The Brief
- Officials are pushing for a statewide Georgia kratom ban after the attorney general warned the unregulated supplement is causing fatal overdoses.
- At least four state residents died from kratom overdoses this year, and emergency responders have handled more than 315 crisis calls.
- A grieving mother urged lawmakers to act after her former husband died from taking what he believed was a harmless, natural product.
ATLANTA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr called on state lawmakers Friday to completely ban kratom from store shelves following a surge in emergency calls and fatal overdoses tied to the substance.
Warning over Georgia kratom sales
Why you should care:
Carr told a joint legislative study committee that Georgia faces an escalating crisis as kratom continues to line the shelves of gas stations and vape shops statewide. He warned that the existing Kratom Consumer Protection Act fails to protect the public from severe harm.
Carr asked lawmakers to take strong action and ban the herbal drug from store shelves across the state.
Family shares painful kratom tragedy
The backstory:…