In the tradition of Reefer Madness, LSD window-jumpers, and bath salt zombies, the media has conjured up a new ghoul: the kratom-fueled self-castrator.
The phrase “based on a true story” has never been more fitting. Triggered by a case report published in a medical journal in January 2024, recent clickbait media stories describe a deranged man who allegedly consumed kratom and promptly mutilated himself.
On June 18, the English-language channel Times News Now in India reported, “According to the doctors who treated him, the 31-year-old patient with schizophrenia got ‘overwhelmed’ after consuming large quantities of kratom.” The article then delves into multiple paragraphs on kratom’s dangers.
That same day, a clickbait site out of Perth, Australia, declared, “Czech lumberjack sliced off own penis and ears, as doctors warn of kratom dangers.”
And on June 17, The Sun, a British tabloid, led with, “The unnamed man had taken large quantities of kratom, a herbal supplement with opioid-like effects, and had also been smoking cannabis.”
All of these stories stem from a tragic, genuine case report published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The January 2024 study describes a man from the Czech Republic undergoing a severe mental health crisis. Despite titling the report “Cannabis and kratom-induced psychosis,” it details the patient had a history of multi-substance-induced psychotic episodes and self-harm, hospitalizations, and no consistent treatment for psychosis or substance abuse. The man had not been prescribed antipsychotics. He was found suffering frostbite in sub-zero temperatures after amputating his ears and penis. Lab results also reported morphine in addition to kratom and cannabis in his system.
Therefore, if kratom and cannabis induced this particular psychotic episode, it appears that given his history, any number of substances could have done the same.
While headlines imply kratom and/or cannabis directly caused the self-mutilation, such outcomes are vanishingly rare. According to the case report:
“Precise data on acute psychosis or delusional states specifically leading to self-harm after cannabis or kratom use are lacking. For cannabis, some registries estimate around 1–5 cases of acute psychosis per 100,000 population per year, but direct links to self-harm within these episodes remain unclear. For kratom, robust incidence rates do not exist due to scarce epidemiological research and reliance on isolated case reports…Emerging evidence underscores that while acute psychosis and self-harm can occur with either substance, no clear, universally accepted incidence rate exists due to methodological limitations and a lack of large-scale prospective studies. As a result, clinicians and public health professionals typically rely on case reports, smaller observational studies, and anecdotal evidence when assessing risk.”
Clickbait often distorts scientific findings with exaggerated headlines when the actual studies are far more nuanced. Articles highlight only the most shocking aspects, ignoring limitations, context, and conflicting data. And because fear, outrage, and sensationalism are so potent, emotionally charged stories are more likely to go viral—regardless of their accuracy.