On July 1, 2026, New Mexico’s regulators put licensed retailers on notice: certain products sold as “kratom” have to come off the shelves — immediately, and statewide. For anyone who values natural kratom, this news is worth reading closely. Because the products the state is targeting are exactly the ones New Mexico Kratom Advocates has warned about — and not one of them is the natural leaf.
What New Mexico’s regulators actually said
The guidance came from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC), sent directly to licensed retailers across the state. According to the notice, several actions have stacked up over the past year: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as an unsafe food additive; as of December 18, 2025, the New Mexico Environment Department prohibited kratom in any food or beverage sold by permitted food establishments; and the City of Albuquerque has been issuing citations and confiscating thousands of products since fall 2025.
The ABC notice then added a new warning of its own: certain “kratom” beverages contain undisclosed alcohol above 0.5% ABV, which places them under the Liquor Control Act and makes them illegal for licensees to sell. Retailers were told to remove the flagged products from sale immediately. This is not a proposal or a future rule — it is active enforcement, with real deadlines, already reaching the entire retail channel.
The products being pulled — and what they actually are
The notice names four products it says were tested above the 0.5% ABV threshold:
- OPMS Gold — 16.1% ABV
- OPMS Black — 15.7% ABV
- OPMS Red — 7.17% ABV
- Feel Free Classic — 1.24% ABV
Look closely at what these are. The OPMS line is concentrated extract — not leaf — and a “kratom” shot that is 16% alcohol with contents its label never discloses is not a natural product; it’s an adulterated one. Feel Free is a concentrated kava-and-kratom-leaf tonic that, per the state’s testing, contains alcohol its label doesn’t disclose. What every flagged product has in common is not that it’s “kratom.” It’s that each one is concentrated, commercially processed, and mislabeled — hidden alcohol, undisclosed potency, or synthetic additives.
This is about adulterated products — not natural kratom
This is the distinction that disappears every time a lawmaker or regulator hears the single word “kratom.” Natural kratom leaf — the plant used for centuries in Southeast Asia and brewed the same way by New Mexicans today — is not a 16%-alcohol shot, and it is not concentrated synthetic 7-OH. When the natural leaf gets swept into the same category as an alcohol-spiked extract shot, the result is bans that punish a safe plant for the sins of dangerous products dressed up to look like it. Clearing up exactly that confusion is why NMKA exists.
To be clear: we support taking these products off the shelf. Undisclosed alcohol and concentrated synthetic extracts should never be sold to unsuspecting consumers. Our disagreement isn’t with removing dangerous products — it’s with a blanket approach that erases the line between them and the natural leaf.
The answer isn’t a ban — it’s the KCPA
This moment is the clearest argument yet for the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Every problem in the state’s notice is a problem the KCPA is built to solve: it would require independent lab testing, honest and complete labeling, no undisclosed alcohol, limits on dangerous concentration and synthetic additives like 7-OH, and sales to adults 21 and over only. Real standards separate the safe plant from the dangerous knock-offs. A ban does not — it just removes the honest products alongside the dishonest ones and leaves consumers with no protected, regulated option at all.
New Mexico can get this right. It can pull the adulterated products and protect the natural leaf — but only if lawmakers hear from the people who actually use it. If you use natural kratom in New Mexico, this is the moment to be heard. It takes about two minutes.
Sources
- New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department, Alcoholic Beverage Control Division — Guidance to Licensees, July 1, 2026.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — classification of 7-hydroxymitragynine as an unsafe food additive.
- New Mexico Environment Department — prohibition on kratom in food and beverage, effective December 18, 2025.
- City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department — retail enforcement actions, 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Is natural kratom being banned in New Mexico?
Not by this notice. The July 2026 ABC guidance targets specific commercial products found to contain undisclosed alcohol, along with concentrated synthetic 7-OH products the FDA has flagged. Natural kratom leaf is a separate thing — and protecting it through sensible regulation, rather than a blanket ban, is exactly what the Kratom Consumer Protection Act would do.
What products did the state flag?
The ABC notice names OPMS Gold (16.1% ABV), OPMS Black (15.7%), OPMS Red (7.17%), and Feel Free Classic (1.24%) as tested above the 0.5% ABV threshold, making them illegal for licensees to sell. The notice states the list is not exhaustive.
Does Feel Free contain alcohol?
According to the state’s notice, Feel Free Classic was tested at 1.24% ABV — alcohol not disclosed on its label. Feel Free is a concentrated kava-and-kratom-leaf tonic; it is not marketed as a synthetic 7-OH product.
What is the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA)?
The KCPA is a regulatory framework requiring kratom products to be lab-tested, honestly labeled, free of undisclosed alcohol, limited in dangerous concentration and synthetic additives, and sold only to adults 21 and over. It separates safe, natural kratom from adulterated products — the alternative to a blanket ban.