A woman's death from a kratom overdose is kratom-related, the coroner says

ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. (WVUE) – A fatal dose of kratom discovered during a toxicology report prompted the St. Tammany Parish coroner to speak out about the potential dangers as an over-the-counter supplement.

Dr. Christopher Tape said he is taking a closer look at a recent report that revealed a 36-year-old St. Tammany Parish woman died of multiple drug poisoning about two months ago.

His findings included an excessive dose of kratom in her body.

“Part of being a coroner is making the public aware of what might be dangerous and what might not be, and that's one of those things where people know that things like cocaine and methamphetamine are dangerous. I don't have to talk about it much. “As a result, we get overdoses all the time,” said Dr. Tape.

However, he said kratom overdoses are rare and this latest finding is the warning sign he needs to draw attention to a growing concern. Dr. Tape said there are some misconceptions surrounding substances, including what is and isn't illegal, as well as what is and isn't dangerous.

The bitter substance is an herb that is obtained from a tree native to Southeast Asia. It is often sold at gas stations and convenience stores in capsule form or as a powder that can be mixed into teas and other drinks.

“Just because it's prescribed or you can get it at the gas station doesn't necessarily mean it's safe. Many of our overdoses are due to prescribed medications when you take so many mixtures of substances,” said Dr. Tape. “They have kratom, in small doses it's probably OK, but not in the concentrated doses they sell in stores.”

According to Tape, many people consider the substance to be safe because it is a plant but is highly concentrated.

In low doses, Kratom, according to Dr. Tape increased energy and concentration; in moderate doses it causes sedation.

Higher doses and frequent use, he says, can lead to hallucinations, delusions, loss of appetite and a variety of other harmful symptoms and conditions.

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“It’s kind of a theme that we see again and again throughout history. We have the poppy plant; We have the cocoa plant. People all over the world brew tea or chew something like a cocoa leaf or the kratom leaves. You can chew a handful at a time and then spit it out. It's hard to overdose. Your body has the ability to detoxify itself,” Tape said. “But if you just concentrate it, make heroin out of poppy seeds, make cocaine out of cocoa leaves, and concentrate the kratom into mitragynine and then put it back on the leaves, then you're going to have problems, and that's just mixing it all up.”

In the worst case scenario, it can lead to death, said Dr. Tape, especially in combination with other substances or if a person has other health problems.

Kratom is not the most dangerous substance, said Dr. Tape, but it can be just as dangerous as any other drug.

“I would like to say that death is very often a complex combination of factors, so you have to take several medications. We rarely get a strict overdose of one thing,” he said.

For example, “They have multiple medications, an underlying heart disease, maybe an underlying lung disease, maybe a little alcohol and maybe a little obesity, and they're in their mid-30s, mid-40s.” So that's probably all moderate. If you look at any one of these factors individually, it is not enough to kill the person, but overall the complex combination of all of these things led to the death.”

Dr. Tape explained that some people believe they are taking a stimulant and combining it with a depressant, giving the false impression that it is a balancing act.

He said: “It’s more of a tug of war. You tear your body apart during the overdose.”

He is urging Louisiana residents to consider the risks of the substance, which has been heavily marketed in the U.S. in recent years.

Kratom users claim it helps fight opioid addiction and relieves chronic pain.

According to experts, there is also a placebo effect when taking substances, which can lead to addictive behavior. There are also long-term effects of many substances that affect your organs over time.

Doctor Tape said that while the product may have some potential health uses, it is not regulated by the FDA, meaning the state lacks a set of standards that would ensure its safety, and has been linked to drug abuse becomes.

“That's part of the problem with kratom, because we don't know,” Dr. Tape. “We just don’t know how this whole thing affects interactions with all the other medications.”

At least six states have banned kratom entirely, and this summer Tangipahoa Parish banned sales of the popular supplement, although it remains legal in most of Louisiana.

In his final thoughts, Dr. Tape: “In general, take care of yourself. Take care of your body. You only have one chance. And you know, I'm realistic about that. We as humans have been changing our consciousness for at least 10,000 years. We fermented alcohol, but did not concentrate alcohol. We didn't do any of these things. We did it in smaller quantities, around the campfire at night, and now we’ve taken it to the extreme.”

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