MIT45 Concealed Highly Addictive Nature of Kratom Products, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges MIT45 has “blindsided” consumers by failing to disclose that its kratom powder, capsule, gummy and liquid extract products are highly addictive substances that operate like opioids.

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The 38-page lawsuit claims MIT45’s product packaging and website contain “no information whatsoever” that regular use of its kratom supplements carries a risk of opioid-like dependency and withdrawal symptoms. By failing to disclose the risks, the company has caused unsuspecting and often vulnerable consumers who unwittingly become addicted to its products serious physical, psychological and financial harm, the complaint contends.

“Reasonable consumers do not expect the liquid extract bottles, gummies, and pouches of kratom powder, which they can purchase at gas stations and corner stores, to perform like an opioid with the same addictive potential of morphine and its analogs,” the case says. “[The defendant] relies on this ignorance and does nothing to correct it.”

According to the filing, kratom is a tropical plant native to Southeast Asia that can produce psychoactive effects when ingested. The suit says kratom creates a pleasurable high that users describe as energizing, euphoric, sedating and analgesic.

The lawsuit notes that the “active ingredients” in kratom—mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine—interact with the same brain receptors as opioids. Like opioids, repeated use of kratom is habit-forming and results in withdrawal symptoms like irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, depression, sleep disturbance, diarrhea, decreased appetite and more, the filing relays.

“With kratom in particular, users note that the addiction sneaks up on them, and that it feels as though, over time, the color has been sapped from their lives,” the complaint shares. “Long term users of kratom have reported experiencing depression, anxiety, anhedonia, and reduced sex drive.”

Per the suit, MIT45 is well aware of the addictive potential of its kratom products but intentionally conceals this scientifically established fact from consumers because it knows profits would suffer if people knew the truth about the items.

One of the plaintiffs, a California resident, says he was looking for a natural, safe way to manage his alcohol withdrawal symptoms and heard about kratom from a smokeshop owner. The suit states that the man, who did not know that kratom was additive and had no reason to know, began using MIT45’s kratom extracts every day from July 2021 through December 2023.

The plaintiff claims he would be “wracked” by intense physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms when he would try to stop taking kratom. It wasn’t until February 2022 that the man realized he was addicted to MIT45’s products, which he estimates he has spent at least $25,000 on, the filing says.

“The United States is going through an opiate crisis that is shaking the foundations of our society,” the case reads. “Amid this crisis, [the defendant] is creating more addicts for no reason other than to line its pockets, without adequate disclosures of its products’ risks and through the use of false and misleading packaging.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased any MIT45 kratom products during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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