NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – For customers going into the Brown Derby convenience store on Tulane Avenue, they are greeted with a sign saying they will no longer be selling kratom passed July 31st. It’s due to a statewide ban on the substance that Governor Jeff Landry signed into law this year that goes into effect August 1.
“I might have like 500, 600 dollars worth right now. I’m definitely going to be sold out by the time the ban is in effect,” Brown Derby owner Gus Melkieh said.
The kratom ban was pushed by state lawmakers in the 2025 legislative session. Some legislators argued the product, which is consumed as a tea, gives users an addictive high and could be harmful to their health.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom for medical use and has even warned that kratom can cause liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.
“Our convenience stores are loaded with this bad, bad stuff,” State Rep. Debbie Villio (R-Kenner) said in a House floor debate this year.
Melkieh says, his customers who rely on kratom use the product to get over drug addiction, calm their nerves, or keep them perked up for work.
“They are just regular people. They come in and enjoy it,” he said.
Louisiana’s Alcohol and Tobacco Control says it’s preparing agents to enforce the new law statewide.
Anyone convicted of having less than 20 grams of kratom would get a $100 fine, and anything more than 20 grams would get up to 6 months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000.
Anyone convicted of distributing kratom would face between 1 and 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.
“On July 1st, it will be part of our regular operations in respect to inspections and compliance checks by our agents,” ATC Commissioner Ernest Legier said. “We are watching and we are going to make sure public safety is a priority.”
For store owners like Melkieh, he says he will continue selling kratom while it’s still legal, but he questions the reasoning of the lawmakers who pushed the ban forward.
“People get addicted to cigarettes. People get addicted to alcohol. People get addicted to food. Just let people live their lives,” he said.
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