When prohibition is enacted, the consequences rarely unfold in the neat, orderly way lawmakers imagine. Just two weeks underway, the July 1 kratom bans in Kansas and Tennessee offer a real‑time case study in how criminalization can destabilize entire communities overnight. In Kansas, the decision to classify kratom and 7‑hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as Schedule I substances …
Keep in Mind: Despite news media and other nefarious actors’ exaggerations, and despite millions of informed adults using kratom in moderation with net benefits, risks of kratom use are real. Kratom should not be consumed in high doses or with various other substances, including alcohol, Benedryl, Tylenol, opioids, or multiple prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Kratom …
“Kratom-Related Exposures” Reported to Poison Control Increase to 3,434 in 2025 Read More »
A long-awaited kratom clinical study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. The pilot study (defined as “a preliminary investigation designed to test the feasibility and design of a larger, more comprehensive study”) involved healthy adult participants who were administered an ascending dose of …
A February 25 news report from WSBT-TV News on Fox out of South Bend, IN, reported on a Berrien County, Michigan Health Department warning about 7-hydroxymitragyinine (7-OH), failing to make the distinction between 7-OH and kratom. Berrien County lies directly to the north of South Bend on the Indiana border. “The Berrien County Health Department …
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, …
California Dept of Public Health Seizes Kratom Despite Lack of Prohibition Laws Read More »
Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) issued a warning in early July about the potential harms of kratom, sparking new concerns that a kratom ban might be forthcoming. “Kratom is not approved as a medicine in Germany. The safety and effectiveness of kratom have not been sufficiently tested so far,” reads a …
Germany Issues Health Warning on Kratom, Fuels Ban Speculation Read More »
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 Cuts Off Penis During Psychotic Episode; Media Blames Kratom Read More »