SC lawmakers renew push to crack down on kratom

ROCK HILL, S.C. — There’s a new push to crack down on kratom in South Carolina.

It’s advertised as a supplement to help relieve pain, but experts say that in high doses it can act like an opioid.

Channel 9’s South Carolina Reporter Tina Terry spoke with one lawmaker Friday morning who said he supports getting tougher on kratom.

House Bill 4636 would make kratom a Schedule 1 drug. That means it would be illegal in South Carolina and could no longer be sold over-the-counter in smoke shops and gas stations.

Terry talked to a local man who says he hopes the bill will also do away with kratom-related drugs like 7-OH.

He says he developed an addiction to 7-OH and calls it just as addictive as fentanyl.

“The only difference is it can’t kill you and the fact that it’s legal. I compare it pretty much straight to it,” he said. “The first time I took it, I nodded out just like with fentanyl – luckily, I wasn’t driving.”

“We are now starting to see people who are coming into treatment, and the only substance that they’re using is kratom, and they need our help to discontinue the use,” said Kerri McGuire, the executive director of Keystone Substance Abuse Services.

McGuire supports the bill for several reasons.

“That would keep it in a category where it’s not legal. It keeps access down and it’s prosecutable if it’s being sold, if it’s being purchased, if it’s being used, and so we want to make sure that we get that height of legislation now,” McGuire said.

There are several other kratom bills being debated by lawmakers. Some of them aim to keep kratom products legal while banning some of the stronger products like 7-OH. It’s not clear if any of these bills will pass this session.

(VIDEO >> 9 investigates Kratom: Natural herb or deadly drug?)

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