Krave Botanicals Misled Consumers About Highly Addictive Kratom Products, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Krave Botanicals has failed to warn consumers about the highly addictive potential of its kratom powder, capsule and liquid extract products.

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The 32-page lawsuit says that the “pleasant-looking” green leaf logo and leafy, rainbow-colored banner on the products’ labels mislead consumers about the addictive nature of the kratom supplements. The packaging “proudly” declares the products to be “All Natural” and only includes a basic disclaimer on the back that states the items are “not regulated or evaluated by the [Food and Drug Administration]”—seemingly innocent language that leads buyers to believe the products are safe and pose no risk of dependency, the suit alleges.

Per the case, although kratom is primarily advertised as an herbal medicine that produces a “legal” or “natural” high, it triggers the same brain receptors as opioids such as morphine and heroin and produces similar effects. The complaint stresses that “[all] substances which act on the opioid receptors carry a very high risk of addiction, and kratom is no exception.”

“Nothing about [the product’s] packaging would lead reasonable consumers to believe they were purchasing compounds similar to opioids,” the filing claims. “It looks as innocuous as a vitamin supplement.”

Further, the company’s website is “rife with praise for kratom,” the lawsuit describes. The only warning defendant Ashlynn Marketing Group, Inc.—which does business as Krave—provides is a “misleading statement that kratom’s addictive potential is still being researched,” the suit says.

The case charges that, contrary to Krave’s representations, kratom is a “particularly insidious drug” that has “sunk its hooks into tens of thousands of unsuspecting consumers and caused them serious physical, psychological, and financial harm.”

Although advertisements “universally” promote kratom as a pain reliever, antidepressant or supplement to boost focus and energy, consumers are not told about the severe, opiate-like withdrawal symptoms caused by physical dependency, the complaint shares. According to the filing, the side effects from kratom withdrawal can include “irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, depression, sleep disturbance including restless legs, tearing up, runny nose, muscle and bone pain, muscle spasms, diarrhea, decreased appetite, chills, inability to control temperature, and extreme dysphoria and malaise.”

Kratom users purportedly claim that “the addiction sneaks up on them” and that they have suffered “depression, anxiety, anhedonia, and reduced sex drive” as a result of long-term use, the lawsuit describes.

Krave relies on consumers’ ignorance about kratom and its addictive nature to get buyers hooked and capitalize on their dependency, the suit argues.

One plaintiff, a California resident who began buying Krave products in 2018, took up to 25 grams of kratom capsules every day for years, the case explains. The man’s addiction cost him thousands of dollars a month, but he was able to overcome it after suffering “intense physical and psychological withdrawals,” the complaint says.

Another plaintiff, an Arizona citizen, purchased Krave kratom capsules after hearing about the drug’s benefits during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the filing relays. As the case tells it, the man began to consume over 50 grams of kratom capsules each day and, after years of addiction, was forced to undergo clinical treatment for narcotic dependence to rid himself of it.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased Krave Botanicals kratom products within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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