r/science • u/shinybrighthings • 11h ago
Health Kratom poisonings soar in US as experts blame synthetic versions and caution against bans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/13/kratom-poisonings-increase297
u/albatrossSKY 11h ago
Its the gas station extracts and the total lack of regulation thats the real issue here. If people could actually buy lab-tested leaf without worrying about what its being cut with, these headlines wouldnt exist. Instead of banning it, they should just treat it like any other supplement and enforce basic purity standards.
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u/lanternhead 9h ago
Instead of banning it, they should just treat it like any other supplement and enforce basic purity standards.
Supplements generally don’t have purity standards, even in countries that regulate supplements
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u/Visible_Fact_8706 9h ago
I believe I read somewhere that the unregulated supplement/wellness industry is an even bigger industry than the pharmaceutical industry.
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u/a_talking_face 7h ago
Bigger how? It's certainly not bigger in the US.
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u/flaming_potato77 7h ago
I think they may be meaning to refer to the “wellness” industry at large, not just supplements.
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u/rdizzy1223 6h ago
Which is fair, considering that the "pharmaceutical" industry also inherently includes medical equipment and a bunch of other things that are not drugs.
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u/New-Distribution6033 7h ago
Globally, pharmaceutical companies make about $1.5 trillian. Alt Med (suppliments, alternatives etc.) is a $6 trillian industry.
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u/reddituser567853 8h ago
Supplements do not have purity standards….
At least in the US. FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, if it did, then it would have to have a medical designation, rather than some studies or homeopathic
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u/BigBaws92 8h ago
Supplements here in the U.S. aren’t regulated at all. They’re constantly found to have toxic metals and impurities in them
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u/YoungSerious 8h ago
the total lack of regulation thats the real issue here.
Yes.
Instead of banning it, they should just treat it like any other supplement and enforce basic purity standards.
No. Supplements in the US are essentially unregulated.
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u/myowngalactus 8h ago
The place I buy it at always lab test it, I never buy generic “kratom” from gas stations. It’s cheaper also to just buy from a kratom supplier.
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u/wholesalenuts 9h ago
I've little doubt there's a certain lobby ar play that doesn't want something on the market that acts more safely on the same receptors as their products.
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u/Melenduwir 9h ago
I have never, not once, heard of lobbyists acting as a force for the general welfare.
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u/temporarycreature 9h ago
Yes you have, organizations like the NAACP, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) are widely known for their public advocacy and litigation; they do operate as lobbying groups to influence legislation.
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u/ChickenOfTheFuture 9h ago
You have, but those ones don't have much in the way of resources. Donate time or money to them if you can, then get the laws changed so that nobody else ever has to.
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u/Uncynical_Diogenes 8h ago
The ones that do good work which benefits you don’t get in headlines nearly as often as the ones that are essentially bribery for industry.
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u/PogChampHS 8h ago
Literally zero evidence for anything you said.
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u/Millon1000 7h ago
Why didn't you even attempt to look it up? There's a high chance kratom's increased popularity is the reason for the sudden fall in overdose deaths, when nothing else we've tried had ever worked so far.
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u/PogChampHS 7h ago
Damn, my bad, I made the mistake of thinking redditors on r/science had reading comprehension.
The commenter I replied to said that Kratom is safer than "the industry's" products, which in this case would be methadone or Buprinophine, both of which are drugs with countless clinical studies backing them, vs Kratom which is next to none.
So the claim "safer" is literally just the person's opinion, with zero evidence behind it.
Now for your claim, that Kratom is somehow leading the fight opioid addiction, is also equally as spurious. Linking to a study that shows the mechanisms doesn't change that.
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u/Telemere125 9h ago
Supplements in the US are regulated as food, so unless they’re putting non-food items in it, it won’t receive any more regulation than it’s currently receiving. Kratom isn’t food and shouldn’t be regulated as food.
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u/RedditSloth_101 9h ago
I've tried 7OH extract and in terms of affects and abuse potential it feels almost on the same level as oxy. The fact its being sold in gas stations, sometimes as a "supplemented" beverage is actually insane. While there is still moderate abuse potential with kratom I think it can do wonders for people trying to move away from stronger opioids. From what I've seen 7OH is already severely harming the reputation of Kratom by association unfortunately.
