Kratom Poison Center Cases Surge 6,500% in a Decade
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- Kratom exposures reported to America's Poison Centers rose from 19 cases in 2010 to 1,242 cases in 2023, a jump of more than 6,500% over the decade.
- Severe medical outcomes from kratom climbed from zero in 2010 (first reported in 2012) to 158 cases in 2023, classified as life-threatening effects, significant lasting disability, or death.
- States that banned kratom consistently showed lower rates of reported exposures, severe outcomes, and healthcare use than states with consumer protection policies or no regulations at all.
- Nearly one in seven single-substance kratom exposure cases reported to a poison center were admitted to a hospital, and one in 16 were admitted to a critical care unit, according to the study.
- Kratom can trigger seizures, irregular heart rhythms, liver damage, and breathing problems, and when combined with other drugs it can interfere with metabolic pathways and heighten the risks of those accompanying substances.
- Kratom is not scheduled under the US Controlled Substances Act and has no FDA approval for medical use, leaving individual US states to set their own regulations — or leave it unregulated.
- Dr. Ryan Feldman of the Medical College of Wisconsin, senior author, warned that the 'kratom problem is not going away anytime soon' and called for more rigorous, unbiased research to guide legislation.
Why it matters: With 158 severe kratom outcomes logged in 2023 and no federal scheduling or FDA approval, the research hands state legislators concrete evidence that outright bans correlate with fewer hospitalizations than lighter-touch consumer protection policies — a finding that could reshape ongoing regulatory debates in the unregulated states currently bearing the worst outcomes.
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