Three seemingly unrelated headlines dominated the news in recent weeks: NBA star Brandon Clarke passed away, the family of a teenager who died from a drug overdose after prompting by ChatGPT sued OpenAI, and the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.But, there’s a disturbing thread that ties these disconnected stories together: Kratom — a deadly drug sold in convenience stores across America. For years, the government has failed to act. That failure has cost lives, and now is the time for a federal ban on kratom. Kratom, an addictive, opioid-like drug banned in many of the Southeast Asian countries from where it originates, has flooded American gas stations nationwide over the past fifteen years. In some forms, the drug is 13 times more potent than morphine. But kratom is federally uncontrolled; anyone of any age can legally buy kratom at corner stores across the country. It is a pharmaceutical-grade risk being sold with less oversight than a candy bar.
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This policy has resulted in deadly consequences: Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 5,300 people died from overdoses involving kratom.
From celebrities to everyday teenagers, our failed approach to kratom impacts Americans of all stripes. Just weeks before his sudden death, Memphis Grizzlies power forward Brandon Clarke was arrested in Arkansas (one of the few states that prohibit kratom) for possessing and trafficking over a half pound of kratom. And in California, a family announced a lawsuit against OpenAI after Chat GPT told their nineteen-year-old son, Sam Nelson, that it was safe to mix kratom with Xanax, advice that led to his fatal overdose.