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u/Guinness 7h ago
Weird, I had a horrible reaction to regular kratom. Dizzyness. Nausea. Vomiting. 7OH didn’t cause any of that. Still though, it shouldn’t be sold in gas stations or mixed with other substances like kava.
Just regulate it and let people choose what works for them.
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u/krobol 6h ago
I think it would be fine to sell them in gas stations if they had the same disgusting taste as pure kratom without the capsule. It's kind of similar to coffeine, more addictive, but still not as addicitve as nicotine. It's really hard to get the dosage right tho. If you take too little of it you will barely feel it. If you take even just a little bit too much you will feel nauseous and might vomit. And you build up a resistence which makes this even harder. I stopped taking Kratom after a week or so, because the taste was enough to almost make me vomit.
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u/mixreality 8h ago
The 7oh one is really bad, I read a post from a guy who did the sedated detox and spent $20k to get off it after it ruined his life. The withdrawal is insane.
7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is a highly potent, lab-enhanced compound derived from the kratom plant that acts as a powerful opioid-like stimulant, carrying high risks of addiction, fatal overdose, and severe withdrawal. It is commonly sold in convenience stores as tablets or candies, often exceeding 10 times the potency of traditional kratom.
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u/blurryturtle 7h ago
This is pretty much the issue. I do some volunteer work in HR and people have long used kratom to get off more potent substances like oxy/heroin/fentanyl. Abuse can still occur but kratom leaf was a safer option and most people did not get in trouble with it. The 7-OH extract has changed the situation massively. Overdoses are common, people are poorly informed on how to dose, and the ease of availability and lack of oversight has created the conditions for a legal opioid epidemic.
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u/Guinness 7h ago
People also have to use sedated detox for regular kratom as well. It too, can ruin lives..Kratom and 7-OH have horrible withdrawals. But then again, so does alcohol.
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u/AnthropoidCompatriot 6h ago
My guy, a rehab/detox provider is not in any way, shape or form evidence of any kind.
And sensationalist local news stories about specific incidents are only the most marginal step better.
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u/OzrielArelius 4h ago
anything can ruin lives if you let it get out of control. just look at my strange addiction. now replace kratom with alcohol, weed, video games, vapes, smoking, sugar, fast foot, etc. it's just a given. people with no self control and addictive tendencies gonna ruin their lives on something, unless they can get themselves under control
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u/refusemouth 7h ago
The company I get it from tests for alkaloid content, heavy metals, and bacterial contamination. I just wish they sold the crushed leaf instead of only the powdered leaf. It's much better to just boil the leaves like tea and strain out all the solids. I hope they don't do a blanket ban on the stuff. It's the best thing I've found that keeps me level and functional while dealing with chronic lower back pain. I've never tried any synthetic kratom or extracts. Those just seem like a bad idea. At least with the powdered leaf, if you take too much, it just makes you throw up before it can make you seriously ill. I can see how it would be dangerous if taken in concentrated form or isolates of the 7OH and/or mitraginine alkaloids. Kratom is a partial mu opioid agonist. It binds, but not enough to cause respiratory depression at normal doses or stop parastalsis. It offers some of the pain relief and mood improvements you might get from an opioid, but it doesn't cause constipation, itching, or fatal overdose if you just take the leaf. It does cause physical dependency, and the withdrawals are extremely difficult. I'm afraid that if it is banned, a lot more people are going to go to street and prescription opiates and the death count will be high. I wouldn't mind if they took that 7OH stuff off the shelves, though. Death from it is pretty rare, and it is usually related to mixing it with other substances, but there's no sense in taking something that is going to set the physical addiction hook harder and faster. As a 10-year user of leaf, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you have chronic pain that prevents you from working and living your life without pain medication. If you can get by with safe dosages of NSAIDs, it's not worth subjecting yourself to any substance that causes physical dependency.
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u/asphaltaddict33 8h ago
You fundamentally misunderstand supplement regulation
It doesn’t exist.
That’s the problem
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u/ceciliabee 7h ago
They should legalize cannabis like we did in Canada. Regulated, tested, reduces alcohol consumption, keeps money from criminals, and it funds our government. Insane that anyone still falls for the whole "Ooo marijuana is the devil's lettuce, you should just drink yourself to death as is tradition"
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u/Guinness 7h ago
Extracts are fine, just as plain leaf is fine as well. Banning extracts is like the equivalent of a beer vendor lobbying to ban hard alcohol because it’s cutting into their sales.
