Kratom Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Ingredients Are as Addictive as Opioids

A highly addictive form of the Asian plant kratom has been marketed and sold to individuals through health food stores and smoke shops as a non-addictive pain relieving supplement, according to allegations in a recently filed lawsuit.

Kratom is often marketed as an all-natural solution for pain relief, including pains associated with opioid addiction. However, recent evidence has shown that side effects of kratom can actually be as addictive as traditional opioids, such as heroin, morphine or oxycodone. In fact, studies have shown that kratom activates the same sensors in the brain as those highly addictive substances.

Despite its use throughout Asia for centuries, kratom has only entered the U.S. market over the past decade. For this reason, many American consumers are unaware of the plant’s potentially addictive properties, especially when it is refined into a more potent substance, referred to as 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH.

7-OH is an alkaloid found in the kratom plant that binds with the brain’s opioid receptors, creating a pleasurable experience. However, like other addictive substances, users need increasing amounts to feel the same effects.

When the supplement is discontinued, some users may even experience kratom withdrawal symptoms similar to opioids, such as restless legs, runny nose, pain, muscle spasms, diarrhea, loss of appetite, chills and intense discomfort.

In a complaint (PDF) filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of California on October 7, a group of plaintiffs seek class action status to pursue damages for all consumers, alleging that the manufacturers of certain 7-OH products capitalized on kratom’s potentially addictive properties by refining, marketing and selling the product to unknowing consumers.

The lawsuit alleges that Thang Botanicals Inc. and FTLS Holdings LLC knew or should have known about kratom’s dangers, due to the companies’ highly specialized processes of extracting a rarefied form of one of kratom’s psychoactive ingredients, 7-OH. Each of the plaintiffs are only referred to by their initials in the complaint, to maintain confidentiality.

One of the plaintiffs, identified as “A.S.”, indicates that they were already a regular kratom user when they tried 7-OH for the first time in June 2024. Since there were no risk warnings on the package, they purchased the product and began using it on a regular basis. However, within four weeks, A.S. says that they knew they were addicted. By August 2024, they were regularly spending $700 per week on 7-OH.

When A.S. tried quitting 7-OH, their withdrawal symptoms included restlessness, cramps, vomiting, sweating, irritability and loss of appetite. A.S. is now taking Suboxone to help with these symptoms.

Suboxone acts like an opioid drug, and is often used to help heroin addicts’ withdrawal symptoms. However, Suboxone has its own risks. The sublingual version has come to be associated with severe dental problems, leading to thousands of Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits now being pursued against the manufacturer of the product.

A.S. says that if they had known how addictive kratom is, they never would have bought or used the supplement. The other three plaintiffs share similar experiences, indicating that they were unaware of the dangers of 7-OH, and suffered severe withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit.

“As a result of 7-OH manufacturers’, retailers’, and advertisers’ failure to warn consumers of 7-OH‘s addictive potential, many 7-OH users find themselves blindsided when they stop taking 7-OH and find themselves facing severe withdrawal symptoms after having stopped using what they thought was a harmless supplement,” the lawsuit states.

On behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, the plaintiffs are asking the Court to provide restitution by returning the money spent on 7-OH, impose injunctive relief to stop the defendants from selling their addictive products, as well as punitive and compensatory damages the court deems necessary.

Dangers of Kratom

Kratom’s withdrawal symptoms can be extremely painful for users who are trying to quit. However, they are not the only dangers associated with the substance.

Wrongful death lawsuits have been filed over a number of kratom poisoning incidents. Most of these deaths have been caused by overexposure to another alkaloid found in the plant, mitragynine.

The number of poison control calls linked to kratom exposures has grown significantly over the past decade, with the annual number of calls to U.S. poison control centers involving kratom product exposures increasing from 13 in 2011 to nearly 700 in 2017.

The U.S. Justice Department’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a rule in 2016, to temporarily list kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance in the Federal Register, placing it alongside heroin and other highly addictive drugs. However, Congress declined the rule, and the DEA withdrew its plan, calling instead upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to perform a scientific review of the substance.

In February 2018, the FDA released its own kratom warning, which cited research indicating that the herbal supplement has been linked to at least 44 deaths. The FDA further warned that very little is known about the side effects of kratom and that the agency’s own research shows 22 of the 25 compounds in it may bind to the receptors in the brain that impact neurological and cardiovascular functions.