Article: Is Kratom Being Banned in Georgia? What the Attorney General Wants (October 2026)

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Oct 28, 20267-oh

Is Kratom Being Banned in Georgia? What the Attorney General Wants (October 2026)

By Robbie Lattig, owner of Healing Herbals, herbalist 13+ years

Georgia's attorney general wants every kratom product treated as illegal on a store shelf unless the state approves it first. No bill has been filed, but a House study committee is taking testimony now and the General Assembly meets again in January. Also this week: a Florida county moves on 7-OH, two Illinois towns act on concentrated kratom, and the December 11 hemp deadline still stands.

Is kratom being banned in Georgia?

Not yet. Attorney General Chris Carr told a Georgia House study committee last Friday that lawmakers should "ban all kratom-related products from the beginning," Capitol Beat News Service reported in a story carried by the Tifton Gazette on October 27. Atlanta News First reported the same remarks on October 24. Carr laid out the plan earlier in an October 15 guest column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

His proposal, as described in those three pieces:

Every kratom-derived product is presumed illegal for retail sale unless the state has approved it.
Manufacturers submit independent lab testing to get onto a short public list of approved products.
Anything not on the list is contraband, and any law enforcement agency in the state can seize it without a lab test at the shelf.

Carr also asked gas stations and smoke shops to pull kratom voluntarily, per Atlanta News First.

The stage matters here. This is testimony and an opinion column, not legislation. Georgia law today bars kratom sales to anyone under 21 and requires the product to be kept behind the counter or otherwise secured, according to Capitol Beat. Carr's term as attorney general ends in January. The same report says Effingham County already has its own ban, citing The Brunswick News.

For a shop, the model flips the burden of proof. Right now an officer needs a lab result before pulling a product. Under Carr's plan, the seller needs the product on a state list. If a bill comes, the details of who gets on that list and how fast will decide what stays legal to sell.

Hillsborough County 7-OH ordinance: public hearing November 10

Hillsborough County, Florida commissioners voted unanimously on October 21 to move forward with a proposed ordinance on 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported. The draft covers 7-OH and related synthetic products and would not restrict natural leaf kratom. Commissioners did not rule out widening it. A public hearing is scheduled for November 10, 2026.

Part of the county's reasoning, per FOX 13: Florida's statewide emergency ban on 7-OH could expire next year. Kratom stays legal in Florida for buyers 21 and over. Sarasota County has already passed a broader ban that covers kratom itself. This is a first step, not an adopted ordinance, and we have not confirmed the primary source.

Are Illinois towns banning synthetic kratom?

Two in La Salle County are moving. The Streator City Council approved an ordinance banning synthetic kratom at its Wednesday meeting, Shaw Local reported on October 22. The ordinance sets concentration limits for mitragynine, 7-OH and total kratom alkaloids, requires specific labeling, and requires retailers to hold a certificate of analysis. Natural kratom stays legal for buyers over 21. The article did not give the final limits, the penalties or an effective date.

Next door in Peru, aldermen signaled support on Monday for a similar ban modeled on Streator's, Shaw Local reported on October 27. The city attorney said a draft would be ready for a vote at the November 2 council meeting. Peru's is proposed, not adopted. We have not confirmed the primary source for either town.

These "synthetic only" ordinances lean on a lab report at the counter. A shop selling a legal product without batch paperwork can still be out of compliance.

Is Washington state going to regulate kratom?

A state bill is in the works. State Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, is developing House Bill 2291, which would ban synthetic kratom, regulate the natural product and put oversight under the Liquor and Cannabis Board, The Spokesman-Review reported on October 25. There has been no vote. The paper lists Mount Vernon, Bellingham, Spokane and Spokane Valley as cities with bans, and Arlington's sales ban takes effect November 18. We have not seen the bill text.

Will the December 11 hemp ban be delayed again?

Nothing in the law has changed as of October 26. Under H.R. 6500, signed September 2, most of the federal hemp rewrite in Public Law 119-37 takes effect December 11, 2026. That is when hemp starts being measured by total THC, including THCA, at 0.3% dry weight, and final products are capped at 0.4 mg total THC per container. A narrow piece covering cannabinoids the plant cannot produce starts November 12.

Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., told Roll Call he wants his hemp regulatory bill attached to a budget reconciliation package before December 11. His bill would give FDA three years to set limits on intoxicating hemp products, with defaults of 5 mg per serving and 30 mg per package if the agency does not finish. "I truly believe if we don't do something before that Dec.11th deadline, that it's going to create all kinds of issues," Griffith said. Roll Call reports no agreement yet on what a third reconciliation bill would contain, and little time left. Plan for December 11.

Plymouth Township, Michigan: no result yet

Last week we said we would report the October 27 final vote on Plymouth Township's kratom sales ban. As of Wednesday morning we could not find a news report or posted minutes. We will check again next week.

Healing Herbals sells kanna, kava, blue lotus, Amanita muscaria, wild dagga and akuamma, and does not sell kratom, 7-OH, hemp THC or CBD products. Adults 21 and over.

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Written by Robbie Lattig