The Relationship Between the U.S. Government and Kratom Prices

Kratom has been on the U.S. government’s radar since the early 2010s, which is when it first began to get more popular throughout the country. Within the last few years, there has been a lot of debate regarding whether or not the U.S. government would classify it as a Schedule I drug, which would essentially make it much harder for people to buy and use the substance without legal consequences. However, as of right now, kratom still remains off of the DEA list of Schedule I drugs and is perfectly legal in most of the country except for a handful of states. 

The Role of the FDA

This failure to be reclassified was largely due to a massive wave of public support for the drug. But despite having such widespread support, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has still made several attempts to drastically limit the amount of kratom being sold and consumed throughout the U.S. In fact, the 2016 drive to get the substance classified as a Schedule I drug was officially backed by the FDA. 

Since then, they have also made an import ban on kratom products or any other items with Mitragyna speciosa (another common name for kratom) just last year. In addition to this import ban, the FDA has also repeatedly come out publicly as saying that they do not support the use of any kratom products. 

The reason for this seemingly constant discouragement is their claim that there are currently no FDA-approved therapeutic uses of kratom. With this reasoning, they have also formally classified kratom as an unapproved drug, which severely limits how it is allowed to be advertised and sold throughout the U.S. 

This isn’t just a lot of negative press either, they are actively implementing fines to any companies found to be marketing kratom as having any kind of medical uses or benefits. In fact, they issued formal warnings to two large U.S.-based distributors in June of 2019. 

Reception of Kratom Abroad

This is much different from the treatment that kratom has received in locations overseas such as throughout the European Union (EU). Although the legality of this substance varies for each member country within the EU, much like it does within the various states of the U.S., the majority of countries have little restrictions on how this drug can be sold, bought, and consumed. 

The Impacts of Government Actions on Kratom Pricing

The open acceptance of kratom abroad has caused its price to be relatively low to remain competitive among the many local sources who can freely sell kratom to the public. In fact, depending on which country someone is buying it from, this drug can usually be purchased for anywhere from €0.20 to €0.90 per gram. 

However, this is vastly different from the state of the pricing in the U.S. Due to the continued pressure of the FDA and other government agencies, the kratom distributors have found it difficult to continue to provide products to customers in a completely legal manner. 

In order to account for the added trouble that they are forced to go through, a lot of these companies have been forced to increase their prices in order to keep afloat. Plus, the difficulty of breaking into this business has ensured that there are only a handful of reputable distributors to purchase this substance from throughout the entire country. 

As a result, the prices for U.S. customers tend to be a bit higher, sitting anywhere from $0.30 to $1 per gram. While this might not be a big difference now, this does add up when ordering large quantities of the product. Plus, if there continues to be pressure from the FDA, it could further drive the price up. But with continued education and support from the community, we can continue to make kratom more affordable for the average consumer.