CNN (3/27, Rogers) reported, “Calls to poison centers in the United States about the widely available herb kratom increased more than 1,200% between 2015 and 2025, new research has found.” Investigators “analyzed data from the National Poison Data System and found that calls steadily increased from 2015 to 2019, plateaued from 2020 to 2024 and surged in 2025.” The researchers found that “last year, there were 3,434 kratom poisoning reports in the US, a record number, up from only 258 calls in 2015.” A number of “case reports show that kratom overdoses have been responsive to naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, psychiatrist Dr. Lief Fenno, chairman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, told CNN in August.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Related Links:
— “Kratom poisoning calls have spiked more than 1,200% since 2015,”Kristen Rogers, CNN , March 27, 2026