Kanna legal status, state by state.
Kanna is not a controlled substance under US federal law. Louisiana is the one state with a law that appears to reach it. Tap a state to see what we found and where it comes from.
US map
- Legal / unscheduled
- Restricted or banned
- Pending bill or ban coming
- Unclear
- Legal, but a bill came close (watch)
Tap or select any state on the map. Louisiana is the one to know about.
The short version for US states
- Louisiana: restricted. La. R.S. 40:989.1 lists "Mesembryanthemum spp.," the genus kanna is now placed in, as a hallucinogenic plant. It's a crime there to produce, make, sell or possess a product meant for human consumption that contains a listed plant, unless an exemption applies. Read the Louisiana breakdown.
- Texas: legal, watch next session. SB 1868 (2025) as filed listed "Mesembryanthemum spp." That list was cut before the Senate passed it, and the bill died in a House committee. Read the Texas post.
- Every other state and DC: legal / unscheduled. We found no state law that names kanna, Sceletium or mesembrine. General food, supplement and consumer protection laws still apply. Read the US overview.
We searched bill text and news for kanna, Sceletium, mesembrine and Mesembryanthemum in 2025 and 2026 sessions. If you know of a bill we missed, email [email protected].
Outside the US
Not on the DEA's list of controlled substances. FDA food and supplement rules still apply.
Not a controlled substance. Health Canada lists Sceletium tortuosum as a medicinal ingredient, but each product needs a licence (NPN) before it's sold.
Our post Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Health Canada NHPID entry
Not a controlled drug. Whether selling or importing it is legal turns on the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, and no court or agency has said.
Our post Misuse of Drugs Act, Sch. 2 Psychoactive Substances Act 2016
Not in the national Poisons Standard. It can't go in a listed (AUST L) medicine, and import and state psychoactive laws are untested.
Our post Poisons Standard (Oct 2026) Permissible Ingredients Determination
Not a controlled drug. Sale depends on whether a product counts as a "psychoactive substance" or fits the herbal, supplement or food exclusions.
Our post Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 Psychoactive Substances Act 2013
No scheduling found, and the government has licensed a commercial kanna product. Commercial use and export need a bioprospecting permit and benefit sharing.
Not a controlled drug in the national laws we checked. The Novel Food Catalogue has no entry for kanna, so its status as a food or supplement is unsettled.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety calls mesembrine, kanna's main alkaloid, a temporary narcotic. In July 2026 it blocked kanna products from import after finding mesembrine in 9 of 12 it tested. We couldn't read the designation notice itself.
MFDS release, Jul 22, 2026 (Korean) Yakup Gongron report (Korean) Asia Economy report (English)
Last checked: November 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how a product is labeled and sold matters. Check the law where you sell or live, and talk to a local lawyer before selling into Louisiana. Some of our blog posts linked here go live later in November and December 2026.