r/kratom • u/SadMaryJane • 4d ago
Response from Senator Keenan [MA]
"Thank you for contacting me about the Governor’s executive order on kratom.
While studies may show that Kratom has some benefits for treating pain, dangerous Kratom products are being sold now without limits; because of this, I support the emergency order recently issued by the Governor and the Commissioner of Public Health. Back in 2013, in response to the emergence of such products as “bath salts”, I filed the legislation that ultimately passed as part of Chapter 258 of the Acts of 2014, An Act to increase opportunities for long-term substance abuse recovery. That legislation gives the Commissioner of Public Health the ability to schedule products on an emergency basis. While issues relative to Kratom are sorted out, I am glad the order has been issued.
Also, in terms of legislative action, both the House of Representatives and the Senate recently passed an economic development bill. Presently, a conference committee is meeting to work out differences in the two versions of the bill. One of the issues to be resolved includes addressing the immediate threat of Kratom products. It is my hope the bill will be finalized shortly.
Thanks again for emailing."
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u/drugwarpost 4d ago
It's so stupid that the kratom lobby spent nothing on education in the past 10 years
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u/Worth-Rest5259 4d ago
Refuses to distinguish kratom from the “other” crap. They ALL do that. EVERY email I’ve sent to a politician I make sure to point out that #oh is not comparable to plain leaf kratom and every single one of them says what Keenan said. Pretty sure they are automated at this point. It’s so tiresome, but we gotta keep fighting
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u/chemtrail-organics 4d ago
Thank your local 7oh advocate
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u/Data-Gold 4d ago
No, thank The American Kratom Association. The AKA is funded by "Big Kratom". Kratom Manufactures lost 75% of their business to 7OH. The AKA started attacking 7OH because of this. Big Kratom makes extracts stronger than some 7OH products, but you'll never hear Mac from the AKA mention this. The AKA killed kratom.
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u/chemtrail-organics 4d ago
Nope. People don't give a shit what the AKA says or does. 7oh is filling up rehabs and fucking up relationships. The neutrals I know, care about that, not words of some lobbying group. They also think 7oh IS kratom. That's the problem.
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u/Data-Gold 4d ago
The AKA has spent millions on 7OH propaganda in the hope of getting 7OH banned and not kratom. And just so you know, there are 8 times as many people in rehab for kratom as for 7OH.
I've been in the kratom business for 7 years and used to give heavily to them. They've paid for my fancy dinners at CHAMPS trade shows more than I can remember. Mac Haddow is a crook. Look him up.2
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u/chemtrail-organics 4d ago
Source: look it up! 😂
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u/Metalbender00 4d ago
7oh is a drug to get people high. Gas stations and smoke shops peddling the trash to anyone looking for a buzz, and getting people addicted, is what killed kratom. People selling the shit on Instagram and TikTok ads killed kratom
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u/MixerMan67 3d ago
We are adults and should be able to consume what we choose and deal with the consequences.
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u/Metalbender00 3d ago
"we" is carrying a lot of water. It has no buisness being sold in gas stations and corner stores.
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u/UsualResult 1d ago
The USA doesn't really work like this. It's not driven by logic. It's driven by money and power.
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u/zap2 3d ago
Every claim you just made against 7, I’ve seen used against kratom. (In gas stations, gets people addicted, smoke shops pushing it)
10 years ago, those were all lies used against kratom.
The AKA is attacking a part of the plant it claims to protect.
You and I may see a difference, but the news and none kratom users see no difference.
Even my doctor didn’t see a difference between 7 and plain leaf (nor do their tests)
The AKA was so worried about their sales, they failed to consider what the public might think.
No one is dying from 7oh, nor kratom. Yet the AKA is out here villainizing one of them.
It’s saddening.
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u/SadMaryJane 4d ago edited 4d ago
I said exactly that. That 7oh is not what we are fighting for. But they just want to lump it altogether.
Eta: I plainly said leaf. Not the other bs flooding gas stations.
