Atlanta hearing targets retail sales of kratom

New at five, Georgia's attorney general says we have a crisis in the state because the drug Kratom is being sold in gas station and vape shops all over our state. Attorney General Chris Carr asked a Senate study committee to take strong action and ban the drug from our shelves. Fox's Angelique Proctor has the day's testimony and how it will translate to legislation in the next upcoming session. Attorney General Chris Carr is sounding the alarm about the detrimental effects of Kratom. Carr says he wants the drug taken off our shelves in Georgia. This is me personally. He will never walk my daughter down the aisle. He died two weeks before her homecoming. Pitter Goffner says her daughter's life will never be the same following the Kratom overdose of her dad Bill six years ago. She still has the video of when paramedics tried to revive him after he took what he thought was a natural supplement. It was sold to Bill. It was under the false pretense that it was a healthy product, and it's not healthy. It's killing people. Pitter was among a long list of speakers who testified before a joint legislative study committee about the pros and cons of Kratom. The attorney general did not mince words. The core problem is this. Consumers cannot tell the difference between a lawfully registered regulated product or something that can stop your breathing. And the same is probably true with the shop owners as well. But many buyers reasonably assume that if a store sells it, then somebody had to have approved it. Four Georgians have died this year alone due to a Kratom overdose. More than 315 emergency calls as well. Attorney General Carr says the Kratom Consumer Protection Act is not enough. I say you ban all Kratom-related products from the beginning. And those products should be presumed illegal for retail sale unless the state has affirmatively approved it. Attorney General Carr also challenged the smoke shops and convenience stores to take the drug off the shelves before the legislation is formulated. In Atlanta, Angelique Proctor, Fox 5 News.