Kratom in Tennessee: ‘Secret shopper’ investigation reveals unregulated substances sold across state

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — An alliance of kratom consumers, experts, and industry leaders is pushing Tennessee lawmakers to put regulations on an herbal substance that’s growing in popularity after a secret shopper investigation found not all kratom products being sold in the state are created equally, and some aren’t kratom at all.

Kratom comes from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Consuming its leaves can cause sedative or stimulant-like effects, depending on the amount taken.

“The unique effects reported are mood enhancement, energy, and then there are people who are using it for mild pain relief and opioid use disorder,” Matthew Lowe, the executive director of the Global Kratom Coalition said. “The use case for kratom is becoming much more about a health and wellness supplement that’s a substitute for potentially caffeine, that’s helping people get on with their day.”

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Kratom is not approved by the FDA for any kind of use, but the substance is legal in Tennessee as long as it’s in its “natural, botanical form,” according to a 2017 opinion by the TN Attorney General.

The Global Kratom Coalition (GKC) acknowledges the potential benefits and risks of the substance and has long advocated for regulations to ensure the safe and responsible use of kratom to protect consumers.

The group went undercover in Tennessee and purchased multiple products across the state, including in Columbia, Lebanon, and Memphis, that Lowe said were being marketed as kratom, but have a much different, “concerning” pharmaceutical profile. The products contained high levels of 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), which was synthetically added to the product, according to Lowe.

“7-Hydroxymitragnine is not even found in natural kratom. If you pull a leaf off the tree, there is no 7-OH in that leaf. It becomes apparent in the drying process so it’s a degradant product but in tiny, tiny, tiny amounts,” Lowe said. “[ 7-Hydroxymitragnine products ] are explicitly prohibited in at least five states but we’re not seeing action taken against them, so we took it upon ourselves to make people aware that number one, this is not kratom, and number two, you need to be careful when consuming these substances.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, 7-OH was found to be “13-fold more potent than morphine” when studied using the guinea pig ileum in the 1990s and 2000s.

The GKC first tested the 7-OH products purchased in TN to show they aren’t kratom, then worked with medical and scientific experts from the University of Florida and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who confirmed the products are “isolated, purified, or semi-synthetically generated forms of 7-Hydroxymitragynine” and “should not be scientifically considered or commercially categorized as kratom or as a kratom product,” according to their statement included in the GKC’s report.

The GKC is urging TN lawmakers to pass regulations to ensure products that are marketed as kratom are actually kratom. That includes requiring ingredient lists and warning labels on packaging, and establishing rules for manufacturers and vendors to protect consumers.

“We want to see legislation passed that sets out these standards, but I think most importantly, and this is what’s missing, is that there is enforcement of those standards. A law that is put into paper is not worth anything unless it’s actually enforced,” Lowe said. “We want people to have access to the products they want to use, and with that comes responsibility, and the responsibility sits on the shoulders of the manufacturers.”

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The GKC drafted a letter to the TN Attorney General encouraging him to take action and regulate kratom.

News 2 reached out to the AG’s office and the company that manufactured the 7-OH products the GKC purchased in TN but had not heard back from either by the time this article was published.

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