With little over 21 million residents, Florida, popularly called the Sunshine State, is the fourth most populated state. It is the most southern US state and the location of Florida’s most well-known tourist attraction, Disney World.
In addition, it is home to St. Augustine, the oldest continuously populated city in the US, and Key West, the southerly point of the US. Some of Florida’s rules are unique, such as the requirement for a license to skateboard. Oranges cannot be sold on Miami Beach sidewalks under Florida law.
Other prohibited behaviors include singing while wearing a swimsuit and noodling beneath a hairdryer in a hair salon. Are there any of these Florida regulations that apply to kratom plants? Or can you purchase kratom in Florida? Let’s find out.
Can you purchase Kratom in Florida?
You can purchase mitragynine from Florida except for Sarasota County. In 2014, it decided to outlaw Kratom, classifying it as a designer drug. Legislators and anti-kratom campaigners also put forth other bills. They either failed to pass or were stopped in committee, however. Regulation of mitragynine has also been unsuccessful.
The government passed a bill on designer drugs, which led to the kratom prohibition in Sarasota County becoming effective. As a result, having mitragynine in your possession can get you up to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail. The DEA defines designer drugs as compounds that have been illicitly produced and are intended to replicate the effects and biochemical makeup of controlled substances. Designer drugs include Flakka, bath salts (artificial cathinone), and spice (synthetic cannabinoids).
According to the bill, Mitragynine has hallucinogenic properties. Additionally, it is a fact that Kratom is prohibited in Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand as evidence against it. At the time of the bill’s introduction, Mitragyna Speciosa was illegal in Thailand.
However, since then, the Southeast Asian nation has decriminalized the plant. This is a misrepresentation of mitragynine, much to the legal circumstances around it in San Jose, California. That even refers to Mitragynine as a botanical drug, even though designer medications are, by definition, made of synthetic materials.
Regulation of Kratom in Florida
Senator Bobby Powell, a Democrat, submitted a bill to implement the Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act in March 2021. (KCPA). This measure sought to legalize and regulate it in Florida. Here are a few of the points the bill made:
- To be permitted to sell mitragynine products at retail, one must register with the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services,
- Do not market any products to those under the age of 21.
- Refuse to sell any items containing synthetic alkaloids or other mitragynine derivatives,
- Ban goods that may change Kratom’s qualities and endanger the consumer by including dangerous, toxic, or restricted ingredients.
- Sell only Kratom products that contain less than 2% of 7-hydroxy mitragynine.
- Pay a fine of as much as $500 for a first offense and $1000 for a second or any additional violation.
- The sponsor also introduced another bill. It advised that the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services collect a $500 annual registration fee from Florida mitragynine vendors.
Sadly, both measures were revoked in April 2021. Except for Sarasota County, Kratom is still legal throughout Florida.
The Florida Kratom Control Act’s enactment in 2022
This act was preceded by a previous attempt to control kratom sales and possession in Florida. Sarasota County-based Republican senator Joe Gruters sponsored the legislation. According to the senator, such laws would make it safer for Floridians to access mitragynine. He thinks it would be preferable for customers because it raises safety concerns when contaminated Kratom is offered.
The state would be able to crack down on businesses engaging in unethical business activities and selling tainted Kratom thanks to the new legislation. The removal of bad actors, according to Gruters, would stop them from transforming the factory into something it is not. If the KCPA is approved, the senator is still determining what will happen to mitragynine in Sarasota County.
Christopher McCurdy is employed with the College of Pharmacy at the University of Florida. He is a medicinal chemist with extensive training who established mitragynine research in the US. Despite numerous mitragynine bills and events, Florida is also where it is being examined. Christopher McCurdy and his group received two grants from the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse), totaling $6.9 million, for their study of kratom alkaloids. Thanks to these grants, the researchers will have seven years to investigate the herb.
The research team has already produced some encouraging findings suggesting that persons struggling with opioid addiction may benefit from Kratom’s therapeutic properties. As a result, this study is illuminating its advantageous features.
Where can I purchase Kratom in Florida?
All counties outside of Sarasota County permit the use of Kratom. It can be purchased in several locations in Florida. One of them is a smoke and vape shop. We advise purchasing it online from reliable merchants who lab test their stock. Online retailers make sense if you want affordable, high-quality, fresh mitragynine.
Conclusion
We have served you with the most relevant information about buying mitragynine. Products made with Kratom come from a Southeast Asian native tree. The leaves can be consumed orally, through smoking, brewing tea, or as a gel capsule—the herb functions as a relaxant at lower doses. Mitragynine has a sedative effect at larger dosages. The item is offered by hundreds of establishments throughout the state. It is a beneficial herbal supplement that we can use regularly. It has several advantages for our health. There is evidence that it may now be beneficial in the fight against the flu and the common cold. It improves health in many different ways. Mitragynine promotes health by raising the body’s tolerance. It fortifies your immune system, raises your threshold for discomfort, lowers inflammation, and eases headaches.
