We regularly peruse the Botanical Legal Defense website, and recently found this gem of an announcement that any business in Illinois should take note of:

The Botanical Legal Defense is proud to share another hard-fought victory!  This time is the State of Illinois and HB5526 that sought to make Kratom, it’s alkaloids and the entire plant a Schedule I plant in the State of Illinois.

The announcement goes on to describe how two of their members and their Illinois lobbyist headed to Springfield the last week of March 2014 for a couple of days of hand-shaking at the Capital Building, where the House of Representatives were in their last 2 weeks of the current session.  Shockingly enough, a quick look at public records revealed that in the entire state of Illinois, only two people registered to testify on behalf of Kratom and HB5526; the Botanical Legal Defense lobbyist and Keith Cleversley.  We’d like to offer an extra “thank you” to both of them for having the courage to stand before a committee of representatives!

Before the actual hearing, the team of three met with every member of the committee that was voting on HB5526 that they could meet with, submitting a 1-page “Representative Bullet Points” to each representative that included the suggestion to amend the proposed legislation to make Kratom available to adults 18 and older instead of outright banning it.

The Botanical Legal Defense has publicly stated that they are very against dangerous synthetic drugs such as “Spice” and “Bath Salts” that deserve the harshest penalties in order to keep them off the streets and out of the hands of our kids.  Kratom has been getting lumped in with these dangerous synthetics, and the Botanical Legal Defense Team has made it their personal mission to educate those in positions of power that Kratom is a completely natural herbal product that has been used safely for thousands of years.  They were also able to present a few of the over 150 studies they say that they have amassed showing the vast medical potential of Kratom.  Coupled with a letter-writing campaign, it seems that this victory belongs to everyone who took part in this monumental effort in Illinois.

The amendment was accepted in the House of Representatives, and will be added to the bill before it goes to the Senate for a further vote within 10 days.

To quote the Botanical Legal Defense directly:

“Everyone at the BLD already firmly believes in and supports adults-only access to plants such as Kratom.  So, this is a double-win for Kratom and for everyone in the Kratom community!  This has also set a very important precedent for other states to now follow, by simply limiting access to this safe, all-natural herbal product to those 18 and older, instead of outright making it illegal.

Our efforts continue, and we will fight every state’s legislation as it comes up.  We were alone in our fight in Illinois, as we have been in the other states we’ve been fighting for, but are so proud of the trust that so many of you have placed in us to ensure your voice is heard in any state that has pending legislation.

As always, none of this would be possible if it weren’t for everyone’s generous support; whether it’s a donation of your time, sending out letters to representatives, donating just a few dollars or all the way up to the Roots Level members who have donated $5,000.00 or more to our cause.  It’s all equally as important and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts here at BLD.”

Why not join the fight to Keep Kratom Legal today?

– Entheology Team