The St. Tammany Parish coroner is warning you about a supplement that’s widely available but could be deadly. Over the summer, a 36-year-old woman died in part of an overdose of the legal drug Kratom. Coroner Dr. Christopher Tape says since it’s readily available, people might not realize that it’s lethal in excessive doses.
“It’s a plant that gets concentrated, sold in gas stations and such. And so, people just naturally think it’s safe,” Tape said.
Dr. Tape says Kratom is derived from a tree native to Southeast Asia and mainly used to provide a burst of energy.
“At low doses it probably might be, at high doses it might not be, and especially when combined with a lot of other substances and with underlying natural disease,” Tape said.
In high doses, Kratom can cause seizures, which will cause the user to stop breathing. Tape says Kratom has been used for decades.
“It’s a little bit like in South America, people would chew the cocoa leaves for energy, given like a coffee, stimulant buzz. And then they learn how to make cocaine out of that. And then, of course, cocaine is very dangerous. If you chew a leaf, you’re probably never going to overdose on it. But if you concentrate it into cocaine, you WILL overdose,” Tape explained.
Kratom is not regulated by the FDA, so there are no standards to ensure its safety.
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