Tennessee Bans Kratom Statewide, Effective July 1

Tennessee has enacted Matthew Davenport's Law, expanding the state's kratom restrictions from synthetic alkaloids to the entire plant. Since 2014, Tennessee scheduled only synthetic mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, leaving natural leaf legal for adults 21 and older. HB 1649 removes that distinction and prohibits all kratom products statewide.

The law classifies knowing possession as a Class A misdemeanor and the sale, delivery, or manufacture of kratom as a Class C felony. Possessing kratom with intent to sell, deliver, or manufacture carries the same felony classification. Where a sale or delivery involves a minor and the seller is at least two years older, the offense rises to a Class B felony.

The statute amends multiple titles of the Tennessee Code. It requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to add kratom to the state's drug definition for workplace policy, and directs medical examiners to test for the substance in suspected overdose deaths. The law is named for Matthew Davenport, a 27-year-old Chattanooga resident who died in 2024 after an interaction between kratom and a prescribed medication.

The law prohibits the sale of all kratom products in Tennessee beginning July 1, 2026, converting existing retail inventory at gas stations, convenience stores, and vape shops into contraband. The prohibition covers natural leaf, powders, capsules, and extracts containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine. Unlike Tennessee's prior framework, which scheduled only synthetic alkaloids, the new law extends to all forms of the plant.