Subject: Stop SITSA From Being Part of H.R. 6, the Opioid Bill

Message:

Dear Senator:

I am a constituent who strongly opposes the House-passed version of SITSA that would grant unprecedented new powers to the Attorney General and go far beyond the intent of just stopping synthetic analogues of dangerous drugs that are flooding our streets.



The House version of H.R. 6 would allow the Attorney General to ban the botanical kratom that is safely used by nearly 5 million Americans, and there would not need to be any consideration of the scientific evidence on the safety and addiction profile that is currently required under regular rulemaking in the Controlled Substances Act.



The opioid crisis requires responsible leadership, and law enforcement should have necessary powers to stop synthetic chemical formulations of deadly street drugs. But the House version of H.R. 6 goes way too far and grants far too much unfettered authority to the Attorney General.



The House version of SITSA will give the Attorney General the unchecked power to incarcerate consumers of safe products like kratom with extraordinarily harsh penalties. It upends the well-established review of substance scheduling that has been used effectively for more than 40 years that Congress established under the Controlled Substances Act. SITSA strips away the important review of the science, and the checks and balances that currently exist to ensure products like kratom that are safely used by millions of Americans can remain legal.



The FDA currently has ample authority to stop adulterated kratom products that are mixed with dangerous drugs. But the House version will allow the Attorney General to ban kratom even though it is not a synthetic chemical formulation of any opioid or other dangerous drugs.



The Senate needs to have its own hearings and consider needed amendments to the House-passed version of SITSA.



I urge you to protect the health and safety of the millions of Americans like me who support the freedom consumers should have to safely and responsibly use kratom.