Kratom is legal in Missouri for adults. The state has not banned it, has not placed it on its controlled substances schedules, and has not yet enacted any statewide regulatory framework. What complicates the picture is local: a handful of Missouri cities and counties have passed their own ordinances, and one neighboring state treats kratom as a felony-level controlled substance. If you buy, carry, or use kratom in Missouri, the rules that matter to you depend heavily on your county, your city, and where you drive.
Where Missouri Law Stands
Missouri has no statute prohibiting the possession, sale, or use of kratom. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (the two main alkaloids in kratom) are not scheduled under Missouri’s controlled substances laws, so buying it, carrying it, and consuming it do not violate state criminal law.
Legislators have tried repeatedly to put a regulatory structure around that legality. Versions of a Kratom Consumer Protection Act have moved through the General Assembly since 2020. The closest attempt was Senate Bill 774 in 2022, which passed both chambers and would have set labeling standards, banned adulterated products, prohibited sales to anyone under 18, and preempted local ordinances. The bill defined kratom as a “food,” which conflicted with the FDA’s position that kratom is not a lawful food ingredient, and Governor Parson vetoed it.1Missouri Senate. SB 774 – Bill Information No KCPA has reached the governor’s desk since. Missouri sits in a regulatory gap: legal, but largely unregulated at the state level.
Local Rules That May Apply To You
Because there is no state preemption, Missouri cities and counties are free to pass their own kratom ordinances, and several have.
St. Charles County
St. Charles County adopted Kratom Seller Registration Ordinance #19-070 in 2019. Any retailer selling kratom in the county has to register online, at a cost of $600 for two years.2St Charles County, MO – Official Website. Kratom Registered sellers must submit product labels to the county before sale, disclose mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine content on labels, avoid adulterated or synthetic products, keep 7-hydroxymitragynine under 2% of the alkaloid composition, and refuse sales to anyone under 18.3St. Charles County, MO. Kratom Seller Registration Information Violations draw fines of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 after that, with each day counted as a separate offense.4SCCMo.org. Kratom Seller Registration Notification
St. Louis County
In St. Louis County, kratom sellers must obtain a license from the county Department of Public Health. The county enforces labeling requirements and sets the minimum purchase age at 21, higher than St. Charles County’s 18.
Rolla
In March 2026, the Rolla City Council banned the sale and possession of synthetic kratom and isolated 7-hydroxymitragynine (sometimes marketed as 7-OH). Natural kratom leaf products remain available in Rolla, but only to buyers 21 and older. The same ordinance covers delta-7 and delta-8 THC products.
Everywhere Else
Other Missouri cities and counties may have passed their own rules, and new ones can appear at any time because nothing at the state level stops them. If you buy regularly, call your city hall or county clerk before assuming the shelf in front of you is governed only by state law.
What’s Pending in the Legislature
The push for a statewide framework continues. House Bill 2700 in the current session would create the “Missouri Kratom Consumer Protection Act” with a proposed effective date of August 28, 2026.5Missouri House. HB 2700 Recent proposals have raised the purchase age from 18 to 21, required disclosure of alkaloid content on labels, banned adulterated and synthetic products, capped 7-hydroxymitragynine at 2% of the alkaloid fraction, created misdemeanor-level penalties for violations, opened a civil cause of action for harmed consumers, and would preempt the current patchwork of city and county ordinances.1Missouri Senate. SB 774 – Bill Information Given the track record, don’t assume any particular bill will become law.
The Federal Picture
Kratom is not a federally controlled substance. The DEA considered placing it on Schedule I in 2016 and reversed course after public opposition. No federal scheduling has happened since.
The FDA takes a different view. The agency has concluded that kratom is not lawfully marketed in the United States as a drug, a dietary supplement, or a food additive, and treats it as an adulterated dietary ingredient on the grounds that there is not enough evidence to show it does not pose a significant risk of illness or injury.6U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA and Kratom This federal posture is part of why Governor Parson vetoed SB 774: the bill defined kratom as a “food” in direct conflict with the FDA’s position. For a Missouri consumer, the practical consequence is that kratom has no federal approval behind it even though it is not federally banned.
The Attorney General’s Investigation
Missouri’s Attorney General has launched and expanded a statewide investigation into kratom manufacturers and retailers, targeting companies suspected of selling unapproved, unsafe, or deceptively marketed products. The office has issued Civil Investigative Demands requiring companies to disclose how their products are made, labeled, and marketed, along with any records of adverse-event communications.7Attorney General Office of Missouri. Attorney General Hanaway Launches Investigation Into Major Kratom Manufacturers and Retailers for Potentially Dangerous and Illegal Practices The investigation was prompted by reports of serious harm in Missouri, including deaths, dependency, seizures, heart complications, and liver toxicity, and has since expanded to additional retailers.8Attorney General Office of Missouri. Attorney General Hanaway Expands Investigation Into Kratom Manufacturer and Retailers Consumers who believe they were misled or harmed can file a complaint at ago.mo.gov. None of this changes kratom’s legal status for buyers, but it does mean the products on store shelves are under active state scrutiny.
Driving After Taking Kratom
Missouri’s DUI statute makes it a crime to operate a vehicle in an “intoxicated condition,” and that language is not limited to alcohol or scheduled drugs.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 577.010 If kratom impairs your driving, you can be charged. Officers would rely on observed impairment, field sobriety testing, and possibly a blood or urine test.
Refusing a chemical test after a DUI arrest triggers a Chemical Revocation: an automatic one-year revocation of your driving privilege that stays on your record permanently. A limited driving privilege is possible during that year, but only after installing an ignition interlock device and filing an SR-22, which you must keep in place for two years. If your record shows more than one intoxication-related contact with law enforcement, the interlock requirement extends to at least six months beyond reinstatement.10Missouri Department of Revenue. Refusal to Submit to an Alcohol and/or Drug Test FAQs
Crossing State Lines
Carrying kratom inside Missouri is legal if you comply with any local ordinance where you are. Flying out of a Missouri airport is also fine from the TSA’s standpoint: powdered supplements are allowed in carry-on and checked bags, though powder containers larger than 12 ounces must be placed in a separate screening bin and may get extra inspection.11Transportation Security Administration. Protein or Energy Powders
The border that matters is Arkansas. Arkansas classifies mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine as Schedule I controlled substances, so crossing into Arkansas with kratom in your vehicle can result in felony drug charges. Legislation was introduced in Arkansas in 2025 to remove kratom from the controlled substances list, but until it passes the ban stands. Missouri’s other neighbors (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee) do not ban kratom, though some have age restrictions or other rules. Check the destination before you drive.
Kratom and Workplace Drug Tests
Standard workplace drug panels, the 5-panel and 10-panel immunoassay tests most employers use, do not screen for mitragynine. Kratom will not trigger a false positive for opioids on these panels because its alkaloids are structurally distinct from the opioids those tests look for.
Specialized testing is a different matter. Laboratories using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry can detect mitragynine and related compounds in urine, though accurate measurement remains technically difficult.12NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). Drug Testing for Mitragynine and Kratom: Analytical Challenges and Medico-Legal Considerations Employers in safety-sensitive industries or with zero-tolerance policies can order these tests. If your job falls under federal safety regulation (trucking, aviation, rail), expect the testing environment around kratom to tighten as federal attention on the substance grows.