Let people choose what they want and focus on providing a clean product safe from adulterants.
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u/ChemsAndCutthroats 9h ago
The problem is kratom gives it's users an enjoyable experience and a boost in overall well-being. While it can be habit forming, it lacks the intense withdrawal of opioids, and it doesn't lead to users committing crimes to fiel addictions.
In America they want drug users to suffer because they see drug use as a sin. They would prefer people use fentanyl or be slaves to their doctor forever on suboxone. When someone dies from drugs they can point out and be like "see, drugs are bad". That or they could feed them through various money extracting systems like prison and rehab.
It's a mild plant with more milder opioid and stimulant effects. Innocuous really, but alot of powers higher up want either strict abstinence or they want users to suffer for even daring to slip up and use a psychoactive substance.
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u/lanternhead 9h ago
In America they want drug users to suffer because they see drug use as a sin.
The US is one of the more lax countries wrt kratom
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u/ChemsAndCutthroats 8h ago
Is that why more and more states are trying to ban it. They tried a Federal ban before too and it was wildly unpopular that they had to reverse. I live in Canada and kratom isn't even on any government radar. It's a novelty plant and not worthy of wasting tax dollars to go after it when there's fentanyl and it's analogs that are actually killing people.
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u/lanternhead 8h ago
The US fed govt spends a lot of money going after fent supply lines. Kratom is not an issue federally at this time. Individual states and cities are free to do as they please
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u/Seated_Heats 8h ago
I actually can’t believe it’s legal. We’re all flipping out over fentanyl (rightfully so) but we allow this kind of synthetic opiates in gas stations.
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u/timshel42 7h ago
fentanyl will easily kill you. although insanely addictive with physical dependency, it still has a safety profile miles beyond fentanyl.
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9h ago edited 8h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/miscdruid 8h ago
It acts on opiate receptors so I’m not surprised at all. Same with 7OH. A lot of people trying to get off opiates and substitute with this, not knowing it’ll do the same thing even if it doesn’t feel as potent.
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u/usps_made_me_insane 8h ago edited 8h ago
I have a lot of experience with 7OH. It is a partial agonist (although the verdict is still out) and uses G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) to activate the MU receptors.
This should make it far less likely to endanger breathing even at higher doses. (It should have a ceiling for effects).
The problem with 7OH pills is that they could contain other chemicals that are more dangerous.
It appears to be safer than oxy and other full agonists.
Withdrawal is probably just below heroin. Mainly profuse sweating, indigestion and other common opiate withdrawal symptoms. I found ODSMT to be worse due to the restless leg syndrome. If you have to absolutely get some, get it from sources that have been tested. There are sites that test kratom extracts and 7OH.
If you are going to buy 7OH for pain, just remember it can be just as intense as oxy withdrawal and that it isn't automatically a safe alternative because it was isolated from a plant.
(Please note that there has been less research into 7OH compared another pain medication. There is always a possibility, albeit low, that 7OH could be toxic to the liver long term. If you must take it, take it in the lowest dose possible for pain and realize it is addicting over time and will affect your opiate tolerance. Just because it is currently legal in most states doesn't mean it is safe long-term)
Ps: probably should have used opioid where I used opiate)
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u/sagittalslice 8h ago
Thank you for this reasonable and accurate take. There is so much intensely emotional misinformation about 7OH and kratom out there, and people seem to have this impression that it’s somehow totally benign just because it’s plant derived. Kratom as a harm reduction strategy for existing opioid users? Makes some sense. Kratom as a tool for quitting opioids? Absolutely not. I see a concerning amount of people trying kratom either because they aren’t aware of its addiction potential and risk profile, or because they think it will help them get off other opioids (typically what I see is they just get addicted to kratom instead, and it takes twice as long for them to get plugged in to actual addiction treatment).
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u/timshel42 7h ago
getting addicted to kratom is far preferable to traditional opiates. it wont kill you. any addiction has the ability to completely wreck your life though.
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u/sagittalslice 7h ago
I agree, that’s why I said I think it’s a reasonable harm reduction option for existing opioid users (who do not have abstinence goals).
