This month I want to talk about an incredibly important bill that slid underneath the radar all session long. 

Virginia’s part-time General Assembly session meets for 60 days in even numbered years and 45 days in odd years, which is when most of the activity happens during 12 to 14 hour days. So, January columns and February columns are easy to write. And March is always going to be the wrap up column, and in April we meet in Richmond again for Reconvene Session to vote on the Governor’s amendments and vetoes.  

In June, I usually tell you about the laws that go into effect on July 1st- and in July we get to all the laws that I couldn’t get to in June.

May is a tougher column to write. This year was remarkably busy as the General Assembly sent a huge number of bills back to the Governor without adopting her amendments. That means this week is her deadline to decide whether to allow those bills to become law as they passed the General Assembly or to veto them so we can work on making them more to her liking next year. 

But that process isn’t done yet. Next month I’ll write about collective bargaining, class action law suits, the adult use marijuana marketplace, the assault weapons ban and several other high profile issues that will be decided by then. 

This month I want to talk Kratom. 

Until this session I didn’t know what it was. I’d seen it in neon letters at gas stations and vape shops, and figured it was some kind of intoxicant, but other than that I had no idea what it was. 

I didn’t know that earlier this year, UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center published a major national study showing a staggering 1,200% increase in kratom-related poison control calls over the last decade. Researchers documented cases involving seizures, respiratory distress, addiction, and dangerous interactions with other substances, particularly among younger users and people unaware of product potency or contamination risks.

Kratom is a plant-derived substance often sold as a supplement for pain relief, energy, mood enhancement, or anxiety. But unlike regulated pharmaceuticals, these products are frequently sold with inconsistent labeling, uncertain potency, and little meaningful oversight. At the same time, many users argue kratom has helped them manage chronic pain or reduce dependence on opioids. 

During the 2026 Session, the General Assembly adopted new laws regulating the sale of kratom products sold in Virginia.

We placed age restrictions, labeling requirements, testing standards, and penalties for adulterated or dangerously concentrated products. Virginia law will now prohibit the sale of kratom products to minors and create new consumer safety standards designed to prevent contaminated or misleadingly marketed products from reaching store shelves.

This week, renewed national attention has followed the tragic death of former San José State basketball player and Memphis Grizzlies veteran Brandon Clarke, prompting many Americans to ask a familiar question: if these products are widely available in gas stations, vape shops, and convenience stores, what protections are actually in place?

As a legislator, I was asked, “What’s Virginia doing about this? You need to do something.”

Fortunately, in this case, I was able to answer that we had done something. Having chaired the subcommittee where this bill was first considered, we heard arguments for an outright ban and we also heard arguments that the problem isn’t in the product itself. Issues ranged from how it’s marketed, how kratom derivatives are distilled into more potent forms, and in the absolute absence of any regulation of its packaging, access to minors, and disclosure of ingredients, and potency.

Is the bill we passed this year the final answer on this issue? Probably not. It’s certainly a step in the right direction and we can come back to revisit the issue if we find the rules we wrote this session don’t address the underlying problem or are so burdensome they have unintended consequences for legitimate uses. 

I want to give a big tip of the hat to my colleague Delegate Joshua Cole of Fredericksburg for his leadership on this bill, and his willingness to stick to his guns when manufacturers and purveyors of kratom asked him to slow down and water down his legislation. 

I know it feels like we are always chasing the next problem and that government is always hopelessly behind the curve, but in this case our General Assembly and our governor have shown some leadership and are working to tackle this problem before it gets too big.