BACKGROUND FOR REPORTERS: NATURAL KRATOM IS NOT “SYNTHETIC KRATOM”
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tree native to Southeast Asia. For centuries, people there have consumed its leaves directly, brewed them as a tea, or concentrated that tea into an extract. Natural kratom leaf has a long record of use and is under active federal study for its harm-reduction potential in opioid and alcohol use disorders: the National Institutes of Health has funded research into kratom’s principal alkaloid, mitragynine, as a potential treatment for opioid use disorder, and Purdue University researchers are studying kratom alkaloids for alcohol use disorder.
In the last several years, bad actors have begun synthesizing novel opioid compounds — including chemically manipulated 7-OH and, now, MGM-15 and MGM-16 — and deliberately packaging and selling them under the kratom name. These products do not share natural kratom’s alkaloid profile, its pharmacology, or its safety history. Federal regulators at FDA, HHS, DOJ, and DEA have recognized that distinction. Public warnings that erase it are dangerous to public health, because they warn people about the wrong thing.
AKA’s position is that a product may be called “kratom,” “natural kratom,” or a “product containing kratom” only if it meets all of the following:
• It contains no synthetic or semi-synthetic compounds of any kind;
• It retains the alkaloid profile found in the natural leaf, with no concentration or enrichment of any minor alkaloid; and
• Its alkaloid profile contains at least 100 parts mitragynine to 1 part 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MP), combined.
A product that fails any one of these tests is not kratom, whatever its label says, and should not be reported as kratom.
WHAT AKA IS ASKING OF THE MEDIA
• Identify the product by name — “Smax” Pseudo-DHM tablets, marketed as an MGM-15 product — rather than the generic term “kratom.”
• Where prior coverage described the products as “kratom,” update or correct that coverage.
• Distinguish natural kratom leaf from synthetic and chemically manipulated products sold under the kratom name.
• Wait for the toxicology findings before reporting any substance as the cause of either death.
About the American Kratom Association
The American Kratom Association is a consumer advocacy organization committed to protecting access to safe, natural kratom leaf products and advancing science-based consumer protection standards. AKA supports age restrictions, accurate labeling, contaminant testing, good manufacturing practices, and strong enforcement against adulterated, mislabeled, synthetic, semi-synthetic, concentrated, fortified, or chemically manipulated products falsely marketed as kratom.