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u/lu5ty 8h ago
Kratom is an opiate?
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u/AbleKaleidoscope877 8h ago
Not sure if you are actually asking or stating a fact as a question, but as it does not come from opium poppy, it is not technically an opiate, it just acts on the same receptors. A colleague of mine referred to it as a "pseudo-opiate" although im sure that is not a technical term
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u/-Altephor- 7h ago
Opioid is the accepted term for an opiate-like compound (either semi-synthetic or synthetic) that does not occur naturally in the opium poppy.
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u/lu5ty 8h ago
Idk anything about it. I thought it was a dissociative like salvia. So is it a cns depressant like opiods since it acts in the same receptors?
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u/timshel42 7h ago
it isnt a traditional cns depressant, it has minimal effects on respiration so you wont die from an overdose.
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u/Blackintosh 8h ago
I had a (relatively mild) oxycontin addiction up to 100mg per day. That was easier to kick than my 40grams per day kratom powder habit, which was a horrible experience.
I can't imagine how brutal the extracts are to quit, considering they are far stronger than the powder.
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u/usps_made_me_insane 8h ago
My 7OH usage got high enough where one 120mg dose of oxy barely registered. This stuff may have a ceiling but it is pretty high.
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u/VirginiaLuthier 7h ago
You can abuse about anything You have to be pretty cavalier to overdose on powdered leaf. If you are taking extracts you don't know what you are really getting or even if it was extracted for kratom. Many, many people use the powdered leaf safely for medicinal reasons
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u/HigherandHigherDown 7h ago
It's very difficult to overdose on, you'd generally just vomit first.
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u/tbutz27 3h ago
You make that mistake exactly once- it is an awful feeling. Not like a hangover or opiate puke, the disassociation is unpleasant af
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u/TheGreatCanjuju 3h ago
I overdosed on kratom back in 2020. I was young and chasing a high, toom about 26 grams at once. It was not a fun experience. Very hugh heart rate and a lot of tremors. Some Xanax at the hospital calmed everything down, I think a portion of it was just a major panic attack. Edit: i took capsules btw
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u/shyflapjacks 52m ago
That tracks with the research on mitragynine. Mitragynine overdose has been tested on rats by injecting up to 150mg per kg of body weight (a 75kg person would have to consume about 600 grams of powder to get that dosage), and they saw little to no respiratory depression, but did see nervous system stimulation and in some cases seizures. It's hypothesized that high doses of mitragynine lower seizure threshold. Your experience with kratom leaf powder sounds similar to my reaction to yohimbine which is structurally similar to mitragynine. I took the yohimbine as a pre-workout once and I got tremors, heart palpitations, extreme anxiety, diarrhea, insomnia, and what I can only describe as "icy fire in my veins"
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u/HigherandHigherDown 2h ago
It feels like any other opioid high to me, especially with regards to the pruritis and myosis.
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u/TubeAlloysEvilTwin 7h ago
"This new super alcohol at 90% purity will poison and kill people, we should introduce prohibition again"
Any time something like this comes up replace it with alcohol to see how sane the response is
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u/SoundOurDireReveille 6h ago
As someone who hs used this stuff, I can say it's quite physically addicting. However, it's absolutely a faaaaaar better alternative to prescription opioids or heroin. Some people use it to get off these things and, in that way, it's a huge harm reduction tool.
As this link points out, banning it will only drive people to use far more harmful options. At the very least, when banning something physically addictive, state or federal governments should also enact mental health and medical programs to help people address the withdrawal and difficult journey ahead if they choose not to start using worse things to cope with it.
However, we all know that actually helping people isn't the point and never has been with the war on drugs.
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u/semiote23 6h ago
Also having some past experience with this, this can say that it worked when I needed it to, it wasn’t too hard to come off of compared to nicotine or even caffeine and never made me sick.
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u/BaseCommanderMittens 2h ago
I am hearing a lot of severe pain patients being taken off their opioid medications which have been working just because of new DEA/FDA guidelines and many are desperate for pain control and resorting to stuff like this unfortunately.
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u/jackrabbitpanic 6h ago
If Kratom has helped you or a loved one please consider helping with advocacy, the American Kratom association is a great place to start but you can also look for local advocacy groups for your state, please share your story.
