It's sold at the gas station. It converts in the body to an opioid stronger than morphine.
Kratom is marketed as a safe, “natural leaf” supplement to boost mood, energy, and focus; plus treat chronic pain relief, anxiety, and even opioid withdrawal. The hidden catch: Part of Kratom converts in the body to an opioid stronger than morphine. It’s now a multi-billion dollar industry that profits from addiction.
Why we exist One family. Eight years lost. A warning that came too late.
In 2017, Cameron Francis found kratom online. He was a college athlete. The product was marketed as a safe, plant-based herbal supplement for focus and energy. Like countless others, he believed it was harmless. He mixed the green powder into his water bottle throughout the day.
He had no idea part of kratom converts in the body to an opioid stronger than morphine.
By 2021, he was in a hospital emergency room in severe withdrawal. His physician said it plainly: "Kratom is an opioid, and you need serious help."
What followed were years of emotional and physical suffering trying to reclaim his life. Cameron lost nearly eight years of his life to a product sold as a "botanical" or "natural leaf".
His father Dean founded End Kratom Addiction to sound an alarm so other families would not be blindsided the way his family was. Dean and Cameron now speak on behalf of tens of thousands of people and families who have suffered similarly, or worse.
Our mission is to shine a light on a sinister industry that puts profits over people, provide support to those affected, and end a national nightmare.
We exist because every family deserves the truth before addiction begins—not after.
How does an opioid end up next to the energy drinks?
The kratom industry sells its products as a "dietary supplement," not a drug. That single legal maneuver lets it bypass the safeguards we expect for opioid-class substances: no clinical safety trials, no pharmacy consultation, no purchase limits.
Kratom's active compounds bind to opioid receptors. Part of it converts in the liver to 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a compound the FDA states is stronger than morphine, and can produce respiratory depression, or death. The FDA warns against it, yet it sits on shelves in convenience stores, smoke shops, and gas stations nationwide.
That is not an accident. It is a business strategy.
Expert Voices
What we see is people who come into treatment and they’re addicted to kratom. As a physician I would say, ‘don’t start kratom.’ It’s basically like starting on your road to an addiction with an opioid…I would hope it go through some kind of control so consumers know what they’re buying. Right now, when we see overdoses or poisons, it’s because kratom is usually tainted with some other type of drug, like fentanyl.
– Dr. Alta DeRoo, MD, MBA, DFASAM, FACOG Chief Medical Officer, Hazelden Betty Ford
Years ago, most of my patients' addiction stories began with an opioid prescription. Today, most all start with kratom—it’s fueling a rise in opioid use disorder itself.
Kratom’s principal active compound is an opioid that activates the same brain receptors as heroin and prescription painkillers. Like other opioids, kratom is highly addictive: Repeated use leads to tolerance, dependence and the need for progressively higher doses. As the FDA put it, kratom ‘isn’t just a plant—it’s an opioid.’ [Read Dr. Kolodny's Oped in Washington Post July 14, 2026]
– Dr. Andrew Kolodny Opioid Research Director at Brandeis University and Addiction Psychiatrist
We want the public to be aware that these products contain chemicals of varying concentrations such as mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine that have complex pharmacological actions and can cause drug interactions and adverse consequences in humans.
– Dr. Chris Holstege Chief of Medical Toxicology at University of Virginia, and Blue Ridge Poison Control Director
Calling something plant-based doesn't make it safe. Cocaine comes from a plant. Opium is a plant. Natural doesn't mean it's safe or non-addictive. The patients we see with kratom addiction are exactly like those that we see with fentanyl or heroin or other opioid addictions.
– Dr. Michael Sucher, MD, DFASAM Executive Medical Director at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare
The claim that kratom has no potential abuse and can do no harm is ludicrous. Until we truly understand how kratom interacts with other medications, promoting it as a safe herbal supplement puts lives at risk.
– Dr. Faried Banimahd, MD Board-Certified Addiction Physician, Coleman Clinic, Richmond, VA
Traditional kratom preparations have been associated for years with tolerance, withdrawal, and compulsive use, demonstrating inherent addictive potential. Kratom marketed as 'safe' or 'non-addictive' is contributing to a growing population struggling with dependence and withdrawal.
– Dr. Ronald Mejzak Director of Addiction Services and Medical Staff President at Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center
More than half of the patients presented to me for detox do so because of kratom derivatives. It is distressing to watch these readily available substances—marketed as herbal dietary supplements—cause such profound harm in our community.
– Dr. Kate Gibson, DNP, APRN, PMHNP, CPRS Addiction Medicine Nurse Practitioner, Richmond, VA
The evidence isn't just in labs. It's online.
More than 55,000 people belong to r/quittingkratom, a Reddit community for people struggling to stop. Kratom Quitters runs daily support meetings for over 11,000 members. The Kratom Sobriety Podcast documents the reality the industry denies.
These communities exist because the problem is real. And they are growing.
10 states, 248 localities, and all 4 branches of the U.S. military banned kratom, with many more states now considering the same action.
11 U.S. Senators signed a letter on March 18, 2026 urging the FDA to consider scheduling the entire kratom leaf. More letters like this are forthcoming.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy recently provided a 108-page report to formally recommend kratom as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The Nevada Board of Pharmacy has proposed the same scheduling.
The American Medical Association has made a formal policy statement recommending to "Regulate Kratom and Ban OTC Sales," calling for clinical safety testing and regulatory evaluation to be completed "before [kratom] can be marketed, purchased, or prescribed."
The science is catching up. The law is catching up. The industry is running out of cover.
