Committee tables kratom study after constituent testimony on addiction

Delegate Mehta presented HB 442, a request for a study of kratom and the kratom‑derived synthetic opioid 7‑OH, asking the Crime Commission and related agencies to evaluate federal law enforcement mechanisms and other states’ approaches.

A constituent, Dean Francis, testified about his son’s addiction after using kratom marketed as an herbal supplement. Francis said kratom behaves like an opioid in the body, described rising local treatment demand and asked legislators to act to protect Virginians. No witnesses opposed the study in the transcript.

Committee members moved to lay the bill on the table and send a letter to the Crime Commission; the motion passed on a 5‑0 roll call. The transcript records the committee’s intent as a study rather than an immediate prohibition: the patron explicitly said they were not asking for a ban at this time.

Next steps: The committee asked for a letter to the Crime Commission to undertake the evaluation requested in the bill, and the patron signaled intent to pursue the matter further based on the commission’s findings.