Lawsuit Seeks Kratom Addiction Warnings, Corrective Advertising

Concerns about kratom addiction and other serious health risks have prompted federal regulatory action and lawsuits alleging manufacturers failed to adequately warn consumers about the dangers.

Officials from the city of Baltimore have filed a lawsuit alleging several kratom companies deceptively marketed highly addictive products as safe and therapeutic without disclosing that their active ingredients act on the same brain receptors as opioids.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore in Maryland Circuit Court for Baltimore City on July 28, naming JOpen LLC, Martian Sales Inc., PUR Botanicals LLC and other currently unidentified entities as defendants. The case was removed (PDF) to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on August 1.

Baltimore alleges the companies, doing business as themselves and under other names, deceptively marketed kratom as safe and therapeutic despite knowing and failing to adequately warn consumers about addiction risks.

Kratom Addiction Risks

Kratom is a psychoactive substance made from the leaves of the Mitragyna tree, which grows naturally in Southeast Asia. Kratom products are readily available online and at gas stations, convenience stores, smoke shops and wellness retailers, where they are often promoted as dietary supplements.

However, the substance contains compounds that interact with some of the same brain receptors targeted by opioids such as morphine and heroin. Kratom is available in a variety of forms, including powders, capsules, tablets, concentrated extracts, shots, gummies and beverages, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved it to treat any medical condition.

Federal regulators have also warned about the addictive properties and potential health risks associated with kratom products. Last month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) placed three highly potent kratom-related opioids into Schedule I amid concerns about addiction, respiratory depression and other serious health risks.

Those safety concerns have fueled a growing number of kratom lawsuits, which allege manufacturers failed to adequately warn consumers that their products may cause addiction, withdrawal symptoms and other serious health problems.

Kratom Addiction Warnings

In the complaint, Baltimore officials allege the defendants deceptively marketed kratom products as safe, natural and beneficial while failing to disclose that the products contain active compounds that interact with the same brain receptors as opioids and may cause addiction, dependence and withdrawal.

The lawsuit maintains that reasonable consumers purchasing kratom at gas stations, smoke shops and other retailers would not expect the products to function like opioids or carry highly addictive characteristics. Instead, the defendants allegedly promoted their products for pain relief, increased energy and focus, improved mood, relaxation, reduced stress and enhanced productivity. 

According to the complaint, kratom contains psychoactive compounds, primarily mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which bind to mu-opioid receptors in the brain and produce effects similar to opioids. Baltimore claims the products can cause physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms and have been suspected of contributing to overdoses and deaths.

However, the lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to disclose those risks and instead emphasized the safety and authenticity of their products, including marketing that warned consumers about potentially dangerous counterfeit kratom. Baltimore maintains those representations misleadingly suggested authentic products were safe while concealing the alleged addiction risks associated with kratom itself. 

The city claims the companies knew or should have known about those risks for years, pointing to kratom-associated adverse drug reactions reported to the FDA as early as 2004. The complaint also cites subsequent federal actions, including FDA import alerts beginning in 2012 and a 2017 public health advisory warning about opioid-like risks associated with kratom.

Despite those warnings, Baltimore alleges the defendants continued to market and sell the products throughout the city without adequate addiction disclosures. The lawsuit maintains that each sale made without disclosing that kratom is highly addictive, as well as each allegedly misleading representation about its safety or therapeutic benefits, constitutes a separate violation of Baltimore’s consumer protection ordinance.

“Each Defendant, individually and collectively, knew, or at a minimum, should have known that its representations as to their Kratom Products were false and misleading, that their Kratom Products are highly addictive and deleterious to health, and that due to those characteristics, do not provide the promised therapeutic benefits, and thus, their marketing and promotion of their Kratom Products, as described herein, was highly deceptive and misleading.”

— Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. JOpen LLC et al.

In addition to statutory penalties, Baltimore is asking the court to prohibit the defendants from marketing kratom products as safe or claiming therapeutic benefits they do not provide. The city also wants the companies required to clearly disclose on product labels, packaging and advertising that kratom’s active compounds have opioid-like effects and may be addictive.

Kratom Addiction Lawsuits

Amid concerns about addiction and other health risks, personal injury lawyers are investigating kratom lawsuits involving individuals who may have suffered serious injuries and side effects, including:

• Addiction and physical dependence
• Severe withdrawal symptoms
• Cardiac injuries, including rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Seizures
• Liver or kidney damage
• Respiratory depression or breathing problems
• Death from overdose or other kratom-related complications

Kratom injury lawyers pursue claims on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no legal fees or expenses unless compensation is recovered through a settlement or verdict.

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