In the first week of September, two states moved on kratom in ways that point in opposite directions, and the contrast is worth understanding if you buy kratom anywhere in the United States.
Iowa issued a statewide public warning. Montana had a bill in front of it that would have created testing standards, labeling requirements, and an age floor, and a legislative committee set that bill aside while a separate committee advanced a proposal to ban the plant outright.
Neither action changes federal law. Both are worth reading closely, because state and local rules are where nearly all of the movement is right now.
What Iowa announced on September 1
Governor Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a joint public warning about kratom and synthetic 7-OH products on September 1, 2026.
The figures the state cited:
- 45 kratom-associated deaths confirmed since 2024, across 23 counties
- 16 of those deaths in the first seven months of 2026
- 68 kratom exposure calls to Iowa Poison Control year to date, which the state describes as a 467 percent increase over two years
Governor Reynolds said in the announcement that "kratom is not a supplement, it is not a medicine, and it is not safe."
The state is expanding public health campaign messaging and has asked retailers to review their shelves for products that now fall under controlled substance law, following the DEA action that took effect August 26.
The distinction inside the Iowa release
The release does draw a line between kratom leaf and the concentrated or synthesized 7-OH products that have driven most of the recent federal activity. It describes those concentrated products as carrying a different and more severe risk profile than the leaf material.
That distinction sits inside the body of the announcement rather than in the headline message, which is worth noting simply because the headline is what most people will see. We are not in a position to argue with a state health department about its own mortality data, and we are not going to try. What we can say is that the difference between a botanical leaf product and a manufactured concentrate is a real one, it is the difference the DEA itself drew when it wrote a numeric threshold into one order and not another, and it tends to disappear in summary.
What happened in Montana
On the same day, the Daily Montanan reported that two Montana interim committees took up kratom and reached opposite conclusions.
The regulation bill was tabled
The Law and Justice Interim Committee tabled a draft Kratom Consumer Protection Act by a vote of 8 to 1. As drafted, that bill would have:
- Prohibited synthesized kratom products
- Required labeling on kratom products sold in the state
- Set a minimum purchase age of 18
- Allowed kratom to remain available under state regulation and testing requirements
Part of the objection was to the age floor itself. Sen. Vince Ricci, a Republican from Livingston, said "I don't think it's strong enough," noting that "the age limit is 18, tobacco is 21, cannabis is 21, alcohol is 21."
The ban bill advanced
Separately, the Economic Affairs Interim Committee advanced a bill that would designate kratom's chemical compounds as controlled substances, which would function as a ban.
Sen. Ellie Boldman, a Democrat from Missoula, said she "voted to ban Kratom because 'gas station heroin' has no business being sold at gas stations in Montana. Too many Americans, especially young men, have already paid for it with their lives."
Neither bill is law. Interim committee action determines what gets drafted and carried into the next session, not what passes.
Why these two outcomes matter together
Read side by side, Montana is the clearest recent illustration of a pattern we have written about before. The bill that would have required testing, labeling, and an age check was the one that got set aside. The bill that removes the product from legal retail is the one that moved forward.
We made the underlying argument at length when Tennessee acted, in our piece on that state's ban, and we are not going to restate it here. The short version is that a regulated market produces labeling requirements, testing requirements, age verification, and a paper trail. An unregulated prohibition produces none of those things, it just moves the transaction.
Reasonable people land in different places on this, and the Montana committee vote was 8 to 1, which is not a close call. The legislators who voted to table were responding to real constituent testimony about real harm. Our disagreement is about which instrument addresses that harm, not about whether the harm is real.
The federal picture has not changed
Nothing in either state's action affects federal status, and the federal position is where most of the confusion still lives.
Natural kratom leaf remains federally unscheduled. The DEA's temporary scheduling orders name specific compounds. In July the agency published a notice covering 7-hydroxymitragynine above a specified threshold, and a separate order covering mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 took effect on August 26.
Whether the second of those orders reaches ordinary leaf material is now in front of a federal court. We covered that case in detail in our write-up of the American Kratom Association's suit against the DEA, and the earlier scheduling action in our post on the DEA and synthetic 7-OH.
What this means for you
Check your own state and county before ordering. This is the practical takeaway and it has not changed. Federal status tells you very little about whether you can legally receive a package at your address. We keep a running overview in our guide to kratom legality by state, and we track municipal action in our roundup of city-level bans. Both move faster than any single post can, so treat them as a starting point rather than a final answer.
Know what you are actually buying. Much of the enforcement activity in 2026 has been aimed at concentrated and synthesized products rather than leaf material. Those are different categories of product with different regulatory exposure, and the labels do not always make it obvious which one is in the bottle. We wrote about where that line falls in natural kratom versus synthetic 7-OH.
Documentation matters more every month. If your vendor cannot produce a batch-matched certificate of analysis for what is in your hand, you do not have a way to answer any of the questions above. We have written up how to read one of those reports so you can hold any vendor to it, including us.
Where NuWave stands
Our position is unchanged. We have never sold isolated, concentrated, or semi-synthetic 7-OH products, and we do not carry mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, or MGM-16 in any form. Our catalog is traditional leaf material and conventional extracts from GMP-qualified brands, independently tested, with certificates of analysis tied to batch codes.
We also comply with state and local restrictions on where we ship. If your jurisdiction has restricted kratom, we do not fulfill there, and that applies whether the restriction arrived through a legislature, a health department, or a city council.
None of that is a claim about what kratom does. It is a description of what we sell and how we document it.
Frequently asked questions
Did Iowa ban kratom?
No. Iowa issued a public health warning and asked retailers to review their shelves for products covered by the August federal scheduling action. A warning is not a ban and does not by itself change what is legal to sell in the state.
Is kratom banned in Montana now?
No. Two interim committees took opposite positions. One tabled a regulation bill, the other advanced a ban proposal. Interim committee action shapes what gets carried into the next legislative session. Neither outcome is law.
What was in Montana's Kratom Consumer Protection Act?
As drafted, it prohibited synthesized kratom, required product labeling, set a minimum purchase age of 18, and allowed regulated and tested products to remain available. It was tabled 8 to 1.
Does any of this change federal law?
No. Natural kratom leaf remains federally unscheduled. The DEA's temporary orders name specific compounds, and Mitragyna speciosa is not among them.
How do I find out if kratom is legal where I live?
Check your state law and then your city or county, because municipal restrictions frequently exist where state law is permissive. Our legality guide is a starting point, but local ordinances change faster than any published roundup.
Sources
- Iowa HHS: Governor Reynolds, State Officials Warn Public About Rising Dangers of Kratom and Synthetic 7-OH Products, September 1, 2026
- Daily Montanan: Legislators eye reining in 'Wild West' kratom industry, September 1, 2026
- Federal Register: Temporary Placement of Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 in Schedule I, August 26, 2026
- Federal Register: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Above a Specified Threshold, July 6, 2026
Questions about our sourcing, lab documentation, or where we ship? Email orders@nuwavebotanicals.com.
FDA Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Kratom products are intended strictly for individuals 18 years of age or older, or 21+ where required by applicable state law.
We comply with all applicable state and local laws. Orders to restricted areas are not fulfilled. Check your local regulations before ordering.