BBC News
· collected 2026-09-26 · by Brandon Drenon and Madeline Halpert
Jeffrey Deaver, a retired timber cutter from Washington state, uses kratom to manage severe chronic pain. Kratom, an herbal product with opioid-like effects, has gained popularity in the U.S. over the last decade and can be purchased legally in many states. However, concerns have risen as officials warn about its risks following recent incidents involving two deceased University of Mississippi students found with packaged kratom, although their deaths were not definitively linked to it. Dr. Shane Speights warns that due to lack of federal regulation, there's no way to ensure the purity or safety of kratom products sold in convenience stores and other outlets.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Jeffrey Deaver, a 58-year-old retired timber cutter in the state of Washington, has taken kratom for four years to help with severe chronic hip and knee pain.
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Deaver → publish → pain
He discovered the herbal product when he couldn't find relief from doctors and while waiting for surgeries.
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he → discover → surgeries
Scared at first, he "started small", but then took more until his pain went away.
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pain → start → more
"It was like a miracle," Deaver said.
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Deaver → say → miracle
"I could sleep.
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I → sleep → ?
I could function.
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I → function → ?
"I just don't know what I'd do without it."
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I → know → it
Kratom - an herb with opioid-like effects - has grown in popularity in the US over the last decade, and is typically purchased over-the-counter and consumed in pill or liquid form.
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Kratom → grow → form
This week, investigators found packaged kratom in the possession of two deceased University of Mississippi students.
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investigators → find → students
Although their deaths were not attributed to kratom, officials are now issuing warnings about its consumption.
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officials → attribute → consumption
For years, anti-kratom advocates have pushed for bans, and in some countries, like the UK, it's illegal.
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it → push → UK
But Kratom is not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and is legal in some states, including Mississippi.
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Kratom → regulate → Mississippi
Here's what we know about it:
What is kratom?
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kratom → know → it
It's been used for centuries for its stimulant properties, grounded and consumed similar to tea.
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It → use → tea
As its popularity spread around the globe, it entered the US market as a supplement around 2016.
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it → spread → 2016
"That's really where the problems began," said Dr Shane Speights, dean of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University.
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Speights → begin → University
In the US kratom is mostly sold in highly concentrated forms either via pill, powder or liquid, Speights said.
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Speights → sell → pill
It's also widely available - found everywhere from convenience stores and petrol stations to vape shops.
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It → find → shops
Also, because of the supplement classification, kratom products are not federally regulated.
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products → regulate → classification
"There's no way to know exactly what you're getting," Speight said.
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Speight → be → what
"You could go and create something in your basement, market it as a supplement, and nobody's really going to check and see what's in it.
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what → go → it
What is kratom used for?
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kratom → use → What
Kratom is often marketed as a safe, natural herbal supplement that helps with pain management, anxiety and depression.
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that → market → management
In lower doses, its stimulant properties create a "caffeine-kind of buzz", Speights explained.
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Speights → create → buzz
Because of its opioid-like effects, it has also been used with the goal of curbing addictions to actual opioids like fentanyl.
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it → use → fentanyl
Those properties stem from the way the plant's compounds - like 7-Hydroxymitragynine - activate various hormones, including dopamine.
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compounds → stem → dopamine
"It's almost like taking a narcotic," Speights said.
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Speights → take → narcotic
"At higher doses, it can create more euphoria and give you more of a general high."
Hallucinations are possible, too.
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Hallucinations → create → high
The higher doses also pose greater risk for adverse side effects.
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doses → pose → effects
That includes central nervous system (CNS) depression - which is "where the deaths come in," Speights said.
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Speights → include → depression
CNS can result in cardiovascular collapse and loss of breathing.
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CNS → result → breathing
Withdrawal symptoms and addiction are also risks, said Jana Wu, director of clinical integration at the addiction treatment centre Mountainside.
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Wu → say → centre
"It affects marriages, relationships," she said.
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she → affect → marriages
"I've seen people lose jobs, spend thousands of dollars a month on it.
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people → see → it
"
Because it's easy to develop a high tolerance to the herb, users may need to take an increasing amount to achieve the same effect over time.
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users → develop → time
"I've worked with people that were taking like up to 20 pills a day," Wu said.
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Wu → work → pills
Experts told the BBC that the biggest dangers come from the fact that kratom is not federally regulated.
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kratom → tell → fact
"Is there a safe dose?" Speights said.
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Speights → say → ?
"My answer is going to be no because - I'm going to go back to this - we don't know what's in it.
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what → go → it
Kratom is banned in 11 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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Kratom → ban → states
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