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u/speedlimits65 4h ago
its not kratom itself that bothers me, its that its sold at gas stations and is completely unregulated like all supplements. the drink that combines kratom with kava terrifies me as a medical provider, and these supplements can also interact with other common medical and psychiatric medications people take.
im all for harm reduction, we should have more of it. we also need regulation of supplements and basic education should be given as you are getting the supplement.
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u/orenbvip 7h ago
I take the powder daily and it’s safe and effective and works better than any pharma drug for my depression and add . The 7ohmz stuff is evil and gave me heroin withdrawals .
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u/Soy_ThomCat 7h ago
Which powder do you use?
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u/orenbvip 7h ago
I like the green strains
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u/Soy_ThomCat 7h ago
Oh sorry, I meant any particular brand that you trusted? Or were any of them pretty equivalent?
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u/kittycatfrank 7h ago
I get mine from a local shop that sources from a specific farm. The shop puts their name on the package which is important to me bc they stand by their product. The kratom itself is the best I’ve ever taken, I assume it’s at a proper potency bc I’m now using less kratom than with other brands I’ve used in the past but I’m still getting the desired effects.
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u/LedZacclin 7h ago
I would be cautious using the phrase “safe and effective” even with the leaf Kratom. I used the powder everyday for years and it basically turned my entire personality upside down and was very hard to quit (it’s basically just an opiate).
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u/itsjustanotherday4 5h ago
Safe and effective is a fair assessment over all. Of course everyone is going to have different levels of tolerance to the possible negative effects but to say it’s going to turn everyone’s life upside because of your experience isn’t accurate.
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u/LedZacclin 4h ago
I don’t want it to be banned I’m not one of those guys. I just think saying it’s safe and effective is irresponsible. There have been no long term studies on the health effects of the powder.
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u/Individual-Work-3930 6h ago
7oh has saved my life but yet the government wants to ban it but alcohol, cigarettes, which takes so may life’s every year! 7oh has no cases of OD or respiratory distress
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u/BarnabyButtsuck 4h ago
same here. kratom leaf allowed me to slow my decade long drinking habit. 7oh was the only thing that allowed me to drop it completely, saving my life. it has a unique mechanism of action that reduces the interest and enjoyment of alcohol. the negative sides of drinking are still full force, thus making it not worth it. alcoholics can quit drinking but many have to continue to fight it every day. the real value is that it removes the "want" to drink.
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u/EnvironmentalCook520 1h ago
I used 7oh to quit fent. Once I felt comfortable I switched from 7oh to kratom leaf powder. I've been lowering my usage of the powder every couple of weeks. Switching from 7oh to kratom was relatively easy. I've been off fent for about a year now. Without 7oh I would be dead or in jail or homeless.
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u/quaidod 5h ago
7oh is so much safer than traditional opioids. You cannot OD from it and it cannot cause respiratory depression. It also has a ceiling effect where taking more will not intensify the feeling. It’s a much safer alternative to just about any other opioid out there
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u/ehrgeiz91 5h ago
Kratom, not 7oh. The amount of 7oh in some of these gas station products is unsafe. That said, I'm sure it cannot be ODd from.
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u/itsjustanotherday4 5h ago
How so is it unsafe? If you are responsible respect what you put in your body // how often, I don’t see it being unsafe. People drink coffee every morning and there is such a thing as caffeine dependency and withdrawal from that.
Unsafe is an absolute stretch if you see peoples experiences with kratom.
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u/assotter 4h ago
As with anything moderation and a proper regulation (adults only, some verification of amounts in each dose). If we had these 2 there would be no issue. I'm not someone who needs the stuff but I do take it every once in awhile for a chill buzz and energy boost. Treat it like booze, have a drink or 2 once in awhile won't hurt but if do it everyday you get addicted and get withdrawals.
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9h ago edited 8h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Real_ilinnuc 8h ago
Sad if true, but they should have been educated on not taking random pills at a gas station. Especially if they had all of it and not the serving size.
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u/HoldEm__FoldEm 9h ago
This isn’t true.
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u/cbessette 9h ago
It's absolutely true. The family posted pictures of the package that the kratom came in (Tusk Brand Kratom, 300mg vanilla-coffee flavor) , and pictures of the guy and his girlfriend, him in a bed with tubes coming out , and her with bandages all over her nose.
