Dr. Blair Steel, Psy.D

If you or someone you love uses kratom or 7-OH regularly, the legal change is only half the story. The more pressing issue is medical. When a daily supply disappears overnight, the body that has adapted to it goes into withdrawal, and stopping without a plan is both the hardest and the most dangerous way to quit. What Matthew Davenport's Law Actually Says House Bill 1649 and its companion, Senate Bill 1656, passed the Tennessee General Assembly with lopsided support, 78 to 9 in the Tennessee House and 23 to 2 in the Senate. Governor Lee signed the measure on May 7, 2026, and it was codified as Public Chapter 950, taking effect July 1, 2026. Before this law, Tennessee Code Annotated permitted the sale of natural kratom to adults 21 and older, while already restricting certain synthetic and chemically modified kratom derivatives. The new statute erases that middle ground. It classifies kratom's primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, as controlled substances and defines kratom broadly enough to include the raw plant, every extract taken from it, and any synthetic or chemically altered version. The definition was written this way on purpose, to close the loophole that allowed concentrated 7-OH tablets and shots to be sold in gas stations and smoke shops as a separate product category. The law also adds testing requirements. A treating physician who suspects a drug overdose or neonatal abstinence syndrome must order toxicology testing for kratom, and a county medical examiner conducting an autopsy on a suspected overdose death must test for kratom as well. Lawmakers added this piece because standard drug panels can miss kratom entirely. What Products the Ban Covers The prohibition is comprehensive. It applies regardless of how a product is marketed, whether the label says "natural," "herbal," "plant based," or "legal." Covered products include: Kratom powder, capsules, and brewed teas, including whole-leaf products Kratom extracts, tinctures, and liquid shots 7-OH tablets, gummies, drink mixes, and shots, the concentrated products sold in gas stations, convenience stores, and vape shops Any product containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine, in any concentration, natural orsynthetic The practical consequence is that a product on a gas station or vape shop shelf that would have been legal on June 30 became contraband on July 1. The gas station and vape shop products hit hardest are concentrated 7-OH tablets and shots. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has stated publicly that it intends to enforce the law, so this is not a statute that will sit unused on the books. Penalties Under the New Law The law carries criminal consequences on a graduated scale: Knowing possession is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days injail and a fine of up to $2,500. Manufacture, delivery, or sale is a Class C felony, carrying a sentence of 3 to 15 years. Sale to a minor is a Class B felony, the most serious tier in the statute. These are meaningful penalties, and they are the reason the deadline matters. But for someone who is physically dependent, the legal risk and the medical risk have to be weighed together, and the safest response to both is the same. Get into treatment rather than either continuing to use or stopping abruptly and alone. How Tennessee's Ban Compares to Other States Tennessee joined Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Vermont, and Wisconsin as states that fully prohibit kratom. Unlike the regulate-and-label approach that more than thirty states use under Kratom Consumer Protection Act frameworks, Tennessee chose a complete ban that reaches natural leaf and concentrated 7-OH products alike. Rhode Island, which had banned kratom since 2017, moved the other direction and reversed its ban in April 2026. Why Tennessee Banned Kratom and 7-OH The law is named for Matthew Davenport, a 27-year-old from Chattanooga who died in 2024 after a fatal interaction between kratom and prescription medications. His family shared his story with State Representative Esther Helton-Haynes, the bill's sponsor, during committee hearings. Lawmakers also cited the rapid spread of concentrated 7-OH products, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has described as novel potent opioid products; the DEA has since filed a Notice of Intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance. It is worth noting, in the interest of an accurate picture, that the ban was not without controversy. Kratom advocates and some harm-reduction experts argued that lumping natural leaf together with concentrated extracts was an overcorrection, and that a regulate-and-cap bill (HB2594) would haveaddressed the concentrated-product problem without criminalizing users. That bill did not advance. Whatever one's view of the policy, the law is now in effect, and the immediate question for anyone dependent is how to stop safely. The Hidden Danger in the Ban: Do Not Quit Cold Turkey This is the part of the law that legislators did not write down, and it is the part that matters most clinically. Kratom's active alkaloids bind to the same mu-opioid receptors as prescription painkillers and heroin. With regular use, the brain adapts by downregulating those receptors and adjusting itsown signaling, so that the body needs kratom simply to feel normal. Remove the substance abruptly and the adaptation swings the other way, producing a withdrawal syndrome that closely mirrors opioid withdrawal, muscle and joint pain, sweating, chills, nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, anxiety, and powerful cravings. Concentrated 7-OH products, because of their potency, tend to produce faster and more intense withdrawal than plain leaf. Overdose-prevention experts in Tennessee have raised a second, sharper concern about the timing. When a legal supply vanishes at once, some people replace it with whatever is available on the illicit market, and street opioids in Tennessee, including heroin, are frequently contaminated with fentanyl. A person whose tolerance was built on kratom, and who then turns to an unpredictable street product, faces a real risk of a fatal overdose the first time. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has told lawmakers that kratom overdoses may not respond fully to naloxone (Narcan), though naloxone should always be administered in a suspected overdose. Overdose deaths in the Nashville area had been declining, and the concern among addiction professionals is that a blanket ban with no treatment on-ramp could reverse that trend. The way to stay out of that scenario is not willpower. It is a medically managed transition off the substance. The Safer Path: Medically Supervised Detox and Treatment Kratom and 7-OH addiction respond well to evidence-based treatment. Like other forms of opioid addiction, dependence on these products is treatable with medical care. A medically supervised detox manages withdrawal with 24-hour monitoring and comfort medications for pain, nausea, and sleep, and where clinically appropriate, medications such as buprenorphine that are FDA approved for opioid use disorder and effective for 7-OH withdrawal and general kratom withdrawal because these substances act on the same receptors. pH Wellness TN provides medically supervised detox in Tennessee and residential treatment on-site, and coordinates step-down care for clients who continue into lower levels of support. Detox is the stabilization phase, not the whole of recovery. Lasting results come from addressing what made kratom useful in the first place, whether that started as pain management, sleep, anxiety, energy, or an attempt to get off another opioid. Structured treatment after detox is what turns a completed withdrawal into a durable recovery. If you are ready to start, learn what kratom detox in Tennessee involves at pH Wellness TN. Treatment Is Confidential A criminalization law understandably makes people worried that seeking help will expose them. It does not. Federal confidentiality rules for substance use treatment, known as 42 CFR Part 2, are stricter than HIPAA and specifically prohibit a treatment provider from disclosing your care to law enforcement, employers, or insurers without your consent, outside of narrow exceptions like a court order. Getting help for kratom or 7-OH dependence creates a medical record protected by federal law. Our admissions team can explain exactly how confidentiality works before you share anything beyond basic intake information. pH Wellness TN helps people across Tennessee stop kratom and 7-OH safely. Call (888) 635-0830 for a free, confidential assessment, verify your insurance at no cost in under two minutes, or contact our admissions team with any questions. Admissions are available 24/7.

Dr. Blair Steel, Psy.D

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