Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday that Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman – the largest distributor of kratom products in Missouri – has agreed to immediately suspend all in-state sales of kratom and 7-OH.
Hanaway sued American Shaman in March, taking particular aim at 7-OH, the company’s more potent products that the attorney general argued are “hazardous opioids” banned by state and federal law.
The company’s agreement ends the attorney general’s litigation.
“We stepped in to shut down deceptive tactics that put public health in danger,” Hanaway said in a press release Thursday. “This resolution protects consumers by taking these products off Missouri shelves. Retailers who use free samples and misleading marketing to hook consumers, especially those struggling with addiction, will face swift enforcement.”
Hanaway’s lawsuit alleged American Shaman advertised “free samples” of 7-OH, short for 7-hydroxymitragynine, despite its addictive nature and frequently without disclosing the risk of addiction in its marketing.
American Shaman has agreed to stop selling any kratom product to Missouri consumers in stores or online, according to the release, as well as abandon Missouri-targeted retail advertising, including billboards. Within 30 days, the company must put “controls and contract terms in place to prevent Missouri retail sales,” Hanaway’s release states.
If American Shaman breaches the agreement, including by making a retail sale of any kratom product in Missouri, the attorney general may seek court orders to stop the conduct. If the company fails to immediately remedy its breach, Hanaway may invoke an agreed $5 million penalty.
The announcement of the agreement comes a month after a Jackson County judge denied Hanaway’s motion for a temporary restraining order to immediately stop American Shaman and several affiliated companies from selling kratom products.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles McKenzie’s ruling in May stated there are “competing affidavits” from experts on both sides of the argument.
“The court cannot find, based on the oral argument of the parties, the respective competing affidavits presented and the pleadings, whether the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits at this juncture in the proceedings in order for the court to grant relief in the form of a temporary restraining order,” McKenzie’s order states.
Hanaway’s argument was backed by sworn statements from an undercover narcotics officer with the highway patrol who said 7-OH is being used to cut fentanyl and a woman whose brother died from a kratom overdose. Her office also submitted a FDA report that points to 7-OH as “a potent opioid that poses an emerging public health threat” and state health data showing synthetic 7-OH was involved in at least 197 Missouri deaths.
American Shaman submitted statements of its own from five toxicology and addiction experts, who largely said there wasn’t enough evidence to show that 7-OH and kratom posed a public health risk. One who researched narcotics said she had never heard of 7-OH being used to cut fentanyl.
Company owner Vince Sanders also provided a statement as part of the litigation, detailing how he came up with the idea to create 7-OH products. He said there is an “enormous” demand for 7-OH, particularly among people who need pain management.
“American Shaman has invested millions of dollars into research, safety and science,” Sanders said, “and will continue to do so, because we believe so strongly in the product.”
Sanders could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday morning about the agreement.
Hanaway filed a similar lawsuit last month against Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC and its owners Dustin Robinson and Ajaykumar Patel. That lawsuit is still underway.
“Attorney General Hanaway will continue to root out deceptive, dangerous, and illegal activities,” her release states, “that threaten the well-being of consumers across the State of Missouri.”