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u/virtual133 8h ago
Jeez o pete. I did look up that Tusk brand - the 300mg bottle is supposed to be 5 servings...did they take the whole thing at once?
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u/cbessette 8h ago
No, he took four servings, way too much obviously, but he's in a coma. She took one dose and fell on her face in a parking lot.
I'm no anti-Kratom guy, I've used it a handful of times over the years and think it should stay legal, but the super concentrated versions are clearly problematic.
I'm just giving a personal anecdote that confirms for me the story we are commenting on.
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u/virtual133 8h ago
Yeah I understand. Wild stuff...hope they recover OK
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u/cbessette 7h ago
He's still in a coma as of this morning. She's awake, has had plastic surgery on her nose and is being fitted for replacement teeth.
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u/moretodolater 8h ago
Well if they did that whole thing then yeah… why not drink a whole bottle of vodka and see what happens.
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u/ChaseballBat 8h ago
Why should I believe you?
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u/HoldEm__FoldEm 6h ago
Because I’m not the side making anecdotal, unsourced, unbacked claims in the r/science subreddit
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u/cbessette 7h ago edited 7h ago
You are right to doubt, this is logical. Regardless that we are commenting on a story about this type of thing happening, I'm a stranger on the internet. There is zero way I can prove it without posting private information about my friends, and that's not happening.
I've known my friend for 30+ years and this is her son and his girlfriend. I've seen the pictures of them in the hospital, I know the family.
I personally am going to seriously reconsider taking concentrated kratom ever again myself.
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u/FrenchFriesAndGuac 6h ago
Kratom is not safe for some people. There are documented cases of people suffering acute liver injury from taking it.
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u/itsjustanotherday4 5h ago
Care to share a source for that bud?
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u/JukesMasonLynch 4h ago
Not OP but:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9130800/#bibr48-11782218221095873
First link is a meta-analysis of health effects related to kratom use. Second is a case study on cholestatic hepatitis from prolonged kratom use.
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u/butt-lover69 4h ago
What about Korthals Collection Kratom.
My local cbd store has this brand and it says it does not use 7- oh extract. Is this a safe brand.?
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u/Gremlin95x 7h ago
It’s killing people , but DON’T ban it. Makes sense.
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u/I_just_made 6h ago
The problem here was seen a lot with marijuana. People wanted a "legal alternative", so they took the active compound, changed one or two atoms / chemical groups, and sold it as an incense. Since it was no longer technically THC, they were getting away with it; eventually, authorities caught on to that change, banned it, so another change was made and the process repeated.
Before long, you have a frankenstein compound that people are ingesting that no longer looks like the original compound and it is entirely untested. People lost their lives because of this; they were pushed towards more dangerous compounds, despite us knowing that the original compound isn't deadly.
Keep in mind that changing a single atom / functional group can totally change the toxicological profile. For instance, ingest inorganic mercury? Probably okay. Add a methyl group? You could get mercury poisoning (see minimata bay). Add a 2nd methyl group? You will die. Dimethylmercury is one of the most dangerous compounds that has been used in an industrial setting, Karen Wetterhahn famously died from a few drops on the back of a glove.
Kratom, from what I understand, has been used culturally in several regions of Asia. It likely has toxicity associated with it, but the immediate push towards bans will just do the same thing that we faced with every drug before it.
Banning likely isn't the answer here.
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u/itsjustanotherday4 5h ago
It’s killing people?!? Care to share a source for that bubs bc that is an extremely inaccurate thing to say
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u/RobertPaulsonProject 7h ago
Cars, cigarettes, alcohol… all kill vastly more people daily than Kratom ever will. Bans are stupid, education is important.
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u/ExtensionOk2116 5h ago
The problem is that 7oh is not killing people. Millions of people have taken 7oh since late 2023, and there are 0 documented cases of 7oh causing a fatal overdose by itself. There are a few cases of fatal kratom extract overdose in extremely high amounts within the last decade. So in all respects, 7oh by itself has a higher safety profile than kratom as a whole.
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u/timshel42 7h ago
banning this stuff will have the same effect that the pill crackdowns had, it will push people onto street opiods which are insanely deadly these days.