Statement of Opposition to California’s Kratom Bill A.B. 1088
This official statement outlines Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s opposition to California’s Assembly Bill 1088, which aims to severely restrict products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a naturally occurring alkaloid in the kratom plant. Prepared by neuroscience researcher and SSDP staff member Brooke Sanders, the document argues that the legislation lacks scientific justification and arbitrarily targets a single compound instead of implementing a comprehensive, industry-wide framework. Rather than bans that will drive consumers to unregulated markets and stifle promising biomedical research into 7-OH’s therapeutic benefits, SSDP advocates sensible public health protections such as mandatory labeling, age verification, and product testing.
The complete, official statement detailing our legislative stance, scientific references, and policy recommendations can be viewed in the file below:
