Is Kratom Legal in Georgia? Age 21 and 7-OH Limits (2026)

Kratom is not a scheduled drug in Georgia, but it is tightly regulated. The Kratom Consumer Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 16-13-120 to 16-13-122), rewritten by Act 546 (H.B. 181) effective January 1, 2025, sets a minimum age of 21 under Section 16-13-121, requires stores to keep kratom behind the counter, and under Section 16-13-122 caps mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in every product and bars synthetic alkaloids and vape products; Section 16-13-121 also makes it an offense for anyone to ingest kratom with an electronic cigarette or similar vapor device. For other states, see our guide to kratom laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-11. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Georgia state law: the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 16-13-120 to 16-13-122) as enacted by Act 546 (H.B. 181, 2024), the status of kratom under Georgia's Schedule I (O.C.G.A. 16-13-25), and the 2026 Schedule I bill H.B. 968, with one paragraph on federal law. It does not cover city or county ordinances, workplace or school policies, military rules, or other states' laws.

Is kratom legal in Georgia?

Georgia treats kratom as a regulated product, not a controlled substance. Georgia's Schedule I list in O.C.G.A. 16-13-25 does not name kratom, mitragynine or 7-OH, and Georgia instead regulates kratom in the three sections of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, O.C.G.A. 16-13-120 to 16-13-122.

The Act does four main things. It sets a minimum age of 21 to buy or possess kratom, it controls where a store may display it, it caps how much mitragynine and 7-OH a product may contain, and it bars certain products outright: adulterated products, products with synthetic alkaloids, and electronic or heated forms such as vapes. It also makes it an offense for any person to ingest kratom with an electronic cigarette or similar vapor device, or to sell or deliver into Georgia kratom that can be ingested that way.

The current version comes from Act 546 (H.B. 181, 2024). Section 4 of that act states: "This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2025, and shall apply to offenses committed on or after such date." Before then, Georgia's kratom article set the age at 18.

The quotations on this page come from the signed text of Act 546. The Legislative Counsel's summaries of general statutes enacted in 2025 and 2026 list one later change to these sections: S.B. 153 (Act 371, 2025), a code-cleanup act that deleted a stray word in Section 16-13-122(b)(1) without changing its meaning. Georgia's official annotated code is published through a third-party portal, so check the current text there before relying on an exact wording.

Age limit: 21 to buy or possess kratom

Georgia's age rule reaches both sides of a sale. Section 16-13-121(a)(1), as amended by Act 546, provides:

"No person shall knowingly sell or transfer possession of any kratom, kratom product, or kratom extract to another person under 21 years of age, nor shall any person under 21 years of age purchase or possess any kratom, kratom product, or kratom extract. A person who is convicted of violating this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." (O.C.G.A. 16-13-121(a)(1))

So a seller who knowingly sells to someone under 21 commits an offense, and so does a person under 21 who buys or possesses kratom. Under Section 16-13-121(a)(2), the prohibition does not apply to a seller who was furnished with proper identification showing the buyer is 21 or older, and when a reasonable person could doubt the buyer's age, the seller has a duty to ask for identification; a failure to ask may be considered in deciding whether a sale was knowing. The Georgia Attorney General's consumer alert of November 13, 2025 describes the same duties for sellers: verify that the buyer is at least 21 and keep products behind the counter or in a secured display.

Where stores may display kratom

Section 16-13-121(d) controls how a store may offer kratom for sale:

"No person shall offer for sale kratom in this state unless such product is behind a counter in an area only accessible to store employees or in a secured display which is only accessible with the intervention of a store employee." (O.C.G.A. 16-13-121(d))

A self-service shelf that customers can reach without an employee does not meet this rule. A violation falls under the same misdemeanor and fine schedule in Section 16-13-121(e) as the age rule.

Is 7-OH legal in Georgia? Product limits and banned products

7-OH is not a Georgia controlled substance, but Section 16-13-122 limits how much of it, and of mitragynine, a kratom product may contain. The limits apply to any product "sold in, or delivered to, this state":

These are three separate limits, and a product over any one of them may not be sold in Georgia. Section 16-13-122(a) adds that every kratom product must be derived from the natural kratom plant and may not be modified, chemically or otherwise, in any way that raises its mitragynine or 7-OH above those limits.

Section 16-13-122(c) then lists four kinds of product that a processor or retailer may not prepare, distribute, sell or expose for sale:

• a kratom product that is adulterated;
• a kratom product that contains, or uses in its processing or manufacturing, a food substance that is not generally recognized as safe in food products;
• a kratom product containing "any synthetic alkaloids or metabolite including synthetic mitragynine, synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine, or any other synthetically derived compounds of the kratom plant"; and
• a kratom product "in a form that employs a heating element, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic, chemical, or mechanical means," which covers kratom vapes.

The synthetic-alkaloid ban has no threshold. A product with synthetic 7-OH in any amount is a barred product, even if its total 7-OH is under the numeric caps. Section 16-13-122(d) also requires a processor to maintain a registered agent in Georgia for service of process for as long as it is in the kratom business.

Section 16-13-122(e) requires a label before sale listing the ingredients, a statement that sale to anyone under 21 is prohibited, the amount of mitragynine and 7-OH in the product and in the package, and the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor. Under Section 16-13-122(g)(3), a retailer has a defense to prosecution if it proves it relied in good faith on a processor's representation that the product and its labeling complied with the section.

The vape rules also reach individuals. Section 16-13-121(b) bars any person from ingesting kratom with an electronic cigarette or similar vapor device, and Section 16-13-121(c) bars any person from selling or delivering into Georgia kratom that can be ingested that way. Each is a misdemeanor under Section 16-13-121(e), with fines of up to $250, $500 and $1,000 for a first, second and third or later offense.

Penalties under the Georgia kratom law

Georgia's kratom penalties depend on which section was violated, who violated it, and whether the person acted knowingly, with criminal negligence, or negligently. The Act does not use one flat penalty, and some violations can reach felony level.

The processor provision reads:

"(f)(1) A processor who knowingly or with criminal negligence commits an act in violation of this Code section shall, upon a first conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and upon a subsequent conviction, be guilty of a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than 15 years, by a fine not to exceed $100,000.00, or both. (2) A processor who negligently commits an act in violation of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00." (O.C.G.A. 16-13-122(f))

The age and display penalty in Section 16-13-121(e) reads: "Any person that commits an act in violation of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, however, that, for a conviction of a first offense, such individual shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $250.00; for a conviction of a second offense, such individual shall be punished by a fine of up to $500.00; and for a conviction of a third offense and each subsequent offense, such individual shall be punished by a fine of up to $1,000.00."

For a retailer that negligently violates subsection (a), (b), (c) or (e) of Section 16-13-122, subsection (g)(2) provides that "upon each subsequent conviction after a third conviction, such individual shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor and shall be imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 12 months and punished by a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00." The general sentencing statute, O.C.G.A. 17-10-4(a), as codified, punishes a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature by a fine of up to $5,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.

Recent changes to Georgia kratom law

• January 1, 2025: Act 546 (H.B. 181, 2024) took effect. It raised the minimum age from 18 to 21, and the mitragynine and 7-OH caps, the ban on electronic or heated forms and the registered-agent duty also come from this act. It applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
• July 1, 2025: S.B. 153 (Act 371), a code-cleanup act, deleted a stray word in Section 16-13-122(b)(1). It did not change the mitragynine limit.
• November 13, 2025: The Georgia Attorney General issued a consumer alert describing the Act's age-21 and display requirements. The alert announced no new rule.
• 2026 session: H.B. 968, a bill to list mitragynine and 7-OH in Schedule I, did not become law. It is not among the acts in the Legislative Counsel's 2026 Summary of General Statutes Enacted, which lists the session's Schedule I acts as H.B. 1329 (Act 390), H.B. 382 (Act 476) and S.B. 220 (Act 712). Kratom remains regulated under the Kratom Consumer Protection Act.

Federal kratom status and how it reaches Georgia

Federal law is a separate layer, and it is moving. As of the October 6, 2026 eCFR, kratom leaf, mitragynine and 7-OH are not listed in 21 CFR Part 1308; a DEA temporary order effective August 26, 2026 placed three semi-synthetic compounds (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16) in Schedule I. On October 9, 2026, DEA filed for public inspection a new notice of intent (FR Doc. 2026-20943), scheduled for Federal Register publication on October 14, 2026, covering 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl when either alone, or both combined, is above a threshold (more than 1 mg per gram for solids or 1 mg per milliliter for liquids, or a mitragynine-to-7-OH or pseudoindoxyl mass ratio under 100). That notice states that DEA's July 2026 notice of intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH above a threshold is being withdrawn in a separate document. A second DEA notice of intent filed the same day (FR Doc. 2026-20942) proposes a new temporary order that would keep MGM-15 and MGM-16 in Schedule I "without change," to distinguish them from mitragynine pseudoindoxyl. Neither notice is an order, and the DEA says neither new temporary order will be issued before 30 days after publication, about November 13, 2026. The August 26, 2026 order stays in effect until it expires or is replaced by the new temporary orders, whichever comes first. The FDA's position is that kratom is not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement. Georgia's definition of "controlled substance" in O.C.G.A. 16-13-21(4), as codified, includes "Schedules I through V of 21 C.F.R. Part 1308" as well as Georgia's own schedules. The August 26, 2026 temporary order is codified in Schedule I of Part 1308, at 21 CFR 1308.11(h), so on its text the definition would treat mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 as controlled substances under Georgia law, even though Georgia's own Schedule I does not name them. If the DEA issues the proposed temporary order on 7-OH above a threshold, the same definition would on its text reach 7-OH above that threshold. The kratom laws by state hub covers the federal layer in full.

Driving and criminal records

Georgia's DUI statute, as codified, bars driving while "under the influence of any drug to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive" (O.C.G.A. 40-6-391(a)(2)), so it is not limited to alcohol. See Georgia DUI laws for those offenses and penalties.

A conviction under the Kratom Consumer Protection Act is a criminal record, from a misdemeanor up to a felony for repeat product-rule violations. Whether and when a record can be restricted is covered in Georgia expungement and record restriction laws.

Related

• Kratom laws by state
• Are magic mushrooms legal in Georgia? Psilocybin laws
• Georgia DUI laws
• Georgia expungement and record restriction laws

Disclaimer: This article presents general legal information about Georgia state law as of 2026-10-11. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Georgia or the relevant Georgia agency.

Last updated: 2026-10-11.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kratom legal in Georgia?

Kratom is not a scheduled drug in Georgia. The Kratom Consumer Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 16-13-120 to 16-13-122) permits sale only to people 21 and older, behind a counter or in a secured display, and only within the product limits on mitragynine and 7-OH.

How old do you have to be to buy kratom in Georgia?

You must be 21. O.C.G.A. 16-13-121(a)(1) bars knowingly selling or transferring kratom to a person under 21 and bars a person under 21 from buying or possessing it. The age was 18 before Act 546 took effect on January 1, 2025.

Is 7-OH illegal in Georgia?

7-OH is not listed in Georgia Schedule I. Instead, O.C.G.A. 16-13-122(b) bars any kratom product with more than 0.5 mg of 7-OH per gram or more than 1 mg per serving, and 16-13-122(c) bars products containing synthetic 7-OH. If a federal temporary order on 7-OH above a threshold is issued, Georgia's definition of controlled substance, which includes the federal schedules in 21 CFR Part 1308, would on its text reach it.

Are kratom vapes legal in Georgia?

No. O.C.G.A. 16-13-122(c)(4) bars processors and retailers from selling a kratom product in a form that employs a heating element, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic, chemical or mechanical means. O.C.G.A. 16-13-121(b) and (c) also bar any person from ingesting kratom with an electronic cigarette or similar vapor device, or from selling or delivering into Georgia kratom that can be ingested that way; each is a misdemeanor.

What is the penalty for selling kratom to someone under 21 in Georgia?

It is a misdemeanor. Under O.C.G.A. 16-13-121(e), the fine is up to $250 for a first offense, up to $500 for a second and up to $1,000 for a third or later offense.

Can selling kratom in Georgia be a felony?

Yes, for product-rule violations. A processor, or a retailer violating subsections (a), (b), (c) or (e) of O.C.G.A. 16-13-122, who acts knowingly or with criminal negligence faces a felony on a second or later conviction, with 1 to 15 years, a fine up to $100,000, or both.

Did Georgia ban kratom in 2026?

No. H.B. 968 (2026), a bill to list mitragynine and 7-OH in Schedule I, is not among the general statutes enacted in 2026 in the Legislative Counsel summary, and the Kratom Consumer Protection Act remains the governing law.

Is kratom federally illegal?

Kratom leaf, mitragynine and 7-OH are not listed in the federal schedules as of the October 6, 2026 eCFR. A DEA temporary order effective August 26, 2026 covers three semi-synthetic compounds, and a new DEA notice of intent covering 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl above a threshold is pending.