In this special co-broadcast episode, The Poison Lab joins forces with The Kratom Sobriety Podcast for a deeper conversation about kratom, regulation, addiction, recovery, and what poison center data can tell us about real-world harm.
Kratom is a plant-derived substance that contains mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, compounds with opioid-like effects. It is sold in many forms, including powders, capsules, drinks, tonics, and concentrated extracts, often in gas stations, smoke shops, and online. For many people, kratom is encountered with little warning about its risks, including dependence, withdrawal, and toxicity.
Study News
This episode grew out of our newly published study in Addiction, which examined kratom-related poison center calls across states with different legal approaches: states with bans, states with kratom consumer protection acts, and states with no specific regulation.
The study began with a real policy question in Wisconsin: is the public better protected by prohibition, by regulated access, or by leaving kratom largely unregulated? As clinical toxicologists and poison center clinicians, our goal was not to write policy, but to add objective data to a debate that often moves faster than the evidence.
Ryan discusses how that question led to a broader debate within medical toxicology and poison center circles: What are the harms of prohibition? What are the risks of unfettered access? Is regulation safer than a ban? And what can poison center data actually tell us about those questions?
After the study was published, people reached out from several directions: journalists, policymakers, people concerned about the risks of prohibition, and people who had experienced harm from easy access to kratom. That included the team behind The Kratom Sobriety Podcast, who wanted to talk about the study and the lived experience of kratom dependence and recovery.
The conversation highlights both the data and the human side of the issue: people who developed kratom dependence, struggled to stop, and found their way into recovery. The episode explores why policy decisions around kratom are so difficult, why easy access to opioid-like substances can be dangerous, and why lived experience matters alongside epidemiologic data.
Topics covered include:
- What kratom is and why it is often called a “gas station drug”
- Mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, and opioid-like effects
- Kratom dependence, withdrawal, and recovery
- How poison centers track emerging substances
- Differences between state bans, consumer protection acts, and unregulated access
- What poison center data can and cannot tell us
- Why kratom policy is more complicated than “ban it” versus “leave it alone”
- The importance of listening to people with lived experience
This episode is a longer-form conversation about science, policy, toxicology, and recovery. It is not medical advice, and it is not meant to tell any individual person what they should do. But it is meant to bring more evidence, nuance, and humanity into a debate that needs all three.
If you or someone you know is struggling with kratom or any substance use, help is available. In the United States, you can contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Extras
- Free to read version of the study
News articles about the study
- US Kratom Use Surges 65-Fold in 13 Years
- Calls to poison centers over 'natural' supplement have skyrocketed by 6,500% since 2010
- Kratom Use Soars in US, Alters Lives Dramatically | Mirage News
- Kratom use is surging in the US, with life-changing consequences, study reveals
- Kratom use is surging in the US, with life-changing consequences | EurekAlert!
