Health Canada kratom enforcement tracker
Every Health Canada recall, seizure and advisory involving kratom, dated and linked to the source. Updated monthly.
Every public action Health Canada has taken on kratom, in one dated table, each row linked to the original advisory. Health Canada does not publish a kratom page of its own; its position lives inside individual recall and seizure notices, so we collect them here. We check the Recalls and Safety Alerts database and the Canada Gazette on the first of every month.
Last checked: November 9, 2026. Actions on record: 6 (2 recalls, 4 retail seizures). Most recent: May 4, 2018. Proposed scheduling or regulation: none found.
Health Canada’s position, in its own words
The same paragraph appears in every kratom advisory since 2017. Health Canada “has not authorized the sale of any product containing kratom,” says that “selling unauthorized health products in Canada is illegal,” and lists drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, seizures, liver toxicity and rapid heartbeat as reported side effects, along with “narcotic and stimulant-like effects” and “potential for abuse and dependence.” Each advisory ends by saying Health Canada is working with the Canada Border Services Agency to prevent kratom products from entering Canada. Kratom is not, and has never been, scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Our legal guide explains how those two facts fit together.
All actions, newest first
| Date | Action | Who / where | Products | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-05-04 | Retail seizure | Sāj (Sherbrooke Plaza, 11839 St Albert Trail) and Jupiter (12841 97 St NW), Edmonton, AB | Sāj Bali, Maeng Da and Thai kratom, powder 15–90 g and capsules 15–90 count | Health Canada advisory |
| 2018-01-25 | Retail seizure | George’s Convenience, 9445 Mississauga Rd Unit 2, Brampton, ON (part of a multi-store action in Brampton, Maple, Markham and Woodbridge) | Yellow Borneo Kratom | RA-65822 |
| 2017-07-07 | Retail seizure | Culture Rising, 1248 Main St E, Milton, ON | Botanicals Green Vein, Red Vein, Super Green Vein and Maeng Da powder (25 g); Kratomsource.ca Red Bali powder (10 g) | RA-63906 |
| 2017-06-26 | Retail seizure | Jupiter (10408 Whyte Ave) and Bogart’s Pipes and Papers (9006 132 Ave NW), Edmonton, AB | Jupiter Maeng Da; Kratom Zone Bali, Horned Leaf Maeng Da, Maeng Da, Malay, Red Vein and White Vein powders | RA-63746 |
| 2017-06-12 | Voluntary recall | RGR Canada Inc.; retail in Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia | Matrix Red Vein Thai and White Vein Thai capsules; Medicine Man Lone Wolf capsules | RA-63598 |
| 2017-05-19 | Voluntary recall | Garnoff Botanicals (garnoffbotanicals.com); smoke shops across Canada | All “High By Nature” kratom products | Advisory via CNW |
A note on the Milton seizure. One of the products seized in 2017 was labelled “Kratomsource.ca.” That was a kratom brand sold at a retail store in Ontario. It is not us, has never been connected to this site, and we have never sold kratom or anything else. We list it here because leaving it out would be exactly the kind of omission we criticize vendors for.
What the pattern tells you
- Every action targeted bricks-and-mortar retail or a distributor’s branded capsules. No Canadian online powder vendor has been named in a Health Canada advisory.
- Capsules and labelled servings drew the recalls. Both voluntary recalls involved capsule products, which are hard to sell as anything but something to swallow.
- Alberta was the focus. Three of the four seizures were in Edmonton.
- Enforcement went quiet after May 2018. Eight years with no new kratom advisory. The border is where enforcement now happens, and it leaves no public record.
Border holds (unofficial)
CBSA does not publish kratom interception figures and Health Canada does not issue advisories for held packages, so this section relies on buyer reports, which we flag as such. A June 2024 petition to the CBSA president claimed Health Canada had tightened enforcement on imports of lab-tested kratom, citing labelling and quantity issues. It produced no documents and we found no published policy change. If you have a CBSA detention notice for a kratom shipment, we would like a copy (with your personal details removed) so we can document what is actually being enforced. Use the contact page.
Proposed regulation
None. As of our last check there is no Canada Gazette notice, consultation or bill proposing to schedule mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine, regulate kratom as a natural health product, or set an age limit. The US DEA’s 2026 move against concentrated 7-OH has no Canadian equivalent yet. We cover that in What the 7-OH threshold means.
Change log
- 2026-11-09: Tracker published. Six actions recorded from the Health Canada Recalls and Safety Alerts database (2017–2018). No new actions found for 2019–2026.
Frequently asked questions
Has Health Canada banned kratom?
No. Kratom is not scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Health Canada has not authorized any kratom product for sale as a health product, which is different from a ban, and has seized products from retail stores on that basis.
When was the last Health Canada kratom seizure?
May 4, 2018, at two Edmonton stores. The public recall database shows no kratom-specific advisory since then; we re-check it on the first of every month.
Has Health Canada ever named an online Canadian kratom vendor?
No. All four seizures targeted bricks-and-mortar stores and both recalls involved distributors' branded capsule products.
Can the CBSA seize kratom at the border?
Yes. Every Health Canada kratom advisory says the department works with the CBSA to prevent kratom from entering Canada. CBSA publishes no figures, so we document border holds from reader reports.