SENATE BILL No. 1236

 

 

November 29, 2018, Introduced by Senator JONES and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

 

 

 

     A bill to regulate the preparation, distribution, and sale of

 

kratom products; to prohibit the preparation, distribution, and

 

sale of adulterated or contaminated kratom products; to prescribe

 

fines and penalties; to provide remedies; and to provide for the

 

powers and duties of certain state governmental officers and

 

entities.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"kratom consumer protection act".

 

     Sec. 2. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Dealer" means a person that sells, prepares, or maintains

 

kratom products, or advertises, represents, or holds itself out as

 

selling, preparing, or maintaining kratom products. Dealer

 

includes, but is not limited to, a manufacturer, wholesaler, store,

 

restaurant, hotel, catering facility, camp, bakery, delicatessen,

 

supermarket, grocery store, convenience store, nursing home, or

 

food or drink company.

 

     (b) "Department" means the department of agriculture and rural

 

development.

 

     (c) "Director" means the director of the department or his or

 

her designee.

 

     (d) "Food" means a food, food product, food ingredient,

 

dietary supplement, or beverage for human consumption.

 

     (e) "Kratom product" means a food product containing any part

 

of the leaf of the plant Mitragyna speciosa.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) A dealer that prepares, distributes, sells, or

 

exposes for sale a food that is represented to be a kratom product

 

shall disclose on the product label the factual basis upon which

 

that representation is made.

 

     (2) A dealer shall not prepare, distribute, sell, or expose

 

for sale a food represented to be a kratom product that does not

 

conform to the disclosure required under subsection (1).

 

     Sec. 4. A dealer shall not prepare, distribute, sell, or

 

expose for sale any of the following:

 

     (a) A kratom product that is adulterated with a dangerous non-

 

kratom substance. A kratom product is adulterated with a dangerous

 

non-kratom substance if the kratom product is mixed or packed with

 

a non-kratom substance and that substance affects the quality or

 

strength of the kratom product to such a degree as to render the

kratom product injurious to a consumer.

 

     (b) A kratom product that is contaminated with a dangerous

 

non-kratom substance. A kratom product is contaminated with a

 

dangerous non-kratom substance if the kratom product contains a

 

poisonous or otherwise deleterious non-kratom ingredient,

 

including, but not limited to, the substances listed in section

 

7212 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7212.

 

     (c) A kratom product that contains a level of 7-

 

hydroxymitragynine in the alkaloid fraction that is greater than 2%

 

of the alkaloid composition of the product.

 

     (d) A kratom product that contains a synthetic alkaloid,

 

including, but not limited to, synthetic mitragynine, synthetic 7-

 

hydroxymitragynine, or any other synthetically derived compound of

 

the kratom plant.

 

     (e) A kratom product that does not include on its package or

 

label the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine contained

 

in the product.

 

     Sec. 5. A dealer shall not distribute, sell, or expose for

 

sale a kratom product to an individual under 18 years of age.

 

     Sec. 6. (1) A dealer that violates section 3(1) is subject to

 

an administrative fine of not more than $500.00 for the first

 

offense and not more than $1,000.00 for a second or subsequent

 

offense. Upon the request of a person to whom an administrative

 

fine is issued, the director shall conduct a hearing in accordance

 

with the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL

 

24.201 to 24.328.

 

     (2) A dealer that violates section 3(2), 4, or 5 is guilty of

a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days

 

or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

 

     (3) A person aggrieved by a violation of section 3(2) or 4

 

may, in addition to, and distinct from any other remedy at law or

 

equity, bring a private cause of action, in a competent court of

 

jurisdiction, for damages resulting from that violation, including,

 

but not limited to, economic, noneconomic, or consequential

 

damages.

 

     (4) A dealer does not violate section 3(2) or 4 if it is shown

 

by a preponderance of the evidence that the dealer relied in good

 

faith upon the representations of a manufacturer, processor,

 

packer, or distributor of food represented to be a kratom product.

 

     Sec. 7. The department shall promulgate rules for the

 

administration and enforcement of this act under the administrative

 

procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328,

 

including, but not limited to, the format, size, and placement of

 

the disclosure label required under section 3(1) and the

 

information that must be included in the disclosure.

 

     Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the

 

date it is enacted into law.