Bill > S3549

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the New Jersey Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The bill regulates the safe distribution and sale of kratom products and provides the necessary definitions for purposes of effectuating the act. The bill defines "kratom" as the tropical evergreen known as the Mitragyna speciose that is native to Southeast Asia that contains the alkaloid mitragynine, which has stimulant and opioid-like properties. The bill establishes that a kratom retailer shall disclose on the label that the product is a kratom product. The information disclosed on the label shall be regulated by the Department of Health. The Department of Health may also establish fees for registration of kratom products and may establish administrative penalties for any person who sells a kratom product with out product registration. Lastly, the bill establishes penalties and prohibitions on kratom retailers. Retailers shall not distribute or sell any kratom product to an individual under 21 years of age. If a retailer so distributes to an individual less than 21 years of age, the retailer shall be guilty of a petty disorderly offense. A petty disorderly persons offense is punishable by up to 30 days in prison, or up to a $500 penalty, or both Further, a kratom retailer shall not prepare, distribute, sell, or expose for sale: (i) any kratom product that is adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom substance; (ii) any kratom product that is contaminated with a dangerous non-kratom substance, including, but not limited to, a controlled dangerous substance as defined in the New Jersey Statutes; (iii) any kratom product containing a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction that is greater than 2% of the overall alkaloid composition; (iv) any kratom extract that surpasses the standards in USP-NF chapter 467; (v) any kratom product containing any synthetic alkaloids; (vi) any kratom product that does not include on its package or label the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine contained in such product. Violators of these rules are subject to a $500 civil penalty for the first offense, $1,000 penalty for the second offense, and in the instance of a third offense, a retailer shall be prohibited from selling kratom products for a period of 3 years. If a retailer sells kratom products during this period, the person shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by up to 30 days in prison, a penalty up to $1,000, or both. Any retailer shall have the right to request a hearing to challenge a penalty. A retailer shall not be subject to penalty or imprisonment if it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the retailer relied in good faith upon the representation of the manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor that the product represented was a kratom product.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Jon Bramnick (R)*,  Joe Lagana (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee (on 02/02/2023)

Official Document