Is Kratom Legal in Louisiana? State Law and Shipping Guide

Quick answer: kratom is prohibited statewide in Louisiana.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:966.1 makes possession, production, manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of kratom unlawful. The statute defines kratom broadly to include substances derived from Mitragyna speciosa leaves and substances containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine. Those two alkaloids are also listed in Schedule I under R.S. 40:964. Kratom Paradise does not accept orders for Louisiana delivery.

What Louisiana law says about kratom

Louisiana's present statewide rule comes from Act 41 of the 2025 Regular Session. Senate Bill 154 became law and took effect August 1, 2025. It replaced the state's former under-18 sales restriction with a broad prohibition that applies to possession and commercial activity involving kratom.

R.S. 40:966.1 defines kratom as any substance derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree or any substance containing 7-hydroxymitragynine or mitragynine. The definition reaches ordinary plant material and alkaloid products. It does not depend on whether a package is marketed as leaf, extract, a dietary supplement, a tablet, or an isolated-alkaloid product.

Under subsection B, a person may not knowingly produce, manufacture, distribute, or dispense kratom, or possess it with intent to produce, manufacture, distribute, or dispense it. For an aggregate weight under 500 grams, the statute authorizes a fine of up to $50,000, imprisonment with or without hard labor for one to three years, or both. For 500 grams or more, it authorizes the same maximum fine and imprisonment for one to five years.

Subsection C separately makes knowing or intentional possession unlawful. Possession of 20 grams or less carries a fine of up to $100. A first conviction involving more than 20 grams may result in a fine of up to $500, imprisonment in the parish jail for up to six months, or both. A second or subsequent conviction involving more than 20 grams may result in a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in the parish jail for up to six months, or both.

Louisiana also amended R.S. 40:964. In Schedule I, the miscellaneous-substances category now lists 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine. The schedule applies unless a substance is specifically excepted, contained within an FDA-approved pharmaceutical product, or listed elsewhere. Ordinary retail kratom products do not gain an adult consumer exception from that language.

Act 41 additionally added Mitragyna speciosa to the prohibited-plant list in R.S. 40:989.2. That section addresses material, mixtures, preparations, and derivatives containing a prohibited plant when prepared or intended for covered forms of human consumption. The separate provisions reinforce the statewide prohibition from multiple directions: the plant is listed, its principal alkaloids are scheduled, and R.S. 40:966.1 expressly criminalizes kratom possession and commercial distribution.

No ordinary adult retail pathway

The current law is not an age-gated consumer protection statute. Louisiana's former law prohibited distribution to people under 18, but Act 41 repealed that provision and replaced it with a prohibition on distribution to a person of any age. Adult status therefore does not change the shipping result.

The prohibition also does not turn on the concentration of mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine in an ordinary product. R.S. 40:966.1 covers substances derived from the leaf and substances containing either named alkaloid. Louisiana has not adopted a retail concentration ceiling that makes products below a certain percentage lawful for general consumer sale.

A laboratory report, ingredient list, package warning, batch number, suggested serving, or age statement does not override the controlled-substance and kratom-specific statutes. Those details may describe a product, but they do not create a legal retail category under current Louisiana law.

How Louisiana's statewide prohibition developed

• Before August 1, 2025R.S. 40:989.3 prohibited distribution of kratom products to people under 18 but did not impose the present statewide adult prohibition.
• April 14, 2025Senate Bill 154 was introduced during the 2025 Regular Session.
• May 6, 2025The Louisiana Senate passed the amended bill after the Judiciary C process.
• June 4, 2025The measure was signed by the governor and designated Act 41.
• August 1, 2025Act 41 took effect, criminalizing possession and distribution, adding mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine to Schedule I, adding Mitragyna speciosa to the prohibited-plant list, and repealing R.S. 40:989.3.
• May 19, 2026House Bill 778, which proposed narrowing the law to certain synthetic or high-alkaloid products, was involuntarily deferred in committee and did not change the prohibition.
• July 21, 2026Act 41 remains the controlling statewide law, and Louisiana shipping remains unavailable.

