Kanna Consumer Protection Act

§1Purpose

Kanna is sold in the United States with no product rules of its own. This act sets the minimum a kanna product has to meet: tested, honestly labeled, sold only to adults, and carrying the warnings people actually need. Coalition members agree to follow it as a condition of membership. It is also written as a model bill for any state that decides to regulate kanna, so lawmakers have a workable option that isn't a ban.

§2Definitions

1. Kanna means the plant Sceletium tortuosum (also classified as Mesembryanthemum tortuosum) and any part of it, dried, fermented or otherwise processed.
2. Kanna product means any food, beverage, supplement, tea, tincture, capsule, powder, extract or other product that contains kanna or is sold as containing kanna.
3. Extract means kanna that has been concentrated by any process, with or without a solvent, so that it has more alkaloid per gram than the plant it came from. Concentrates and kanna alkaloids separated from the plant are extracts.
4. Total alkaloids means the combined amount of mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and mesembranol, as measured by an accredited lab. It is stated as a percentage by weight or in milligrams. A lab may report other alkaloids, such as delta-7-mesembrenone, separately. They are not counted in total alkaloids unless the members vote to add them.
5. High potency product means any kanna extract with more than 15% total alkaloids by weight, and any powder, capsule, tablet, tincture or other product made with that extract. Extracts at or below 15% total alkaloids, dried whole plant, cut and powdered plant, and teas made from them are not high potency products. They still carry the full potency statement under §4.
6. Lot means product made from the same material in the same production run and marked with one lot or batch number. "Lot" and "batch" mean the same thing in this act.
7. Tolerance means the allowed difference between the total alkaloids stated on a label and the result on the COA for that lot: plus or minus 20 percent of the label value.
8. Dealer means anyone who makes, packages, distributes, sells or offers kanna products for sale, in person or online.
9. Accredited lab means a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 with the test methods it uses for kanna in its scope, and independent of the dealer whose product it tests.
10. COA means a certificate of analysis issued by an accredited lab for a single lot.

§3Certificates of analysis

1. Every lot of every kanna product is tested by an accredited lab before it is sold. A dealer may rely on the maker's COA if the lot number on the COA matches the lot number on the package.
2. The COA reports:
   • each of the four alkaloids in §2(d) and total alkaloids, in mg per gram and mg per serving
   • heavy metals: lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury
   • microbes: total aerobic count, total yeast and mold, E. coli and Salmonella
   • residual solvents, for any extract made with a solvent other than water
3. The COA names the lab, its accreditation number, the lot number, the date the sample was tested and the test methods used.
4. The COA is posted publicly and linked from the label by a QR code or short web address. Customers do not have to email anyone to see it.
5. A lot that fails any contaminant limit is not sold. A lot whose total alkaloids fall outside the tolerance is relabeled to match its COA before it is sold.
6. Dealers keep each COA on file for at least two years after the last sale from that lot.

Contaminant limits in draft 0.1 follow the USP standards for dietary supplements: USP <2232> for lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, calculated at the label's maximum daily servings, and the botanical limits in USP <2023> for microbes, tested by the methods in USP <2021> and <2022>. Residual solvent limits are set at the first member vote. The founding members vote to confirm or change all of these.

§4Labeling

Every kanna product label shows:

1. The common and Latin name: "Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum)."
2. The form: whole plant, powder, extract, tincture, capsule, beverage and so on. Extracts say "extract" on the front panel.
3. Net weight or volume, serving size and servings per package.
4. A potency statement. Any product containing a kanna extract states the extract amount and its total alkaloid percentage together, on the same line and in the same type size, followed by the total alkaloids in milligrams per serving. The percentage is total alkaloids by weight of the extract, taken from the COA for that lot. An extract amount on its own is not allowed. A ratio like "10:1" may be shown as well but never replaces the percentage.
5. Total alkaloids per serving and per package, within the tolerance of the COA for that lot.
6. All other ingredients.
7. Lot number and a QR code or web address for that lot's COA.
8. The name and a US address, phone number or email of the company responsible for the product.
9. The medication warning in §5, plus the high potency warning in §6 where it applies.
10. "For adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children and pets."

Potency statement: what passes and what doesn't

"50 mg of kanna extract" tells a customer almost nothing. One 50 mg extract can be 0.4% alkaloids and another can be 40%. That is a hundred times difference in strength behind the same number.

