What You Should Know About The American Kratom Association 

If you’ve ever compared stores that sell kratom online, you’ve likely noticed that some vendors state that they are “certified by the American Kratom Association (AKA)” or “AKA-approved.” Other kratom vendors lack this certification.

Some kratom enthusiasts will tell you that it is important to only buy kratom from the American Kratom Association’s approved vendor list. Others will say that it doesn’t matter as long as the vendor lab-tests their kratom. Of course, then there are people who buy kratom at gas stations and headshops without giving the AKA or lab-testing much thought.

So, what’s the deal? What exactly does the American Kratom Association do, and should you only buy kratom from AKA-approved vendors? To some extent, the AKA isn’t fully understood in the community, so we’ll do our best to shed some light on it.

What Is the American Kratom Association, and What Does It Do?

The American Kratom Association (AKA), which was first founded in 2014 in response to the 2012 FDA campaign against kratom, is a consumer advocacy organization that works to protect the rights of all Americans to legally consume safe kratom. The AKA’s mission statement describes the organization’s five main goals, including supporting customers, educating legislators and the public on kratom, “speaking the truth on kratom,” raising global awareness, and protecting natural resources.

Of course, the American Kratom Association is most known for fighting pending kratom bans across the United States and pushing to regulate kratom. Whenever a state introduces a bill to ban kratom, members of the AKA fly over there to discuss it with legislators, attempt to educate them on kratom and push for a law regulating kratom to be introduced instead of a ban.

The American Kratom Association is not only the most active kratom advocacy group, but it is also the most powerful. If it weren’t for the AKA, kratom would be illegal in various states where kratom is legal today.

Why The AKA Wants to Regulate Kratom

Members of the AKA have explained how kratom legality and regulation go hand in hand—as kratom is not approved by the FDA, it is unregulated, which puts consumers at risk of encountering contaminated or adulterated kratom.

To improve market safety, the American Kratom Association pushes to get legislators to regulate kratom according to its guidelines for the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). In states where the KCPA is passed, vendors are required to follow guidelines related to improving product safety (such as abiding by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, lab-testing products, and registering their business and/or products.

While the KCPA can vary by state, it also typically includes the following restrictions:

• Bans the sale of kratom to minors; you must be 18+ to buy kratom
• Requires companies to disclose if any food items contain kratom
• Bans the sale of adulterated or contaminated kratom products
• Prohibits the sale of kratom products that contain harmful substances that alter the strength or quality of the kratom in a way that could harm the customer
• Forbids the sale of kratom products containing scheduled substances 
• Prohibits the sale of kratom products containing more than 2% of 7-hydroxymitragynine
• Prohibits the sale of any products that contain synthetic kratom alkaloids or any synthetic version of any of kratom’s natural compounds
• Requires sellers to label kratom products and state the ingredients and origin of where the kratom came from
• Requires kratom packages to state the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine in each product

The push to regulate kratom is not only important for consumer safety, but it is important in keeping kratom legal. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) responds to reports of adverse effects, so when contaminated or adulterated kratom products cause incidences of harm, the FDA cracks down on kratom. As many Americans and state legislators are still uneducated on kratom, new incidences of contaminated kratom make kratom look bad as a whole.

Why You Should Support The American Kratom Association?

All criticisms considered, the American Kratom Association absolutely deserves support from the kratom community. It’s hard to find a perfect organization on every level, especially when working with legislators, educating them, and persuading them to take legal actions in favor of a community centered around a widely misunderstood plant. 

The AKA has been criticized for sounding too dramatic in some of its emails about kratom ban updates, but the organization’s intentions are to get people to act, whether by signing petitions, contacting legislators, or sharing their kratom stories. Both the actions taken by and inspired by the AKA are responsible for numerous ban reversals. 

In fact, if it weren’t for the AKA’s extensive rallying efforts in 2016, kratom could have been banned federally by the DEA. In short, we need the American Kratom Association to protect our access to uncontaminated, lab-tested, legal kratom.

How Important Is It to Buy From AKA-Approved Kratom Vendors?

One way to support the American Kratom Association’s efforts is to buy kratom from one of the AKA’s approved vendors. These vendors have to lab-test their kratom, follow GMP standards, and pass annual audits to ensure that their facilities are run properly. By supporting an AKA-certified vendor, you’re also supporting a business that is helping make a difference in the fight to protect kratom.

Of course, there are other good kratom vendors that lab-test, donate to the American Kratom Association, and fight to keep kratom legal. As long as you do your research, it is possible to find great vendors who haven’t yet been approved by the AKA. The important thing to remember is that where you spend your money can make a difference in the cause, so it’s worth taking the time to ensure that you’re buying from a reputable business that cares.

How to Support the American Kratom Association Through Mitragaia

By buying kratom from us, you’re helping the AKA keep up the fight in multiple ways. Not only is Mitragaia an AKA-certified vendor that also donates regularly to the American Kratom Association, but we now provide the option for you to round up your spare change to donate to the American Kratom Association. To donate your spare change, simply look for the option at check out—every cent helps.

To us, being AKA-approved is essential for both the organization working to protect kratom as well as the consumers looking to buy quality kratom. We follow GMP standards and lab-test our kratom to ensure its quality and purity. Every step of the process, from sourcing to sales, is done ethically, sustainably, and with the future of kratom in mind.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news from the AKA and what you can do to help, use these links to follow or subscribe:

• Like the AKA’s Facebook Page
• Follow the AKA on Instagram
• Join the AKA’s email list
• Follow the AKA’s Twitter Account

You can find out more about the AKA and donate to the American Kratom Association on their website.