North Dakota is now under a statewide ban on kratom, a botanical stimulant sold for years in smoke shops and gas stations, after Governor Kelly Armstrong signed an executive order declaring a public health emergency. The ban, which took effect this week, prohibits the sale, use, and possession of kratom and kratom-related products across the state, with violators facing an infraction and a fine of up to $1,000.
Armstrong signed Executive Order 2026 on August 3, making the prohibition effective August 5 at 5 p.m., according to the North Dakota Office of the Governor. Officials cited public health concerns tied to unregulated kratom sales, which had spread through convenience stores with little oversight of dosage or purity. As FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul reported, North Dakota Monitor reporter Jack Dura joined the station to walk through how the state arrived at a temporary ban and why lawmakers are now being called back to the Capitol.
Alongside the governor's order, the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy issued an emergency rule, also effective August 5, classifying 7-hydroxymitragynine — a concentrated, psychoactive compound derived from kratom known as 7-OH — as a Schedule I controlled substance for 180 days. Per the same account, that classification places 7-OH in the same legal category as heroin and LSD, based on findings of high abuse potential and no accepted medical use.
Why Executive Action Wasn't Enough
Armstrong has called a special legislative session for September 2 in Bismarck, where lawmakers will consider codifying the 7-OH emergency rule into permanent state law and establishing formal criminal penalties. According to The Mighty 790 KFGO, Armstrong explained that executive orders cannot create criminal statutes on their own, and waiting for the regular legislative session in January 2027 would have pushed full statutory implementation out to August 2027.
The urgency traces back to mounting mortality data. North Dakota's State Epidemiology Office found that kratom and related compounds were linked to 50 total deaths in the state between 2019 and June 2026, serving as the primary cause of death in 23 of those cases, a contributing cause in one, and present in toxicology findings in 26 cases, as reported by News From The States.
Poison Control Calls Tripled in a Year
Exposure calls to North Dakota Poison Control involving kratom nearly tripled between 2024 and 2025, rising from seven calls to 22, according to MPR News. State health officials pointed to that surge as key evidence of an accelerating public health risk in the lead-up to the emergency order.
Attorney General Drew Wrigley has also weighed in on the timeline. In an August 4 broadcast interview with WDAY Radio, Wrigley said state forensic experts only recently began flagging kratom's presence in local criminal cases, and he noted four deaths in North Dakota directly attributable solely to kratom since September 2025. Wrigley described an undercover visit to a local smoke shop where, he said, a clerk warned him against buying kratom because of how quickly it can lead to personal addiction.
Cleanup and Compliance for Retailers
Wrigley's office has publicized a list of roughly 200 statewide drop-off locations, including law enforcement take-back sites and pharmacy MedSafe dropboxes, where retailers and consumers can dispose of now-banned kratom products. The state report notes law enforcement is initially prioritizing voluntary compliance over immediate criminal enforcement, though retailers who fail to remove or surrender inventory could still face financial loss or criminal liability.
North Dakota's move mirrors federal regulatory momentum. A July 2026 notice from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration proposed temporarily placing 7-OH above specified thresholds into Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act, citing health risks from unapproved 7-OH dietary supplements and FDA warning letters issued to distributors in 2025, per the Federal Register.
A Patchwork of State Approaches
North Dakota joins at least 10 other states that have enacted complete kratom prohibitions, including Kansas and Tennessee in mid-2026. Neighboring Minnesota took a different path, passing regulations in 2026 that raised the minimum purchase age for kratom products from 18 to 21 rather than banning it outright, MPR News reported. Hoodline previously covered Kansas's own ban and the withdrawal support services that followed.
That divergence is playing out inside North Dakota's own legislature. On August 12, the state's Kratom Working Group heard public testimony from medical experts, store owners, and citizens. Co-chair Rep. Pat Heinert said the group has reached consensus supporting a total ban on synthetic derivatives like 7-OH, while still evaluating whether natural-leaf kratom products should face an age limit of 21 or lighter regulation instead, according to KNOX Radio.
That distinction matters heading into September, since the governor's current order treats all kratom forms as banned, while some lawmakers appear to favor separating concentrated synthetic extracts from raw botanical leaf. Health experts and pro-kratom advocates have also raised concerns that abrupt bans could trigger severe withdrawal symptoms or push people who use kratom for pain management toward illicit opioids instead, while business owners face uncompensated losses from destroyed inventory. Those tensions are expected to shape debate when lawmakers convene in Bismarck next month.
