Utah Warns Semi-Synthetic Kratom Products Linked to 4 Deaths; Mislabeled Products "Potentially Deadly"
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed four deaths in the state linked to semi-synthetic kratom products, warning that mislabeled products still on store shelves could be deadly.
The deaths were caused by mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI) and dihydro-7-hydroxymitragynine (MGM-15), potent semi-synthetic kratom compounds sold under names like "cat's claw" online and at smoke shops, gas stations and other retailers, the New York Post reported on October 9. The agency singled out tablets marketed as "Buzzers," advertised as a "proprietary blend of botanical extracts."
One of the four deaths resulted from use of a Buzzers product, Dr. Michael Moss, medical director of the Utah Poison Control Center, told NBC News. Exo Club, the company behind Buzzers, insists in its product description that the tablets don't contain any kratom or popular kratom compounds. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kratom is a tropical plant native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain alkaloids that act on the brain's opioid receptors; at high doses they can produce opioid-like sedation and euphoria, earning such products the nickname "gas station heroin." Utah banned the sale of kratom extracts and products containing semi-synthetic kratom compounds in May, but the health department warned they may still be available at some stores.
Two weeks earlier, two University of Mississippi students — Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20 — died of suspected overdoses on the same night, each with kratom products nearby. Hamilton had visited a smoke shop near campus a week before his death to buy Smax Pseudo-DHM, a chewable form of the supplement that is illegal to sell there.
Health officials urge the public not to buy or use kratom products of unknown origin and to seek medical help and contact poison control if symptoms appear. At the federal level, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary proposed in 2025 making 7-hydroxymitragynine a Schedule I drug, though natural kratom itself is not currently on the federal controlled-substances list.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）摄影：Jkinsocal
