Is Kratom Legal in Arkansas?

Kratom is banned in Arkansas. The ban didn’t come from a vote in the state legislature — it came from the Arkansas State Board of Health, which used its administrative rulemaking authority in 2016 to add kratom’s two main alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, to the state’s Schedule I list of controlled substances. This rule was formalized under Act 888 and now sits within the Arkansas Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Controlled Substances. Schedule I status means the state treats these compounds as having a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical use — the same category as drugs like heroin. Because the rule names the alkaloids rather than “kratom” as a plant, the ban covers every form of the product that contains them: raw leaf, powder, capsules, extracts, and any other formulation.

What the Penalties Look Like

Since kratom’s alkaloids are Schedule I substances, breaking the law here carries the same weight as other Schedule I offenses in Arkansas.

• Possession is a Class D felony, with a possible prison term of up to six years and fines as high as $10,000.
• Sale or distribution is charged more severely — as a Class C or Class B felony depending on the amount involved and other circumstances — with sentences that can range from three to twenty years.

It’s also worth knowing that bringing kratom into Arkansas from a state where it’s legal doesn’t get you off the hook. Transporting it across state lines into Arkansas is itself a criminal offense. Anyone currently in possession of kratom in the state should talk to a local attorney about their situation.

How the Ban Came About

Arkansas’s Board of Health made its move in 2016, a time when a number of states were taking a closer look at kratom’s legal standing. Because the Board acted through its own rulemaking process, the change never went before the Arkansas General Assembly for a vote. Advocacy groups, including the American Kratom Association, have pushed to reverse the ban and replace it with a regulatory framework similar to the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), which several other states have adopted. That model focuses on quality and labeling standards rather than prohibition. As of the most recent legislative check, no bill to reverse the ban has been introduced or is moving through the Arkansas legislature.

There’s no legal way to purchase kratom for use in Arkansas right now. Responsible vendors won’t ship to Arkansas addresses because doing so would violate state law — for both the buyer and the seller.

Several states that border Arkansas — Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, and Oklahoma — currently allow kratom sales. That doesn’t create a loophole, though. Buying kratom legally in one of those states and bringing it into Arkansas is still a crime under Arkansas law. The prohibition applies to possession within the state, regardless of where the product came from.