Kanna CoalitionEst. 2026Sceletium tortuosum
Kanna sellers writing their own rules, before somebody else does.
The Kanna Coalition is the companies that grow, extract, test and sell kanna (Sceletium tortuosum). We are drafting the Kanna Consumer Protection Act, a standard every member follows and a model bill we can hand to any state that asks.
Fig. 1 Kanna, drawn as a star map
- Kanna Consumer Protection Act 0.1Posted for member comment.
- Founding roundGrowers, extractors, brands, retailers and labs.
- First member voteTesting panel and the high potency warning.
Kanna is next in line.
Kratom went through it first. For years there were no rules, a few bad products made the news, and states started writing bans. More than a dozen states now ban or schedule kratom. The states that landed somewhere workable mostly passed some version of a Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The details vary by state, but the usual pieces are an age limit (often 21), real labels, testing or contaminant limits, and bans on synthetic or concentrated alkaloids like 7-OH.
Kanna sales are climbing the same way. Most of the people selling it do it right. Some sell extracts with no COA, no idea what's in them, and no warning about antidepressants. That last part is the one most likely to hurt somebody.
If the industry doesn't set the standard, a legislator who has never seen the plant will.
The coalition is how we get there first. One set of rules, written by people who actually handle kanna, that members follow now and that we can bring to lawmakers later.
The short version. Read the full act
- COAs on every batch
- Third party tested by an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab for alkaloids, heavy metals and microbes, plus residual solvents for extracts. The COA is public and tied to the lot number on the package.
- Labels that match the lab
- Extracts must say the percentage, not just the milligrams: "Kanna extract, 5% total alkaloids, 50 mg," not "Kanna extract 50 mg." Plus the Latin name, lot number, a link to the COA and a real company contact. No disease claims. How to read a kanna label.
- 21 and over
- Age gate on every website, age check at checkout, ID checks in store, no marketing aimed at kids.
- Medication warning
- Every product says not to combine kanna with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs or other serotonergic medications, on the label and above the add to cart button.
- High potency warning
- Extracts over 15% total alkaloids are labeled "High potency," carry an extra warning, and come with dosing directions and a measuring scoop or marked dropper.
- Nothing synthetic
- No synthetic or isolated alkaloids sold as natural kanna, and nothing undeclared in the bag.
| Botanical name | Sceletium tortuosum (family Aizoaceae) |
|---|---|
| Other names | Kanna, kougoed, channa |
| Native range | Northern, Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Main alkaloids | Mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol, mesembranol |
| US federal status | Not a controlled substance |
| State law | No kanna-specific law yet. Louisiana's hallucinogenic plant law lists Mesembryanthemum species, the genus many botanists place kanna in, so it may cover kanna. |
| Biggest safety issue | Combining it with antidepressants and other serotonergic drugs |
You don't have to sell kanna to have a say.
Use kanna? Lawmakers need to hear from you.
Bans get passed when the only people in the room are the ones asking for them. A short letter from a constituent who uses kanna responsibly carries real weight, because offices get so few.
We wrote the letter, a two minute call script, and a plain guide to finding your legislators, tracking bills and reporting bad products.
If you sell kanna, you have a stake in how it gets regulated.