A group that champions the use of the herbal remedy kratom is warning of manipulated products that could deceive buyers.
In December, the Global Kratom Coalition issued a series of reports documenting illicit products in several states, including in Oklahoma, marketed as kratom.
Matthew Lowe, the coalition's executive director, said these products contain much higher levels of a specific substance called 7-hydroxymitragynine, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said can cause “opioid-related” like withdrawal symptoms.
“If you are isolating 7-hydroxymitragynine and then amping it up to 100, 200, 300-times more than what you would get in the leaf material, you now have a very, very different substance,” Lowe said.
Also called 7-OH, the substance interacts with the human brain's "mu" receptor, which is the same one stimulated by heroin and oxycodone.
According to a report from the Global Kratom Coalition, several businesses in the Tulsa area have been found to sell doctored products.
KWGS contacted many of the businesses listed but received no response.
Lowe said he wants to see greater regulation of kratom, both to legitimize its use and clamp down on dangerous products.
Kratom comes from the leaves of a plant (Mitragyna speciosa) in the coffee family, native to several countries in southeast Asia. It has many active components, making it hard to classify.
The use of kratom has been controversial. Users have said it helps relieve several ailments like pain and anxiety. As many as 15 million Americans use kratom.
The Mayo Clinic has called the leaf-based product “unsafe and ineffective.”