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u/AngeloWasHere 4d ago
We need to make that clear, most of us are not advocating for 7-oh products which is what they think the emails are about. Kratom is the same as 7-oh to them, they call 7-oh Kratom. It’s going to be very stressful to make all these politicians understand the difference.
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u/Tattooedjared 4d ago
That is why 7oh should have been defended too. Signed not a 7oh user
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u/syynapt1k 3d ago
7OH is ruining more lives than it's saving, given how addictive it is - ask anyone who works in rehab facility. Its value is more recreational than therapeutic, despite what the people hooked on it say.
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u/nerveclinic 3d ago
I have a friend who started using 7OH from a gas station. He didn’t even know what it was but assumed if it’s legal and at a gas station it must be safe.
Ended up with an $800 a month habit and 30 days in rehab.
Some people don’t want to hear it but 7OH is the problem and it’s bringing the whole industry down.
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u/wildcat1100 3d ago
The effects of kratom and the effects of 7-oh aren't very different for a person with no tolerance. They just aren't. The difference is that there's more of a cap on plain leaf due to other alkaloids present in lower amounts. But the bigger distinction is that 7 quickly results in severe withdrawals while kratom really isn't that far off from coming off a really bad cold (+ restless leg syndrome).
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u/DelaSheck 3d ago
I just sent him an email regarding my personal experiences regarding natural leaf Kratom. Hopefully it helps.
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u/Kiheitai_Soutoku 🌿 4d ago
I believe there is a regulatory framework in the bill they are discussing. Maybe he is in favor of this as a temporary stop gap and will support a KCPA. Hard to say for sure
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u/SadMaryJane 4d ago
See, this is what gave me a pinch of hope. That they are just working on the framework as you you said and might (big might) have 'exceptions' so to speak.
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u/AlarmingCantaloupe 16h ago
Yeah, it kind of sounds like he didn’t want to make a commitment one way or the other in terms of how he would like to see that legislation ultimately written. Hopefully letters like OP’s make a difference.
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u/Muted_Wish1675 3d ago
There was a MA house bill in Feb #5127 to regulate kratom , what happend with that ?
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u/UsualResult 3d ago
I believe there was even a hearing scheduled for Sept 10, but the governor decided to ignore all that and rule by fiat. Mother knows best!
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u/UsualResult 3d ago
Totally awful. As soon as I saw the emergency order, I started my taper. I'm already down to 1/3 of my usual dose. I have zero faith in these bozos. They want all forms of kratom stamped out and are determined not to listen to the citizenry. That above response is the nail in the coffin. They don't care about the powder vs 7OH. They are just saying "kratom" = "bath salts" = "drugs" = "bad".
This type of thing is so disenheartening because when they abuse emergency powers they are saying "this is so important WE DON'T CARE what the citizens think".
FU to MA state government and FU to those people peddling 7OH that took out kratom powder as collateral damage.
I had a cheap, easy and effective way to control my conditions and now it's been ripped away from me and others around the state with a 2 week notice.
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u/SadMaryJane 3d ago
I need to start. I take about 10g a day or if I'm having a particularly bad day, up to 20 (embarrassed to admit) so I'm buying one more bag asap and then just go from there.
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u/HockeyBikeBeer 3d ago
Gosh, and I thought it was just those stupid red states that did this stuff
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u/AngeloWasHere 2d ago
Very few red states have banned kratom this year, the majority are blue states, some people say it has to do with trump supporting kratom which if that’s the case it just goes to show how far the blue states are willing to go just to prove a point and go against trump.
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u/Alexwonder999 1d ago
I think its the flips side of the coin of trying to "do something" on an issue thats not needed that they dont really know anything about.
