News · 2026-08-12
Ohio Data Reveals Feel Free Kratom Sold 59,000 Bottles Per Day Before State Ban
Source: Signal Akron
Why it matters
Court-disclosed sales figures from Botanic Tonics offer the clearest picture yet of the kratom industry's scale. At $10 per bottle, 59,000 daily sales translate to roughly $215 million in annual Ohio revenue alone — from a single product line with no age restriction or special tax.
The big picture
Ohio's emergency rule classifying processed kratom as Schedule I was upheld by a Franklin County judge in August 2026. The ruling came just as a DEA proposal to schedule 7-OH at the federal level was advancing. Botanic Tonics, the maker of Feel Free, has a politically connected investor in DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who holds between $500,000 and $1 million in the company.
Key findings
- Botanic Tonics disclosed selling roughly 59,000 Feel Free kratom bottles daily in Ohio, equal to ~21.5 million bottles per year
- A Franklin County judge upheld Ohio's ban on processed kratom products; the company plans to appeal
- CDC data shows kratom exposure reports to poison control surged 1,200% since 2015 and more than doubled from 2024 to 2025
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin holds $500,000-$1 million in Botanic Tonics, creating a political conflict of interest
- Addiction physicians report admitting nearly as many kratom withdrawal patients weekly as fentanyl patients
- The company cited an industry-funded study finding no meaningful abuse potential; researchers noted the conflict of interest
What they say
"Kratom and its analogues are a public health disaster. I have been admitting almost as many patients per week withdrawing from kratom and its analogues as I am from fentanyl for at least the past year," said Dr. Theodore Parran, a Northeast Ohio addiction physician.
Bottom line
**Court filings confirm Feel Free was a $200+ million-per-year Ohio business before the state ban, underscoring both the economic scale of the kratom industry and the regulatory vacuum that allowed it to grow unchecked.**