Overview
- A CDC review of 53 poison centers found kratom exposures rose about 1,200%, from 258 in 2015 to 3,434 in 2025.
- Hospitalizations surged, and 233 deaths were logged over 2015–2025 with nearly 80% involving other drugs.
- Reports grew across ages with the biggest jump in adults 40 to 59, and men accounted for most cases.
- The FDA moved last year to pull the semisynthetic 7‑hydroxymitragynine from the market and asked the DEA to place it in Schedule I.
- Doctors caution that kratom products, now sold as potent extracts, gummies and shots, act on opioid receptors and can cause toxicity, dependence and withdrawal, while researchers call for tracking that separates whole‑leaf from concentrates.