About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2024)
Page 2, May 13, 2025, The Islander Rep. Townsend's Kratom legislation now law State Representative Rick Townsend (R-179) recently joined Governor Brian Kemp at the State Capitol for the signing of House Bill 181 into law. Sponsored by Rep. Townsend, this legislation creates new regula tions related to the composition and sale of kratom products in Georgia. “Georgia citizens deserve the ut most safety and transparency re garding the products they purchase in our state,” said House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington). “I’m proud of the work Representative Rick Townsend did to protect con sumers in Georgia by restricting the sale of unsourced kratom and bringing much-needed regulation and accountability to this product across Georgia.” “House Bill 181 originated from the concerns voiced by constituents in my district regarding the urgent need for stricter regulations of the sale and composition of kratom in Georgia,” said Rep. Townsend. “Originally introduced dur ing my first term in 2023, my col leagues and I collaborated with the American Kratom Association to proactively address responsi ble consumption and mitigate po tential risks associated with this substance, making this legislation my priority as my inaugural bill. I want to thank Governor Kemp for enacting this bill into law and extend my gratitude to my legisla tive peers for their diligent efforts and exhaustive review of this leg islation during the 2023 legislative session, reinforcing our commit ment to ensuring the safety of our fellow Georgians.” House Bill 181 broadens the def inition of “kratom” to include me tabolite 7-hydroxymitragynine and defines a “kratom product” as any item with part of the mitragyna plant’s leaf and makes it a crime for individuals under the age of 21 to sell or transfer kratom products. Additionally, HB 181 requires all kratom products to come from the natural plant with strict compound limits. Any plants manufactured or processed cannot be modified to increase the levels of mitragy- nine and 7-hydroxymitragynine beyond the following limits: 150 mg of mitragynine per serving; 0.5 7-hydroxymitragynine per gram; or 1 mg 7-hydroxymitragynine per Provided photo serving. Kratom processors or retailers in Georgia are prohibited from sell ing or distributing adulterated or unsafe kratom products, including those with synthetic substances or unlawful heating elements. They must also maintain a registered agent in the state and provide warning statements, recommended serving sizes and safe consumption time frames on product labels. Violations will result in penalties: processors face high misdemeanors or felonies with imprisonment and fines up to $100,000, while retail ers face high misdemeanors or felo nies with imprisonment, fines up to $100,000, and subsequent offenses with escalating fines and imprison ment durations. These regulations will go into effect starting January 1, 2025, and apply to all offenses thereafter. After the bill signing, Rep. Townsend hosted a press confer ence at the State Capitol to talk about the purpose and efforts be hind his legislation. Families af fected by kratom also joined him, sharing their experiences and grat itude for the newly passed law. Anne Rogers, who has worked hard to “get kratom out of Georgia” tells the story of her son Wes. “I would like to make the addic tion to Kratom real to you, this is our son, Wes Rogers’ story. Wes grew up in Glynn County where he attended church and the Glynn County Schools. Wes broke ground for what is now, Wesley Church. He excelled in sports and in his academic studies. After high school he attended the University of Georgia to pur sue a BS in Marketing. While at Georgia, he was inducted into three honor societies including the Gold en Key. While at UGA, Wes attended college at Surry Roe Hampton in London, furthering his studies in Marketing. We all believe that Wes’ use of kratom began about five plus years ago. We never knew how he was in troduced to this convenience store drug. After he started spiraling down from his use of kratom, he and wife started divorce proceedings. Wes, realizing that his addiction to a convenience store drug was ruining his marriage and the possibility of losing his two children, entered Cumberland Heights addiction center in Nashville Tennessee. He stayed for one month, not nearly long enough, to get off of this street drug. Wes attended over two hundred AA meetings and met with his sponsor. During this time his wife attend ed Alanon, and they both attended marriage counseling. Wes was clean for two and one half months before returning to his use of kratom. After his untimely death, his wife and his father found 75 kratom pills in his pack. He was dead at 42 years of age of cardiac arrest on July 14, 2022 leaving behind his beautiful wife and two beautiful children. I hope I have made Wes’ story about his addiction to kratom very real to you. Please remove Kratom from Georgia. Thanks to Rick Townsend for HB 181. Mrs. Rogers plans to work to eliminate kratom in Georgia dur ing the 2025 legislative session. During the 2024 session she spoke about kratom to a standing- room-only mental health group at the Capitol which included doctors, lawyers, GBI members and other parents. Once elected, Elizabeth will • Create incentives for events to be held in Brunswick* • Encourage innovative planning as the Port of Brunswick grows • Work to attract developers to neglected historical areas ^ • Work toward finding a solution for vagrancy * * M + V*TE ELIZABETH ATKINS General Primary May 21,2024* Early Voting: Now through May 17 FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: ELIZABETH4GLYNN.COM E LI ZABETH4GLYNN(a)GM AIL.COM Paid for by the Candidate * * COMMISSIONER AT-LARGE POST #2 Gov. Brian Kemp signs House Bill 181 into law as its sponsor, Rep. Rick Townsend (R-179) looks on.