The enacted 2025 measure took a different path from proposals that would have regulated kratom through age limits, product registration, labels, or concentration standards. Its final structure placed the named alkaloids in Schedule I and created a kratom-specific possession and distribution offense.

The 2026 proposal is important because it confirms that legislators considered a narrower approach after the ban took effect. House Bill 778 would have focused the controlled-substance language on synthesized, semi-synthesized, or synthetic-like compounds and would have introduced chemical thresholds. The official bill history shows that it was involuntarily deferred in the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice on May 19, 2026. A deferred proposal does not amend enacted law.

Louisiana's current statutory pages continue to show R.S. 40:966.1, the Schedule I entries in R.S. 40:964, and Mitragyna speciosa in R.S. 40:989.2. The current answer therefore remains a statewide prohibition rather than a pending or uncertain status.

Which kratom product formats are prohibited?

The statutory definition follows the contents of a product. Any substance derived from Mitragyna speciosa leaves falls within R.S. 40:966.1, as does any substance containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine. A change in texture, package, concentration, or serving format does not remove the underlying substance.

• Whole, crushed, or powdered leaf: prohibited because it is derived from Mitragyna speciosa leaves.
• Powder capsules: prohibited because encapsulation does not alter the plant-derived contents.
• Extract powders and liquids: prohibited when derived from kratom leaf or containing either named alkaloid.
• Tablets and pills: prohibited when they contain kratom material, mitragynine, or 7-hydroxymitragynine.
• Mitragynine products: covered by the kratom definition and the separate Schedule I listing.
• 7-hydroxymitragynine products: covered by the kratom definition and the separate Schedule I listing.
• Samples and promotional products: distribution remains prohibited even when no retail price is charged.
• Bulk quantities: prohibited, with R.S. 40:966.1 providing a higher maximum imprisonment range for manufacture or distribution involving 500 grams or more.

Neither a low serving amount nor a low alkaloid percentage creates an ordinary consumer exemption. The law uses any substance derived from the leaves and any substance containing the named alkaloids. That language reaches traditional botanical formats, not only laboratory-created or enhanced products.

Products advertised under an alternative name remain covered when their ingredients meet the statutory definition. A seller cannot convert prohibited kratom into a lawful consumer product by removing the word kratom from the title or emphasizing only a proprietary blend.

Does Kratom Paradise ship to Louisiana?

No. Kratom Paradise does not accept kratom orders for Louisiana delivery. There is no transit estimate because Louisiana is unavailable for the kratom catalog.

R.S. 40:966.1 prohibits distribution and dispensing in addition to possession. Shipping a package to a Louisiana recipient would place the product into the destination state's prohibited distribution chain. An out-of-state origin does not create an ordinary direct-to-consumer exception.

The restriction applies regardless of whether the recipient is over 21, provides government-issued identification, requests adult-signature delivery, or has previously purchased kratom in another state. Louisiana's current law does not establish a general medical, wellness, or personal-use ordering exception for ordinary retail products.

Replacement packages, free samples, gifts, and promotional shipments are also unavailable. Distribution is broader than a completed paid sale, and the statute does not establish a zero-dollar exception.

A future proposal should affect shipping only after it becomes law and reaches its effective date. House Bill 778 from the 2026 session did not pass. Its narrower approach cannot be used as authority for accepting orders while Act 41 and the current revised statutes remain in force.

Official Louisiana sources reviewed

• Louisiana R.S. 40:966.1
  The current kratom definition, prohibited conduct, and quantity-based penalties.
• Louisiana R.S. 40:964
  The current Schedule I entries for 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine.
• Louisiana R.S. 40:989.2
  The prohibited-plant statute listing Mitragyna speciosa.
• Louisiana Act 41 of 2025
  The enrolled text of Senate Bill 154 that created the current statewide prohibition.
• Louisiana Legislature: SB154 history
  Official actions, votes, amendments, and enactment status for Act 41.
• Louisiana Legislature: 2026 HB778 history
  Official confirmation that the 2026 narrowing proposal was involuntarily deferred and did not become law.

Last reviewed: Verified July 21, 2026. Statewide information only; not legal advice.