Nearly 2 million Americans used the herbal supplement kratom to treat pain, anxiety and opioid withdrawal symptoms in 2021, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, this substance can cause poisoning, seizures, Deaths (number) — like Dustin Hernandez.
Hernandez's death was captured on security camera video, which showed him collapsing and having a seizure before he died.
Toxicology tests conducted by a medical examiner determined that the cause was the toxic effects of mitragynine, commonly sold as kratom.
Hernandez's sister, Dusty Young, said her brother took kratom for anxiety.
“He denied it was addictive,” she told CBS News.
Kratom is commonly marketed as a health wonder and is widely available online and at gas stations. However, the FDA says the substance is addictive and warns against using kratom due to the “risk of serious symptoms.” harmful effects. ”
The agency has been trying to block kratom imports since 2014.
“Every bag of kratom on the shelf came here by people fraudulently claiming it was something else,” said Taris Abolins, an attorney representing Hernandez's family.
“What makes it even worse is that we're selling it like coffee or tea,” Abolins added.
The American Kratom Association acknowledges that there are many illegal kratom products. Mack Haddow, a spokesperson for the group, told CBS News that of the roughly 8,000 players in the kratom industry, only about “three dozen” are legitimate.
Haddow blames the FDA. “They just say, 'We don't want to regulate it. We want to ban it,'” he says. “They should regulate and protect consumers.”
The American Kratom Association is promoting what it calls a best practice standard for kratom consumer protection legislation. Local versions of this law have already been passed in 11 states.
But critics say the problem lies with kratom itself.
“This kratom product has been linked to seizures, comas and death. If it had been in the bag, many lives would have been saved,” Abolins said.
