KTA has had its busiest month yet! Our legislative team continues to tirelessly conduct federal outreach on behalf of Kratom consumers across the nation, educating and addressing the concerns of legislators and their staff. In addition to our federal outreach in Washington, we hit the road to educate people about Kratom and KTA at the National Conference of State Legislators and CHAMPS Trade Show. Both were a platform to reach more people than ever, spreading the word about Kratom, KTA and its mission. Stay up to date on where KTA is going next by following us on Facebook and Twitter !
Last week, KTA attended its first National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Legislative Summit in Los Angeles. The summit provides legislators from across the country with tools and resources, and thousands of people attended this year’s event. KTA’s booth provided general education on Kratom, highlighting it as a natural plant safely used by millions across the country. We attracted a great deal of attention from legislators and their staff, having hundreds of productive conversations and distributing a variety of informational materials.

With crucial decisions about the legal status of Kratom to be made in the coming months, it is important to educate legislators now — especially those that come from states with ongoing Kratom-related legislation. KTA engaged several legislators from Louisiana and Georgia, where study committees on Kratom have been formed, as well as legislators from Wisconsin, Arkansas, Vermont, and Indiana on overturning existing Kratom bans in these states. We also identified several potential legislative champions in what was a highly successful effort to further the mission of KTA and ensure that consumers continue to have a natural choice to maintain their health and wellness.
KTA representatives staffing an exhibitor booth at the 3-day CHAMPS Trade Show in Las Vegas.
The  CHAMPS Trade Show   in Las Vegas connected KTA with retail and wholesale buyers for outreach, education, and membership recruitment. Our representatives met with dozens of current and potential Kratom vendors during the 3-day expo, made possible with help from CHAMPS leadership.

We discussed the status of Kratom legality at the federal and state levels, the importance of GMP compliance, best practices, and more with attendees, highlighting the critical role only a trade association can fill in a business community challenged by DEA and FDA overreach and negative, misleading publicity. Our ultimate goals of legitimizing the image of Kratom and the Kratom industry and bringing new consumers into the market were met with wide support and enthusiasm.

There were over 100 Kratom business representatives in attendance, mostly retailers, and attendees were repeatedly impressed with KTA’s member services, ranging from payment processing solutions (a big hit at the show) to streamlining GMP compliance, as well as access to public relations assistance, discounted legal consultation, and government relations/lobbying efforts with our teams of nationally recognized professionals. We were also able to offer advice to prospective vendors, particularly the most important things to look for when choosing vendors to ensure consumer safety.

We were also able to see and compare packaging from a variety of different Kratom brands present at the expo and were pleasantly surprised at the number of company owners who’ve already become GMP compliant, or are in the process. One of the most notable innovations was a new child-proof bottle meeting labeling requirements, complete with batch and lot numbers.

We’re very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the expo, and want to thank and congratulate CHAMPS’ organizers on a successful show.
New KTA Blog Post
A ground-breaking new peer-reviewed study reaffirms mitragynine as the alkaloid primarily responsible for Kratom’s effects, stating that it “does not have abuse potential and reduces morphine intake.” This report provides further evidence that Kratom is not a narcotic-like opioid, despite what the FDA and DEA claim — check out our latest blog post to learn more.
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