The leading scientist urging policymakers not to criminalize kratom, a substance that has left a trail of death and addiction around the world, has routinely failed to disclose longstanding financial ties to the industry’s most powerful lobbying group, ProPublica has found.
asserted
ProPublica → lead → group
University of Florida professor Christopher McCurdy has accepted travel reimbursements, donations to his university’s foundation and funding for an annual symposium on research into the leaf’s medicinal potential from the American Kratom Association — none of which has been disclosed in his conflict of interest statements or on the papers he publishes.
asserted
he → accept → papers
The fight to keep kratom legal across the country has taken on increased urgency as more potent kratom derivatives have appeared on store shelves and evidence has mounted of the leaf’s risks to users’ health.
asserted
evidence → keep → health
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5,200 people in the United States died from drug overdoses involving kratom between 2020 and 2024.
uncertain
people → accord → 2020
And calls to poison control centers involving kratom have spiked 1,200% in the last decade.
asserted
calls → involve → decade
The lobbying group, which says it advocates for kratom consumers, has waged a pitched battle in statehouses and in Washington, D.C., to keep kratom products widely available in America’s gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores.
asserted
it → say → stations
Documents show it has relied repeatedly on McCurdy to help convince lawmakers kratom is safe enough to remain legal — deploying him to key states that are either considering full bans on the leaf or are on the verge of overturning an existing ban.
asserted
that → show → ban
His success fighting federal regulators earned him a place in the AKA’s Legacy Advocate Hall of Fame.
asserted
success → fight → Fame
Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia and is sold as a powder or in capsules, tablets or shots like energy drinks.
asserted
Kratom → come → drinks
In small amounts, it acts as a stimulant.
asserted
it → act → stimulant
In larger amounts, it acts like an opioid.
asserted
it → act → opioid
Although the Food and Drug Administration prohibits marketing it as a supplement or using it as a food ingredient, it’s advertised as a mood and energy enhancer, a painkiller and an alternative to opioids.
asserted
it → prohibit → opioids
ProPublica’s review of McCurdy’s appearances in recent years shows he has emphasized kratom’s therapeutic potential while downplaying its risks — despite his own published research finding kratom use can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms in newborns exposed in utero, and to dependency and even death in those who take it.
asserted
who → show → it
McCurdy has brushed off questions about the hazards by noting that even water can kill if consumed in excessive quantities.
asserted
water → brush → quantities
McCurdy does, however, argue for better manufacturing standards and labeling, and for putting age restrictions on kratom’s use.
asserted
McCurdy → argue → use
Other scientists who consult with and do research for the kratom association disclose that relationship.
asserted
who → consult → relationship
But McCurdy, who does not disclose it, has built a reputation as a neutral arbiter in the emotional debate pitting those with life-altering kratom addiction against those who say they use it without ill effects to combat opioid use or relieve pain.
asserted
they → disclose → pain
Indeed, McCurdy’s research focuses on developing kratom’s dominant chemical compound into a pharmaceutical to treat addiction.
asserted
research → focus → addiction
That work has been funded by the federal government, which has poured an estimated $100 million in grants into the research.
asserted
which → fund → research
Such funding could be disrupted if kratom is declared illegal.
uncertain
kratom → disrupt → ?
McCurdy told ProPublica that he has accepted invitations to speak to policymakers because “decisions about kratom should be informed by the best available science.”
asserted
decisions → tell → science
Reimbursed travel expenses don’t influence the “substance” of his presentations or his “scientific conclusions,” he said.
asserted
he → reimburse → presentations
“My views on kratom are based on more than two decades of scientific research,” he said.
asserted
he → base → research
“They are my own and are not dictated by the American Kratom Association or any other outside organization.”
asserted
They → dictate → Association
Those advocating for restrictions on kratom contend that as McCurdy testifies, publishes research or provides public information, he should be more forthright about his relationship with the kratom industry.
asserted
he → advocate → industry
Jennifer Brandt, a Virginia pharmacist who advocates for a total ban on kratom sales, was the first to file records requests with the University of Florida for McCurdy’s correspondence.
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who → advocate → correspondence
She has subsequently asked a medical journal to append corrections listing his ties to the lobbying group.
asserted
She → ask → group
“I’m really confused on where science ends and lobbying begins,” she said of McCurdy.
asserted
she → ’m → McCurdy
McCurdy’s work opposing the criminalization of kratom started as early as 2018.
asserted
work → oppose → 2018
That year, he joined with other scientists — including the AKA’s lead science consultant — to convince the Drug Enforcement Administration not to classify kratom as a Schedule I narcotic.
asserted
he → join → narcotic
The designation, reserved for drugs with no medical purpose and high abuse potential, would make kratom illegal.
asserted
kratom → reserve → purpose
The scientists said in a letter to federal regulators that it would also “severely hinder” their research into possible therapeutic uses.
asserted
it → say → uses
In a paper, McCurdy argued that scheduling kratom would erect new regulatory hurdles to studying the leaf and dissuade funders from supporting it.
asserted
scheduling → argue → it
The effort to schedule kratom was halted during the first Trump administration.
asserted
effort → schedule → administration
However, the association’s fight continued as it worked to convince state lawmakers to explicitly legalize kratom by regulating its sale.
asserted
it → continue → sale
McCurdy also became a key player in this effort, according to emails obtained by ProPublica through public records requests to the University of Florida.
uncertain
McCurdy → become → Florida
While the group’s membership is made up of kratom users, its lobbying efforts are funded by manufacturers and vendors.
asserted
efforts → make → manufacturers
It spends about $2.5 million a year on lobbying.
asserted
It → spend → lobbying
In 2023, at the AKA’s request, McCurdy briefed the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which regularly considers kratom regulation.
asserted
which → brief → regulation
He conducted the briefing remotely and did not travel to the annual meeting in Vienna that year.
asserted
He → conduct → Vienna
…and 64 more, not listed.
