Kratom Poison Center Reports Rose 65-Fold Over 13 Years, With States That Ban It Showing Fewer Severe Cases

Why it matters

The finding that states with no kratom regulation at all had significantly higher rates of severe outcomes than states with outright bans gives policymakers rare comparative evidence for how regulatory approach correlates with real-world harm.

The big picture

The analysis, conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin using national poison center data, lands amid a wave of state actions and DEA emergency scheduling of 7-OH-related compounds. A separate CDC analysis this year found a roughly 1,200% rise in kratom exposure reports between 2015 and 2025, tied largely to high-potency semisynthetic formulations.

Key findings

• Kratom-related poison center reports rose from 19 in 2010 to 1,242 in 2023, a roughly 65-fold increase
• Reports involving life-threatening effects, lasting disability, or death rose from zero to 158 over the same period
• Across the full study period, 8,919 kratom-related exposures were logged, with about 13% meeting the definition of a severe outcome
• States with no kratom regulation recorded significantly higher rates of exposure, severe outcomes, and hospitalization than states with outright bans
• Among single-substance kratom cases, nearly 1 in 7 led to hospital admission and about 1 in 16 to critical care admission
• A separate CDC analysis found kratom exposure reports rose about 1,200% from 2015 to 2025, with 233 associated deaths over 11 years, 79% involving other substances

What they say

Senior author Ryan Feldman noted kratom "is not scheduled under the US Controlled Substances Act," which has left individual states to write their own rules, producing the regulatory patchwork the study examined.

Bottom line

**States with no kratom rules at all saw significantly more severe poisonings than states that banned it outright, giving regulators comparative evidence that a regulatory vacuum, not just concentrated products, drives harm.**