kratom controversy

Fox News, Newsmax Attack Kratom as “Dangerous”, “Lethal” While Advertising Alcohol, NSAIDS, Acetaminophen

Media has created a firestorm around kratom, even though there is no evidence kratom had anything to do with the September 21 death of two students at the University of Mississippi. Multiple media outlets incorrectly reported that “kratom packages” were found near the bodies of both students. This turned out not to be true. Police …

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Media Drops Ball on Kratom Reporting After Ole Miss Deaths

If you have more examples of media disinformation about kratom, please leave a link and a comment in the comment section below Two students at the University of Mississippi were found dead on September 21, 2026. A media firestorm resulted, and several outlets blamed kratom that was supposedly found near the bodies of the students. …

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Kratom Will Be Banned In Kansas and Tennessee Starting July 1

Beginning July 1, laws designating kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance will take effect in both Kansas and Tennessee. In March, Kansas legislators added a last-minute kratom ban into a bill having nothing to do with kratom (HB2365 originally entitled “Establishing the south central regional mental health hospital”). The bill passed both the Kansas …

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Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s Controversial New Kratom Rules

In a ruling the American Kratom Association (AKA) called “brutal”, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy mandated that while natural dried leaf kratom will remain legal, the same kratom sold in capsules will be classified as Schedule I substances, along with kratom in liquid form. Major liquid extract brands that have been marketed in gas stations …

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Conflicting Signals: Georgia HB 968 Makes Kratom’s Active Compounds Illegal While Regulating Its Sale

Georgia House Bill 968 contains language that would add kratom compounds to the list of Schedule I controlled substances, and at the same time restrict the sale of kratom to over-the-counter sales in pharmacies. One problem with this bill: It is legally impossible. Under HB 968, the pharmacy sales provision for kratom is designed to allow …

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California Dept of Public Health Seizes Kratom Despite Lack of Prohibition Laws

Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced it has seized $5 million worth of kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products, despite no law explicitly prohibiting kratom and 7-OH in the state. Grant Boyken of CDPH told SFGATE the products were placed under embargo “pending further regulatory actions”. Boyken cited California’s Sherman Food, Drug, …

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Wave of Negative News Engulfs Kratom Since FDA Move to Schedule 7-OH

A wave of negative media coverage (more than usual) has engulfed kratom in the weeks following the FDA’s July 29 recommendation to classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as an illicit substance. While the agency’s move targets products containing an abundance of 7-OH—not the plain leaf kratom that contains near-zero amounts of 7-OH—news outlets have blurred the distinction, …

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Dr. McCurdy at Kratom Debate: Natural Leaf is “the only product that should be in the marketplace”

The kratom industry is railing against 7-OH products as problematic, but are extra-strength kratom extracts problematic too? The controversy surrounding the rise of new 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products has sparked a debate among various players in the kratom industry, as well as scientists and consumers. A debate called “The 7-OH Fault Line” took place at the …

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AKA and HART Face Off Over 7-Hydroxymitragynine This Friday

Members of the American Kratom Association (AKA) and the Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust (HART) will debate the controversial alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and the 7-OH-abundant products that have become available to consumers in the past 2 years. Billed as “The 7-OH Fault Line”, the debate will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center 3150 Paradise …

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