Metairie Bakery Owner: Kratom Ban Is a Betrayal of My Conservative Values

As a conservative, a lifelong Republican, a capitalist, and a small business owner, I never imagined I’d find myself writing something like this. But here I am, standing at a crossroads, questioning the direction of a party I’ve supported for decades.

I own Everyday Keto to Go Bakery, a healthy, clean-eating bakery in Old Metairie. The bakery is 100% Gluten free, sugar free, low carb, dye free, seed oil free, grain free, wheat free, soy and corn free, and yeast free and HEALTHY. Most of our products we bake are plant based. We built our reputation on health, discipline, and transparency — values I hold dear in every aspect of life, including politics. I was furious during the pandemic when mask mandates and forced shutdowns brought my business to its knees. I saw our community and other small businesses wither away to eventually close their doors. That kind of government overreach was exactly what Republicans were supposed to stand against. And yet here we are again in 2025, watching as some of our own push forward a sweeping ban on kratom, a plant-based supplement used by hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana — including me and many of my customers.

Let me be clear: I am not liberal. I proudly voted for President Donald Trump twice, and I fully support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because he isn’t afraid to challenge the pharmaceutical-industrial complex. I believe in natural health, holistic options, and most of all, individual liberty. That’s why I’m so disappointed by Senator Jay Morris’s bill to ban kratom in Louisiana. It’s not just misguided. It’s hypocritical.

Kratom isn’t some fringe drug being peddled in alleyways. It’s a plant, just like chamomile or turmeric, used in teas and capsules — mostly by responsible adults. My friend owns Euphorbia Kava Bar, the only kava bar in the entire state, and it’s a place where professionals like doctors, lawyers, business owners, and even veterans come to relax, connect, and heal. I’m a regular and I have seen firsthand how kratom has helped people get off of alcohol, opioids, and benzodiazepines — substances that are killing people every day. They did not need pharmaceuticals to get clean, it was kratom. 

I have customers in my bakery who use kratom to manage chronic pain without turning to prescription pills. They also use kratom for its anti-inflammatory properties for their rheumatoid arthritis. Some are recovering addicts using it to stay clean. Others just use it to focus or reduce anxiety without a prescription. These are not criminals. They are our neighbors, our fellow conservatives, our constituents.

So when Senator Morris claims this bill is about safety, I can’t help but ask: Why kratom? Why now? Alcohol is legal. Cigarettes are legal. Fast food is legal — and we know how deadly that can be over time. Yet here we are targeting a plant that has zero deaths attributed to it as a sole cause, and has actually helped many people reclaim their lives.

What’s worse, we’re doing this in a moment when even national Republicans are finally starting to question the drug war and embrace policies centered on choice, not punishment. If this is really the party of freedom, why are we criminalizing personal decisions?

Let’s not kid ourselves. Big Pharma has everything to gain from a kratom ban. If this bill passes, people won’t just stop needing relief. They’ll go back to prescription opioids or turn to black-market alternatives. And we all know what happens then. Overdose rates will rise. Our prison systems will grow. And freedom-loving Louisianans will be treated like criminals — not because they harmed anyone, but because they made a personal health decision the government didn’t approve of.

I thought we were past this kind of paternalism. I thought the party I aligned with stood for individual responsibility — not nanny-state restrictions. I stood firm against vaccine mandates and lockdowns because I believe adults should be able to make their own health decisions. How is this any different?

If the Republican Party in Louisiana insists on following this path — siding with special interests, embracing bans, and abandoning its principles — then I will have no choice but to switch my registration to Independent. And I assure you I won’t be alone.

This isn’t just about kratom. It’s about consistency. It’s about whether we actually believe in liberty — or just say we do when it’s politically convenient. I urge every conservative lawmaker to take a long look at what’s happening here. If we start deciding which legal herbs grown from the Earth should be criminalized, then we’ve already surrendered the very values we claim to fight for.

Author: Evangeline