2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but that hasn’t changed the American Kratom Association’s (AKA’s) devotion to providing Americans with a quality supply chain of safe kratom. In order to achieve this goal, the AKA must first cement the right to consume kratom in the US, and in 2021 they’re turning to consumers to help make a difference.
The Kratom Consumer Counsel’s (KCC) first meeting of the year was recently held and led by Peter Candland, Executive Director at the American Kratom Association, with strategist Mac Haddow. This meeting was held to address the kratom community and inform consumers of their plans for the year. As a supporter of the AKA and KCC Soap Korner is pleased to pass this information on in hopes to build awareness of the fight to protect kratom in the US.
A Strategic Approach
The AKA has a long road ahead to make a change, but they are poised to make dramatic gains as they move into their 2021 state legislative sessions. Changing the approach that they took in previous years, it is their goal to get as many states as possible to pass the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) in order to increase pressure at the federal level. Using strategy and specific efforts will be necessary to gain traction:
- The AKA will be working to add a provision in appropriate states to ban credit card companies and processing companies from denying transactions of kratom products.
- This is crucial to starting the process of sending a message to credit card companies that they cannot conflate kratom with scheduled substances or treat kratom as a transaction that would generate suspicious activity.
- Including verbiage in applicable states to add preemptive language that says no state jurisdiction can ban Kratom unless the DEA were to schedule Kratom at the federal level.
- If the DEA hasn’t scheduled kratom, then it shouldn’t be getting treated as such. We need the language in place to ensure this in state and local jurisdictions.
Here’s how the AKA is hoping to accomplish these goals:
- The AKA is going to have to support the lobbying teams within certain states. In many states, they will have to rely exclusively on the grassroots advocacy campaign which is the Kratom Consumer Council (KCC) to make a difference.
- The AKA is going to roll out a toolkit of materials that will be available to everyone, as an initiative to drive emails and phone calls of customer testimony from kratom consumers to targeted legislators. The idea is that testimony of the improved quality of life as a result of kratom is especially powerful in exacting change.
The Fight with the FDA
Generally, the public strays away from fighting the FDA, but it’s necessary for the fight to protect kratom. The FDA has been fighting hard at a federal level to convince the DEA to schedule kratom. Unable to gain traction with the DEA, they’ve changed direction and are now pushing hard to get as many bans in place as possible at a state level, and as a result, create scheduling on kratom at a federal level.
Because of this, we must work harder than ever to get as many KCPAs passed as possible. At Soap Korner, it is a priority to support the AKA in the fight to protect kratom. If you’re interested in learning more about kratom and the benefits associated with it, reach out to us or purchase our Kratom powder from Soap Korner today!
BREAKING NEWS
Right after this article was written, we have received some very uplifting breaking news that changes the AKA & KCC’s 2021 strategy slightly. Here is additional information on the updated strategy!
