There is no shortage of products claiming to be a “miracle cure” for whatever ails you. If something can be crushed, powdered, or steeped into a tea, there’s a good chance that someone has claimed it can provide health benefits, whether that’s supported or not. In the case of kratom, the intoxicating effects it can cause probably haven't hurt its popularity, either. But that's not to say it's safe, as a number of kratom overdoses in recent years can attest.
On January 14, 2026, a South Carolina Circuit Court judge allowed a mother’s wrongful death suit against a kratom products merchant to continue, denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss. Shelly Schubert’s lawsuit accuses Omni Consumer Products (OCP), which does business as YoKratom, and its owner, Ben Harrison, of gross negligence, failure to warn, and violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Schubert alleges that the defendant’s willingness to supply a dangerous product and the lack of warning about the dangers of kratom use caused the death of her son, Vincent Logan, in 2023.
While an attorney for the defendant categorized Schubert’s accusations as “lies and misinformation,” the filing was the second kratom-related wrongful death lawsuit filed against YoKratom in 2025. A family in Kansas is also suing OCP, YoKratom, and Harrison for product liability after their daughter’s death from “probable mitragynine toxicity.” Both suits cite a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a cease-and-desist order from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued to YoKratom over claims posted on its website that promised certain results, such as “being great for heroin and opioid withdrawal symptoms.” Both the FDA and the FTC asserted that YoKratom’s kratom products are unapproved new drugs.
Kratom’s Rise in Popularity
Derived from the Mitragyna speciosa tree native to Southeast Asia, kratom (also referred to as mitragynine) can provide euphoria, pain relief, and sedation in small doses. Used as such, the effects of kratom are likened to those of controlled substances.
Kratom users taking higher doses face the potential of acute mitragynine intoxication, which is considered akin to morphine or heroin use. They can cause addiction, substance use disorder, the danger of kratom overdose, serious side effects, and other health risks. Kratom is not lawfully marketed in the U.S. as a drug product, dietary supplement, or food additive, and it has no FDA‑approved medical uses.
The two chemical components of kratom are the alkaloid mitragynine and the metabolite 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). The latter was targeted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2025 in a letter sent to kratom manufacturers and marketers selling products containing the substance to smoke shops, gas stations, and other retailers. It addressed the illegal marketing of products containing concentrated amounts of 7-OH as offering pain relief or aiding in managing anxiety.
Schubert’s lawsuit alleges that, despite receiving the warning letter and the cease-and-desist on June 30, 2025, YoKratom and Harrison continued to sell two one-kilo bags of its Green Maeng Da Kratom Powder product to her son. The YoKratom bags containing the product had no warning labels, ingredient lists, or recommended dosage amounts. Logan received five shipments in total, with the final one arriving on August 10. The suit claims that on August 15, Logan began having seizures soon after taking Green Maeng Da Kratom. He died later that evening. The toxicology report listed the cause of death as seizure disorder complicated by mitragynine use.
Overdose Deaths Don’t Seem Like a Great Selling Point
YoKratom requested dismissal on the grounds that the charges contained in Schubert’s lawsuit were too “broad and inaccurate.” Harrison’s attorney also argued that his client merely transferred the contents of YoKratom from larger containers sent by the kratom manufacturer into retail bags and was thus not responsible for any personal injury claimed in the kratom wrongful death lawsuits. As neither of those convinced South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Alex Hyman to end the lawsuit, it may be up to a jury to decide. In addition to the lack of required labeling on the Green Maeng Da Kratom Powder bags, the lawsuit focuses on the unsubstantiated claims of relief and medical properties claimed on the YoKratom website.
Given the likelihood of drug abuse and the lack of approved medical usage, at least six states have banned kratom, but it is not banned at the federal level. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) lists it as a "drug and chemical of concern." Other states have banned synthetic alkaloids but not the sale of natural kratom.
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- Drug Trafficking and Drug Distribution (FindLaw’s Criminal Charges)
