Rep. Hopkins: 2025 H5565 - The Rhode Island Kratom Act (52925)

Thank you, Speaker. I also rise in opposition to this and I want to thank Representative McGaugh for her very thorough explanation and I won't repeat the things that she said. I do want to reinforce the fact that this is very controversial and we would be putting forth something that is known to have controversy. It is known to be addictive and it is known to have interactions with other drugs. People who would seek to use this recreationally, maybe people who are suffering from anxiety, depression, and other issues, may already be on some of those psychotropic drugs and this will interact. We don't know the effects because it's not FDA approved. It's not studied. And for those of you in the room who are as old as me, you might remember a little drug called Mahwong, which was really popular in the 90s. We put it in all our energy drinks. You could buy it in any gas station. People died from Mahwong. Finally, it was pulled from the market in 2004. We don't need a repeat of that and passing this bill will be a repeat of that. So I encourage you to oppose this in good conscience. Thank you.