Kratom coalition hires Frank Bickford to lobby Alaska lawmakers and agencies

A coalition of kratom consumers and industry leaders has hired Frank Bickford to lobby Alaska lawmakers and state agencies, starting Tuesday.

The Global Kratom Coalition will pay Bickford $30,000 a year, according to his registration with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The registration covers lobbying both the Legislature and state agencies, lists his interests as "Kratom related issues and working with American Kratom Association," and has no end date.

The coalition describes itself on its website as "committed to protecting and expanding access to leaf kratom." In March, it endorsed a bill by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis that would make concentrated synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, a Schedule I controlled substance. The American Kratom Association, the other group named in the filing, calls itself a consumer advocacy group and supports regulating kratom through state Kratom Consumer Protection Acts.

Concentrated 7-OH products have drawn warnings in Alaska. A state public health advisory in September said they may raise the risk of dependence, withdrawal and opioid-like toxicity, and noted that kratom-related overdoses are not reportable to the state, as Alaska News reported. In Anchorage, three Assembly members are drafting an ordinance to restrict concentrated kratom products while leaving unaltered kratom, such as tea, alone. As of last week, it had not been introduced.

The Alaska Department of Health says kratom products are not regulated, can vary widely in strength and may contain unsafe levels of active chemicals, heavy metals or harmful bacteria. "There is no known safe or recommended dose," the department says on its kratom page.