania
Kratom is banned across almost the entirety of Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand. Apparently however, doctors can prescribe Kratom in New Zealand.
Remarkably, there wasn’t even a single case of Kratom abuse in Australia, but it was banned anyways, showing how tenuous the legality of Kratom is.
Europe
Kratom is banned in numerous European countries, including Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and Finland. This was largely driven by the ‘Krypton’ scare, where 9 people were killed in Sweden by a product that was labeled as Kratom but actually contained the deadly synthetic opioid O-Desmethyltramadol.
South America, North America, And Africa
Here’s some good news to end this article. Kratom is not banned in any country in South America, North America, and Africa, with the exception of the states and cities where Kratom is banned in the United States.
On a final note, the legal landscape for Kratom is constantly fluctuating, and this map will change. Kratom Cafe will continuously provide updates on changes in the legality of Kratom anywhere in the world.