Stay Cool & Save Big!
Stay Cool & Save Big!
That athletes have turned to the plant is not surprising, said kratom researcher Christopher McCurdy. For decades, the potent anti-inflammatory Toradol has been the drug of choice to help professional athletes push through pain. CBD Kratom is one of nearly two dozen kratom companies under investigation by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. “This is ultimately about ensuring that player welfare remains the priority and that leagues maintain a high standard when endorsing products to professional athletes.” Dartez Jacobs, the president of the UFL Players Association when the sponsorship was signed in 2024, said the league having an official kratom supplier raises concerns about its decision-making process.
In the beginning, that’s a very enticing aspect of using a drug.” “You have people who don’t have any substance use issues gravitating towards them.” 120,000 Pennsylvanians have dropped ACA health insurance since the loss of federal subsidies Both 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl are sold in multiple, sometimes even kid-friendly forms, including as tablets, capsules, liquid shots, tinctures, drinks and candy — all unregulated.
While the federal government has floated the idea of scheduling 7-OH without any additional concrete action, states have been scheduling kratom much more quickly. Banning kratom is an option that several states are actively considering; this type of legislation would make the sale, possession, or manufacturing of kratom illegal throughout the state. These three buckets capture almost all the kratom-related bills that were under consideration in the 2025–26 state legislative sessions.
The kratom inside Clarke’s car was awaiting testing when Clarke died. That’s why one kratom advocate was quick to point out that Clarke wasn’t arrested for “just kratom,” as he told deputies last April. That’s what’s happening in the kratom space right now.” “We treat kratom like a garbage can description,” McCurdy said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said poison centers have received a marked increase in the number of calls related to kratom, hitting a record high of 3,434 last year compared to 258 in 2015. But, without any scientific studies, McCurdy said kratom “should be used with a high degree of caution by athletes who have trained to be champions, not guinea pigs.”
It’s uncommon for kratom to Q Kratom 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. In a Facebook post, Kava Kava, the business where Hepner first consumed kratom, urged people to oppose the legislation because it stated that it not only affects kratom users but on the right of “kava and sober communities to access natural plant-based alternatives”.
"A lot of people don't even know about the poison center, so it's almost always an underestimate," said Dr. Antonia Nemanich, a toxicologist at Rush University Medical Center. "The biggest traumatic piece of it was how badly it had, like, destroyed my mental health and my physical health at the end." "I was in the bathroom, with what I now know was going through opioid withdrawals," she said.
For now, kratom is technically legal, though some states are launching their own crackdown. 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. Kratom is often marketed as a painkiller and energy booster and sold with flashy packaging in gas stations, smoke shops, and liquor stores. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
