Dana and John Pope had never heard of kratom before their 23-year-old son, Ethan, was discovered dead with his dog in the kitchen of his apartment in December of last year.
Extracted from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tropical tree, kratom is used to manufacture capsules, powders, and liquids and is touted as a treatment for pain, anxiety, and drug addiction. In Georgia and other states, it is frequently offered in petrol stations and tobacco shops.
An autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed that Ethan Pope died of mitragynine intoxication and had no traces of alcohol or illicit drugs in his system. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, mitragynine is a psychotropic component of kratom.
Dana and John Pope have filed a wrongful death case against a dozen individuals, businesses, and organizations involved in the production, marketing, and sale of kratom.
Dana Pope stated Thursday at a news conference that they do not know how long their son had been using kratom, but he must have been experiencing ill effects. In his residence, they discovered a to-do list with a prominent item: “Stop consuming kratom.”
The first case was filed in May, and an amended version was filed earlier this week. The attorneys who brought the lawsuit have stated that they wish to convey the message that kratom is harmful for human consumption.
“The kratom industry asserts that it is a natural, risk-free product that can improve health and well-being,” said attorney Matt Wetherington. Even if this were true, the kratom offered in the United States is ultra-concentrated and more similar to heroin and other opiates.
Proponents of kratom assert that it is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can aid with pain management and opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Ethan Pope purchased O.P.M.S. Liquid Kratom in the days leading up to his death. The lawsuit states that liquid kratom shots are especially harmful “because they are designed to offer users with larger doses of mitragynine, significantly raising the risk of overdose and death.”
The lawsuit contends that kratom producers unlawfully import the substance by misclassifying it as an agricultural commodity and have began creating, marketing, and selling concentrated forms of the substance.
Kratom has stimulating effects at low dosages and sedative effects at high doses. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that it can be addictive and produce hallucinations, delusions, and disorientation.
The FDA has not approved any uses for kratom and “continues to urge consumers not to use any kratom-containing products.” In 2014, the FDA issued an import notice permitting the seizure of kratom as an unapproved medicine.
On its website, the FDA states, “There are no FDA-approved uses for kratom, and the agency has received troubling complaints about kratom’s safety.”
In a 2019 report, U.S. health officials stated that kratom contributed to 91 overdose deaths in 27 states. While the majority of people who died had also used heroin, fentanyl, or other substances, kratom was the only drug detected in seven of the deaths.
The number of calls to U.S. poison control centers for kratom increased by more than 50 times between 2011 and 2017, from 13 to 682.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were negligent in their “obligation to avoid foreseeable damage resulting from the use of their products.” It notes that this obligation includes making truthful disclosures regarding the risks and adverse effects of kratom and ensuring that the product’s purity and strength are consistent.
According to the lawsuit, Ethan Pope used the kratom products for their intended purpose, but the defendants “failed to provide adequate warnings and instructions that an ordinary consumer would expect, and the inadequate warnings made the kratom products more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect.”
According to the complaint, Optimized Plant Mediated Solutions, or O.P.M.S., created the kratom that Ethan Pope used. The corporation did not immediately react to a response request received via its internet form on Thursday.
In addition, the lawsuit asserts that the American Kratom Association, a trade group, encourages customers to depend on “false, deceptive, and grossly incomplete medical claims” regarding kratom. Drew Ashby, a lawyer for the Popes, stated that the company has pushed legislation in a number of states that it claims is intended to protect consumers, but which actually facilitates the sale of an unpredictable and dangerous drug.
“It is unfortunate and disappointing that Georgia is one of the few states that allows this to be sold legally with actual legislation,” Ashby said, referring to a 2019 law that restricts the sale of kratom to adults over the age of 18 and implements labeling requirements that the lawsuit alleges are not met.
The association’s attorney, Daniel Delnero, denied the allegations made against it.
“The American Kratom Association is a consumer advocacy organization committed to promoting Kratom education and responsible use. It was improperly added to this lawsuit, and we will vigorously defend it against the false allegations “He stated in an email message.
The lawsuit requests damages and a trial by jury.