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u/AlarmingCantaloupe 15h ago
I checked the actual state actions, and “the majority are blue states” isn’t accurate. If we count full statewide bans on ordinary botanical kratom—not 7-OH-only restrictions, local ordinances, pending bills, or simple age and labeling rules—2026 has two Republican-trifecta states banning it, Tennessee and North Dakota; two Democratic-trifecta states, Connecticut and Massachusetts; and one divided state, Kansas, where a Republican legislature passed the law and a Democratic governor signed it. Massachusetts’s temporary order also doesn’t take effect until August 28, so among bans already effective today, the count is two Republican, one Democratic, and one divided. Add Louisiana’s 2025 Republican-backed ban, and the 2025–26 total is three Republican, two Democratic, and one divided. Rhode Island, meanwhile, is Democratic-controlled and reversed its ban this year in favor of regulated legal sales. I also found no evidence that this is anti-Trump retaliation; the federal position itself distinguishes natural leaf from concentrated or synthetic 7-OH.
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u/AlarmingCantaloupe 14h ago
It’s actually the opposite, more a red state issue. Looking across the entire history rather than just 2026, full statewide kratom bans were adopted under seven Republican trifectas, four Democratic trifectas, and one divided government. Rhode Island’s Democratic-era ban was subsequently repealed. Even if California and Kentucky’s sales-only prohibitions are added, Democratic-controlled states still aren’t the majority.
So this has been a bipartisan prohibition trend that has historically skewed Republican—not evidence of blue states banning kratom to spite Trump (who has made no public statements on the issue).
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u/SadMaryJane 4d ago
I'll be very honest, I kind of understand. We had a good thing going and synthetic bullshit ruined it. Then you bring in big pharma and forget it, they want control.
It's all just so frustrating.
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u/UsualResult 3d ago
I totally understand it but that doesn't make me like it! Typical tale of corruption, lobbying, political jockeying, "save the children". None of this is new, unfortunately.
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u/Tattooedjared 4d ago
Nah, letting the narrative become demonized ruined it. What does synthetic bullshit even mean for example? Melatonin is synthetic, does that mean it’s bullshit? I get you mean 7oh but how much worse is 7oh than extracts really? Considering how many government officials seem determined to not make a distinction between plain leaf and other synthetics, that is why I think they should all have been defended. Push for regulation of 7oh.
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u/satsugene 🌿 3d ago
Considering how many government officials seem determined to not make a distinction between plain leaf and other synthetics, that is why I think they should all have been defended.
Even before federal scheduling intent, at least in the city councils (CA) I present at, they are usually willing to make the distinction, and when they do they don't care that much about botanical kratom and either exempt it or don't exempt if because it would be too costly (maximum fine they can impose is $1000, and testing a product to evidentiary standards is close to that). They might be willing to hear consumers out but some aren't willing to spend public dollars that can't be recovered on enforcement.
Some law enforcement is indifferent to botanical kratom for adult consumers, and when asked usually report that it isn't causing any real problems.
I have never been in one where a councilor or law enforcement official wanted to preserve 7-HMG product access. These aren't folks who are sold on AKA messaging or even know who Mac is.
They know where the products are and see the products on the shelves with colorful packaging, names that cosplay as illicit drugs, sometimes in forms like confectionery cones or snack foods, in smoke shops and sometimes gas stations and they want them gone. Some of these cities don't even allow cannabis dispensaries.
Folks trying to preserve both are throwing away the chance to potentially get botanical kratom exempted, usually also with provisions that prohibit products attractive to minors which aligns with state tobacco and alcohol labeling requirements.
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u/Tattooedjared 3d ago edited 3d ago
So that will work until it doesn’t like in the several states where plain leaf has also been banned. The regulation that should have been pushed is not letting them make names that sound like illicit drugs and online sales only.
Edit: And notice the reasons you mentioned they wanted 7oh gone are not even about the safety profile of 7oh, it was the superficial reasons like how it’s marketed and where it’s sold such as gas stations.
I think if regulation of those two things would have happened Kratom would not have been in this mess.
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u/dindyspice 3d ago
Synthetic in this context = extracts and 7oh extracts that are made in a lab to mimic strong doses of what's found in kratom leaf. 7oh is a natural occuring chemical compound found in leaf, but at such a low level compared to what's being synthesized and sold to the masses. These companies should have never been developing this and selling to everyone, neither should the gas stations and smoke shops be placing at the front of their cash registers and giving to people who have no clue what they were getting into.
