🗣️ Key Reporting Points

• FDA has not established kratom as safe. In 2023, the FDA explicitly denied a New Dietary Ingredient application, stating it could not establish safety or even basic identity.
• Overdose deaths with kratom detected exceed 5,000 since 2020. CDC SUDORS data show more than 5,000 deaths with mitragynine present – and that's only from participating jurisdictions.
• Poison control centers received 8,555 kratom-related calls from 2019–2024. In 2024 alone, there were over 1,600 exposures, including 150 pediatric cases. Children under five are the fastest-growing group.
• Some studies use controlled conditions that differ from retail products. Industry-funded research uses pure product in healthy adults for short periods – unlike the adulterated, variable kratom sold in gas stations.
• Kratom Consumer Protection Acts (KCPAs) are often drafted by industry advocates. These bills create an illusion of regulation but do not require warnings about addiction, withdrawal, or opioid-like effects.
• Law enforcement cannot currently test for 7‑hydroxymitragynine, the more potent metabolite formed in the body, making impaired driving cases difficult to prosecute.

🔍 What to Verify

• FDA NDI denial: Johnson Foods' 2023 application was rejected – the agency could not establish identity or safety. (Source: FDA denial letter)
• CDC SUDORS definitions: SUDORS distinguishes between substances "detected" and those "involved" in the cause of death. Both metrics are tracked separately.
• Poison control NPDS data: Annual reports from America's Poison Centers include case counts, severity, and pediatric exposures. These are verified, not estimates.
• Adverse event reports: FAERS and CAERS databases contain over 2,200 kratom-related reports, including nearly 1,000 deaths. These are spontaneous reports and signal potential risks.

📝 Press Release Template

Use this template to announce local actions, events, or respond to industry announcements.

📄 Backgrounder: Key Facts Every Journalist Should Know

• What is kratom? A tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) whose leaves contain mitragynine and 7‑hydroxymitragynine, compounds that bind to mu‑opioid receptors.
• Legal status: No FDA-approved drug products. Not a lawful dietary ingredient. FDA has issued multiple import alerts.
• Industry lobbying: The American Kratom Association has promoted state-level "KCPA" bills that preempt bans but do not require warnings about addiction or withdrawal.
• Key data sources:
  • FDA CAERS/FAERS: over 2,200 adverse event reports, nearly 1,000 deaths.
  • CDC SUDORS: 5,000+ overdose deaths with mitragynine detected (2020–2024).
  • Poison control: 8,555 exposures (2019–2024), including 700+ pediatric cases.
• Human research: Clinical trials show dose‑dependent increases in subjective drug effects, liver enzyme elevations, and adverse events requiring participant withdrawal.
• What consumers don't see: Kratom is metabolized into a more potent opioid (7‑OH) inside the user. Retail products often lack quality control – testing has found contamination with heavy metals, salmonella, and synthetic substances.