Kratom advocacy is one of the most important things that we support here at Kraken Kratom, and we realize just how much many aspects of the kratom advocacy movement have been changing in recent months.
The world has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is going to continue to change as we find ways to navigate the difficulties that the pandemic brings to political, social, and everyday life. Advocacy efforts that were once focused on in-person meetings may no longer be the most effective route to change, and the usual measures suggested to push for the future of kratom may not apply.
What can be done to ensure that kratom advocacy can effectively continue as the pandemic continues to be handled? Let’s talk about it.
Why Kratom Advocacy Matters
Understanding why kratom advocacy matters in 2020 is key for being able to understand how the COVID-19 related changes are going to make things different than they were before.
Kratom advocacy efforts, specifically in the last 10 years, have focused on ensuring that consumers can safely and legally use kratom without fear of prosecution or injury. Without the advocacy efforts that have already happened, kratom would not be as widely or safely available as it is today.
In particular, there are a few things that kratom advocacy groups are focused on achieving.
Legal Right To Buy & Sell Kratom
First, advocacy efforts prioritize the legal right of people to buy and sell kratom. While it is okay if there are some limitations and restrictions put on the industry to ensure safety, the base fact that people need to be able to buy kratom without fear of prosecution remains. This is why Kratom Consumer Protection Act proposals always include clauses that ensure that people will not be punished for buying or using kratom.
Ensure Safe Kratom Available
Another important factor of the proposed Kratom Consumer Protection Acts in the United States is that these rules would establish necessary testing procedures to keep adulterated kratom and untested products off the market.
In the past, people have become sick from contaminated kratom supplies, and there was no clear way to prevent this from happening other than to hope that vendors would do so themselves. Under the right laws, kratom suppliers would be required to do appropriate testing and be held accountable for any unsafe products that make it to their customers.
Create A Safer Industry
Overall, the entire kratom industry needs to be made safer. From legal protections to third-party testing procedures, there is a lot of room for improvement, but there is little incentive for low-quality vendors to make any of these improvements.
With advocacy efforts, those improvements could become requirements. By requiring a safer process, the overall industry would be a much safer place for both consumers and vendors, and that would make a big difference in the long-term use and benefits of kratom in America.
COVID-19: Why Is It Affecting Advocacy?
Much of the world has been placed on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic; has the same happened to the world of kratom advocacy during this time?
Unfortunately, there have been some effects on the efforts being made by advocacy groups such as the American Kratom Association during this time. Before the pandemic took effect, AKA had Kratom Consumer Protect Acts in progress in more than 20 states, but now most of those states’ legislatures have been put on at least a temporary hold.
While AKA is still able to have some of their meetings either in socially distant meeting spaces or online, the overall progress that is able to be made in state and local legislatures is severely limited. This is because the legislatures have to focus on other, pandemic-related issues first, which is understandable, but it still gives a lot of frustration to the advocacy efforts for kratom.
During this time, kratom’s detractors have also gone out of their way to continue to spread false or unsubstantiated information about kratom to specific localities, and advocacy groups haven’t had the resources to actively present their own information. This means that some towns and counties may move more quickly towards banning kratom even though there is no real cause for doing so.
Ultimately, advocacy groups are still doing their best to remain involved in the fight for kratom, but their opportunities to do so are more limited than they were in 2019 and before.
What You Can Do To Support Kratom Advocacy
What can you do to help ensure that advocacy groups such as the American Kratom Association (AKA) can continue to do their important work?
If you want to help protect the future of kratom, there are a few things that you can do:
- Monetarily support AKA as they push KCPA things forward.
- Contact your local officials to support the extension of the 2020 legislative calendar.
- Support local pro-kratom efforts.
- Write to your local and state officials about your support of kratom when necessary.
- Research your local laws and jurisdictions, including any initiatives that might be up for vote.
- Support reliable vendors and local vendors that sell and prioritize safe kratom supplies.
- Educate yourself about kratom, the science of kratom, and what is going on in the political world about kratom.
- Join online forums where you can find out more about kratom advocacy and what types of actions might be possible for you to join.
Recently, the American Kratom Association did a complete meeting session about how to advocate for kratom effectively. You can watch that session here to learn more!
Our Support of Kratom
Kraken Kratom has always supported kratom advocacy, and we know how important it is for the industry to regain some protections and standards in the modern world. As members of AKA’s GMP compliance program, we keep all of our routines and tactics in line with the latest guidelines to ensure that our supply is safe for our customers. We will continue to do just that as time goes on, and we cannot wait to see how else we can help this industry blossom.
