Articles
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE (February 20, 2024)
“A Washington Post review of federal and state statistics shows that medical examiners and coroners are increasingly blaming deaths on kratom — it was listed as contributing to or causing at least 4,100 deaths in 44 states and D.C. between 2020 and 2022.”
“Health officials have for years expressed concern over kratom’s potential harms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found kratom was a cause of death in 91 overdose cases in 27 states from July 2016 through December 2017. Experts say the number of cases involving kratom are probably undercounts because not all coroners and medical examiners test for the substance.”
They take kratom to ease pain or anxiety. Sometimes, death follows. – The Washington Post
TAMPA BAY TIMES ARTICLE (DECEMBER 2023)
Public health officials have recorded more than 2,000 fatal kratom-related overdoses since 2021, according to data collected from 40 states and Washington, D.C. Federal authorities have said there’s no evidence to establish the safety of kratom and have issued an import alert for the herb, meaning arriving shipments could be refused entry onto U.S. soil.
“We just didn’t know what to do,” his wife, Kristi Krause, said. “He did not want to be taking this stuff. He truly, truly didn’t.”
“On the morning of his death, she showed police her husband’s stash of kratom in the garage. One package had no dosing instructions. Another, next to it, boasted it was the “freshest and most potent in the world.”
“Package labels varied widely. Five had no information about ingredients. Eleven had no dosing instructions. Thirteen had no details about potency.
“Abhisheak Sharma, a University of Florida scientist who studies kratom, likened the pills to “legal morphine.”
“This should not be in the market” he said.
Hundreds died using kratom in Florida. It was touted as safe. | Tampa Bay Times
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE (2019)
“The newly published research found that 52 percent of those who called poison control centers for kratom-related concerns had what the researchers called a serious medical outcome, including 11 people who died. Others experienced a rapid heart rate (tachycardia), a seizure, high blood pressure (hypertension), confusion, nausea and vomiting or agitation and irritability.”
The risks of Kratom products and FDA warnings – The Washington Post