The percentage comes from the COA for that lot. If a product mixes more than one extract, each one gets its own potency line, and the total alkaloids per serving is the sum.

Labels make no claim that kanna diagnoses, treats, cures or prevents any disease.

§5Medication interaction warning

Mesembrine, the main alkaloid in kanna, acts on serotonin reuptake. Taking kanna on top of medications that also raise serotonin can raise the risk of serotonin syndrome, which can be serious. Every kanna product carries this warning on the label and on its product page:

Online, the same warning appears on the product page above the add to cart button, not only in a tab or the fine print.

§6High potency products

Any kanna extract over 15% total alkaloids is a high potency product under §2. These are the strongest kanna products sold, and the easiest to take too much of, so they carry extra rules on top of everything else in this act.

1. High potency products carry this warning in addition to §5:

2. The front panel says "High potency" and carries the full potency statement from §4(d), for example "Kanna extract, 30% total alkaloids, 50 mg," with total alkaloids per serving on the same panel. A ratio like "10:1" may be shown as well but never replaces the percentage.
3. Every high potency product comes with dosing information on the label or a package insert:
   • the serving size in milligrams of extract and in milligrams of total alkaloids
   • a suggested starting serving and the most to take in one day
   • how long to wait before taking more
   • how to measure a serving with the tool that comes in the package
4. Every high potency powder is sold with a measuring scoop or spoon sized to one serving, or to a stated fraction of one, packed in the container or attached to it. Tinctures and liquids come with a dropper marked in milliliters. Capsules and tablets, which are already measured, are exempt from this clause.
5. Retail stores keep high potency products behind the counter or in a locked display.

§7Age gating

1. No kanna product is sold to anyone under 21.
2. Websites selling kanna use an age gate on entry and verify age at checkout, using a third party age verification check or ID upload for a customer's first order.
3. Shipments of high potency products require an adult signature where the carrier offers it.
4. Retail staff check ID for anyone who looks under 40.
5. Wholesale accounts agree in writing to follow this section.

§8Adulteration and synthetics

1. No synthetic, semi-synthetic or chemically altered alkaloids are sold as kanna, and none are added to a kanna product.
2. No kanna product contains a controlled substance, an undeclared drug, or any ingredient not listed on the label.
3. Kanna is sourced from growers and suppliers holding the permits required in their country. For South African material that means the permits required under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 and its bioprospecting, access and benefit-sharing regulations, which require benefit sharing with the San and Khoi communities whose traditional knowledge of the plant is recognized. Importers keep their supplier's permit and export paperwork on file.

§9Marketing

1. No disease claims, in ads, on labels, on social media or by affiliates.
2. No marketing aimed at anyone under 21.
3. No calling kanna "safe for everyone," "non-addictive" or "FDA approved."

§10Member verification

1. To be listed as verified, a member sends the coalition current COAs, label proofs and screenshots of its age gate and product pages for every kanna product it sells.
2. The coalition may buy any member product at retail and send it to an accredited lab. A member whose product fails §3 or §8 is taken off the verified list until the problem is fixed.
3. Verification is reviewed every 12 months.

§11Effective date and transition

1. This act applies to a member from the day it joins, except as (b) allows.
2. A member has 90 days from joining to bring existing labels and packaging into line with §4 and §6. During those 90 days the member posts the COA, the §5 warning and, where it applies, the §6 warning on every product page.
3. When the members adopt a new version of this act, members have 90 days from adoption to meet any new or changed requirement.

§12Relationship to other law

1. This act sets a minimum. Where federal, state or local law is stricter, that law controls and members follow it.
2. Nothing in this act allows the sale of kanna where the law prohibits it. Members check the law in every state they sell into, including Louisiana's hallucinogenic plant law, La. R.S. 40:989.1, which lists Mesembryanthemum species.
3. If any part of this act is found invalid, the rest stays in effect.

How to comment on this draft

Draft 0.1 is open for comment. Email [email protected] with the section and letter you're commenting on, like "§4(d)," and what you would change. Founding members vote on the first version after the comment period. For background on the plant, its alkaloids and the medication risk, see What is kanna.

Member registry

Companies listed here have joined the coalition. "Verified" means the coalition has reviewed their COAs, labels and age gating against this act.

Sell kanna and want your company on this list? Apply here.