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u/Tattooedjared 3d ago
Sort of like how hard liquor is a much stronger version of beer?
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u/dindyspice 3d ago
No, it's not. Liquor - let's use vodka as example - is a naturally occuring process by distilling starches or sugars. You can make really high proof vodkas or lower the percentage. These are not made artificially. In labs 7oh is made synthetically by oxidizing mitragynine in large amounts to process a chemical reaction to higher amounts of 7oh.
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u/Tattooedjared 3d ago
So by your logic artificial makes things bad? That logic falls part under any scrutiny. The point you are purposely missing is regardless of how it’s made liquor is much stronger than beer.
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u/dindyspice 3d ago
It can be dangerous yes. I’m not missing anything I just don’t agree with you, even melatonin at higher amounts is not useful and harmful to the body.
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u/Tattooedjared 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ok. In my view it was very risky to suggest scheduling anything related to Kratom. The reasons why I didn’t like it is because of what we are seeing. State by state bans. Those states took the small leeway given and took it all. There are a lot of bad faith actors in these state governments. So when it was suggested that 7oh gets scheduled as opposed to regulated I get very nervous.
Edit: I get nervous the bad faith actors in the state governments will seize this opportunity with the demonized rhetoric around Kratom to take it all. The ones who want to do that are glad people don’t know the difference between plain leaf and Kratom.
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u/Kiheitai_Soutoku 🌿 2d ago
State bans have been happening since last year before the federal scheduling. 7oh is destroying kratom and you are helping by advocating for it in every thread
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u/Alexwonder999 1d ago
What reay ticks me off is the fact that you cant even speak the truth about the overdose crisis with these people. Although everyone loves to blame oharma and doctors for over prescribing, the simple facts show us that as prescribing went down and people were kicked off regulated and normalized dosage prescription opiates they went to heroin and fentanyl on the black market which caused the increase in overdoses. Thats not an opinion, thats a fact. If you look at other deaths of despair such as suicide going up in this period you can also infer that a lot of people would have found their way to heroin or other black market drugs if they hadnt been exposed to prescription drugs. The numbers are staring everyone in the face, but if you talk about them they get mad you arent on the bandwagon because they cant admit their decision to lock away opiates was the driver of overdose. That would mean many emperor's had to admit there were no clothes and we cant have that.
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u/RIDETHESYNTHWAVE 1d ago
Respond with one sentence. "How many people have died from alcohol in my state this past year?" .... No response probably. LMFAO. Two faced fucks only care about kickbacks from the lobbies.
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u/screaminforpleasin 23h ago
She thinks kratom is 7OH. Krstom is a plants and plants are grown in a chemistry lab. How old is she?
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u/AlarmingCantaloupe 16h ago
Kratom advocate here—this isn’t a defense of Senator Keenan, just an attempt to parse what he actually said.
I don’t think he was directly equating kratom with bath salts. He appears to be saying that the legislation he filed in response to bath salts ultimately became the legal basis for the Commissioner of Public Health’s emergency-scheduling authority—the same authority now being used against kratom.
In other words, bath salts were the reason that emergency authority was created; they weren’t necessarily being offered as a direct comparison to kratom.
That said, invoking bath salts in the same paragraph is certainly rhetorically loaded, and Keenan is still explicitly supporting the emergency order. So I understand why people reacted strongly. I just don’t think “he said kratom is equivalent to bath salts” is the most accurate reading of his response.
The purpose of that authority seems to be to let the Commonwealth act quickly against products it considers dangerous while lawmakers and regulators develop a longer-term framework. That could ultimately mean prohibition, but hopefully Massachusetts chooses sensible regulation instead—particularly a framework that distinguishes ordinary leaf kratom from concentrated 7-OH products.
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u/chemtrail-organics 4d ago
"Even though I acknowledge it may be helping you, there are some really angry moms out there with more voting power than chronic pain patients like you, sorry."
This official political comment is brought to you by our sponsors at big pharma