Products sold as energy drinks, gummies or herbal supplements at gas stations and convenience stores may contain potent opioid-like compounds, putting people at risk of addiction, overdose and death, according to health experts.
Dr. Michael Moss is the medical director for the Utah Poison Control Center. He said there have been four reported kratom related deaths in Utah this year and an increase in hospitalizations related to semi-synthetic kratom.
“What I’m really worried about here is their potential to act just like an opioid, like morphine, like oxycodone, and cause an opioid overdose, where someone gets too sleepy and so sleepy that they stop breathing and that they die,” Moss said.
Moss is among health advocates favoring regulation.
Nine states – and some cities – have banned this form of Kratom, citing health concerns. It is legal elsewhere - including in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho with limits that include labeling and testing. New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana have no regulations on the substance.
Traditional leaf kratom is a Southeast Asian plant long ingested in capsule form or as hot tea and is a mild stimulant. Interest in ground leaf products grew about a decade ago, when some people sought them for pain relief or to manage opioid withdrawal, Dr. Michael Moss with the Utah Poison Control Center said. More recently, products have been repackaged as convenient energy shots and tablets, often sold alongside ordinary convenience-store goods.
Some buyers, Moss said, may not realize they are taking an opioid-like substance: “Who would have thought that something you could buy next to a 5-Hour Energy drink could end up killing you?”
Natural kratom contains mitragynine, while tiny amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, are more potent. Concentrated versions have appeared in tablets and gummies, prompting Utah to restrict 7-OH, he said. As manufacturers alter formulas, newer compounds, including MGM-15, MGM-16, and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, have drawn concern. Moss said testing linked “cat’s-claw” products to deaths in Utah; the DEA had also recently announced emergency federal scheduling of several related compounds.
The chief danger is opioid overdose: extreme sleepiness can slow breathing until it stops. Poor quality control makes risk unpredictable; one tablet may cause serious harm, while repeated use can lead to dependence. Alcohol, benzodiazepines such as Xanax, sleeping pills and prescription opioids can compound sedation.
Moss recommended carrying naloxone, commonly referred to as “Narcan,” not using it while alone and seeking medical care for suspected overdose or withdrawal. Withdrawal from frequent use can resemble severe flu, with anxiety, restlessness, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, sweating and goosebumps, Moss said. Buprenorphine, sold as Suboxone, can help treat opioid withdrawal and dependence.
Labels that deny containing kratom or 7-OH, he said, should raise questions, not reassure shoppers. The products’ changing names and uncertain contents make prevention and public awareness urgent for families too.
“Even though regulation never completely fixes the problem, if we can at least reduce the supply and not have innocent folks pick something up at a convenience store and end up dead, I think that would be great,” he said.
