What is kratom, and why is Boston considering a crackdown on the drug?

The "Quitting Kratom" subreddit has 52,000 members and several posts a day from people documenting their journeys trying to quit kratom and 7-OH. Earlier this year, Botanic Tonics settled an $8.75 million class-action lawsuit filed in March 2023 that accused the company of falsely marketing its kratom tonic as a healthy alternative to alcohol. Makary also made clear during that same news conference that the organization's focus is on 7-OH, not kratom overall. But kratom has addictive potential, medical experts say − and getting hooked on it often carries devastating consequences.

Infant and Child Health

Products derived through natural extraction from kratom plant material occupy safer legal ground in most jurisdictions. The FDA's scheduling recommendation and most state restrictions target concentrated and synthetic 7-OH, not natural kratom. Current law regulates the sale of natural kratom while maintaining the ban on synthetic alkaloids.

• Importantly, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has made clear that natural kratom leaf is night and day different from the target of their efforts, the concentrated synthetic drug referred to as 7-OH.
• In Tennessee, where Clarke spent his entire NBA career playing for the Grizzlies, kratom is sold openly in smoke shops and corner stores.
• This marked the most aggressive federal action in relation to regulating the use of kratom compounds since the failed DEA scheduling attempt in 2016.
• According to agency statements, natural kratom leaf products are not the focus of this action.
• “Or even in some cases, people say you can use it, too, if you’re trying to fight other opioid addictions.”

Woman's unexpected turnaround in Alzheimer's symptoms follows psychedelic use

It made my gut sick,” said Loring’s mom, Jennifer Young, after discovering 20 packs of kratom near Loring’s room. Warnings about the addictive nature of kratom have gone viral on social media platforms such as TikTok amid the spread of drinks like Feel Free, a tonic with kratom in it. Between 2011 and 2017, national poison control centers fielded 1,807 calls about kratom exposures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA has blasted out warning letters to at least seven companies over products that have 7-OH added to them. “Consumers who use 7-OH products are exposing themselves to products that have not been proven safe or effective for any use,” the agency warned last month. In a recent report, the FDA said it’s still concerned about kratom in general, but 7-OH’s heightened risks demand urgent action.

Although it is banned in six states and D.C., it is not illegal for adults in Oklahoma and officials said there isn’t much regulation. White Rabbit kratom seltzer offers a unique experience that combines the benefits of kratom with delicious, bubbly refreshments. During the first seven months of 2025, poison control centers nationwide received 1,690 reports of exposure cases involving kratom, which already surpasses the total number of cases for the entire year of 2024.

• “You have things like mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, which is not found in the kratom leaf,” he said.
• It will also be illegal to ship “legal weed” products into Tennessee, according to the new laws.
• Natural 7-OH occurs in trace amounts in kratom leaves.
• A father says his addiction drove him $50,000 into debt and tanked his credit score into the 500s.
• These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

On July 1, those convicted of kratom possession face up to 11 months, 29 days, in jail and a $2,500 fine. Though, it is not banned at the federal level. Its effects include feelings of pleasure and relief, pain reduction, and sedation or stimulation depending on the dose, according to the Nashville Addiction Clinic.

“We’ll often see patients that come in who have been trying to get off of one substance — say methamphetamines or opioids — and have reverted to using kratom that they may have gotten from a nearby state,” she said. Trouville’s son Tyrell died of mitragynine toxicity in 2024 after, she said, he regularly drank kratom products and considered it safe and natural. It’s uncommon for kratom to cause major toxic effects, but when people ingest large amounts or combine it with other drugs, they may experience hallucinogenic reactions, convulsions, coma and, in rare cases, death, Clark warned. Based on these findings, experts are calling for closer monitoring of kratom products and increased public education. When kratom was combined with other substances, such as illegal drugs sids 2014 or antidepressants, hospitalizations increased nearly 1,300%, from 40 to 549.

Raspberry Lemonade Kratom Seltzer

“We have three excellent medications for opioid use disorder,” he said, referring to buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. “Kratom is really dangerous and harmful and there are case reports of people dying from it,” said Wakeman. “It is sometimes astonishing amounts that people are ingesting thinking that they are doing something that is better because they’re not using methamphetamines,” she said. She added that if those patients don’t work on their substance use disorder, they can “continue to elevate the amount that they take.”

Intoxicating THC products and kratom will disappear from Tennessee store shelves at the end of the month, but hope for a Trump-backed psychedelic is on the horizon, all thanks to the Tennessee GOP. Botanic Tonic’s “feel free” tonic mixes kratom and kava root, which according to the new law, will be illegal to sell in Utah as it combines kratom with a “nonkratom” substance. Quickly after the Utah Legislature approved a partial kratom ban this year prohibiting adulterated kratom from being sold in the state, the company sued state officials in federal court, asking for a judge to declare the new regulations unconstitutional while arguing it contradicts federal law. More recently, the National Institutes of Health announced the approval of a groundbreaking human clinical trial evaluating whether kratom can serve as a treatment for opioid use disorder and help individuals reduce or eliminate dependence on more dangerous opioids. In a human dose-finding safety study conducted under FDA oversight, healthy adult participants consumed kratom doses up to 12 grams of leaf material without experiencing serious adverse events. Real Botanicals remains committed to providing safe, lab-tested, naturally extracted 7-OH products in compliance with state and federal law.

In wide-ranging remarks on healthcare Monday in the Oval Office, President Trump said his administration would seek to have “natural 7-OH” approved. While the cannabis and kratom crackdowns were pushed by Tennessee’s hard-right GOP, the push for this new hallucinogen also came from them. Manufacture, delivery, or sale of kratom is a felony and can lead to fines up to $25,000.