Ethical Marketing in the Kratom Industry: Why Families Deserve the Truth
When you lose a child to something that should have been safe, you start seeing the cracks in the entire system. One of the biggest cracks in the kratom crisis is the complete lack of ethical marketing — an industry that prioritizes sales over safety, profit over truth, and slogans over human lives.
Families like mine have paid the ultimate price.
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Unethical Strategy #1: “All-Natural” Means “Safe”
The kratom industry markets its product as a “natural” and therefore safer alternative — a tactic that has deceived countless people.
But “natural” does not mean safe.
The FDA explicitly warns consumers that kratom has opioid-like effects and can cause addiction, withdrawal, and death.
Source: U.S. Food & Drug Administration – “FDA and Kratom”
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-and-kratom
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Unethical Strategy #2: False or Illegal Health Claims
Kratom companies routinely claim it helps with:
• Pain
• Anxiety
• Depression
• PTSD
• Opioid withdrawal
• Energy or focus
But none of these uses are FDA-approved, and these claims violate federal law.
The FDA has issued dozens of warning letters to companies for promoting kratom as a treatment for medical conditions.
Source: FDA Warning Letters for Kratom Sellers
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-actions-and-activities/warning-letters
The CEO of NMS Labs has also publicly stated that kratom marketing misleads consumers about real risks, especially around toxicity and interactions.
Source: NMS Labs Commentary on Kratom
https://www.nmslabs.com
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Unethical Strategy #3: Targeting Vulnerable Populations
Kratom is heavily marketed to people who are:
• in recovery
• living with chronic pain
• struggling with mental-health issues
• young adults looking for “energy”
• people with limited healthcare access
In 2023, GQ Magazine reported that kratom products (including 7-OH derivatives) were aggressively marketed in gas stations and vape shops, mimicking energy drinks and “party” stimulants.
Source:
GQ — “How Kratom and 7-OH Went Mainstream”
https://www.gq.com/story/how-kratom-7-oh-gas-station-heroin-went-mainstream
This is not ethical marketing — it’s exploitation.
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Unethical Strategy #4: Hiding the Real Risks
What kratom labels don’t tell consumers:
• Risk of dependence and withdrawal
• Risk of mitragynine toxicity
• Risk of seizures and heart arrhythmias
• Serious interactions with other medications
• Inconsistent potency and contamination
• Metabolism into 7-hydroxymitragynine, a more potent opioid
The FDA has confirmed the presence of heavy metals, salmonella, and dangerously high alkaloid levels in kratom products.
Source:
FDA Kratom Salmonella Outbreak Investigation, Product Testing
https://www.fda.gov
(“FDA Investigates Multiple Illnesses Linked to Kratom Products”)
And the CDC reports 1,800+ kratom-involved deaths between 2016–2022.
Source:
CDC SUDORS – Kratom-Involved Overdose Data
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/sudors/index.htm
None of this appears on packaging. That is not ethical marketing — it’s concealment.
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The Human Cost: My Son Joseph
My son Joseph S. Lumbrazo used kratom for energy, not for addiction. He was not an “addict.” He believed what the labels and marketing told him:
• Natural
• Safe
• Legal
• Sold everywhere
• “Helps with focus and energy”
But what he didn’t know — and what the marketing hid — was that kratom can cause fatal mitragynine toxicity.
Joseph died at 38 years old.
A father. A son. A business owner. A good man who simply wanted more energy.
And he isn’t alone.
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Why Ethical Marketing Matters
Ethical marketing requires companies to:
• Tell the truth
• Communicate risks clearly
• Avoid targeting vulnerable groups
• Stop making illegal health claims
• Put safety over profit
But the kratom industry has chosen the opposite path. Its aggressive, misleading, and irresponsible marketing has directly contributed to addiction, hospitalizations, and death.
Even researchers like Sen. Mike McKell (Utah) — who once supported kratom — publicly warned that the industry concealed the dangers of 7-OH conversion and toxicity.
Source:
Sen. Mike McKell Utah Statement on Kratom
https://le.utah.gov (public legislative record)
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A Call for Honesty and Accountability
Ethical marketing isn’t optional — especially when lives are at stake.
Until the kratom industry:
• stops lying
• stops targeting vulnerable people
• stops selling untested products as “safe”
• and stops pretending that deaths aren’t happening
—more families will suffer.
I speak out because I don’t want another parent to experience what I have.
No more parents burying their children because they were misled.
It’s time for the truth.
Footnotes / Sources
1. FDA Public Health Warning on Kratom (Opioid-Like Effects):
U.S. Food & Drug Administration – FDA and Kratom.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-and-kratom
2. FDA Warning Letters for Illegal Health Claims:
U.S. Food & Drug Administration – Warning Letters Related to Kratom.
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-actions-and-activities/warning-letters
3. Kratom Marketing Targeting Youth & Vulnerable Populations:
GQ Magazine – “How Kratom and 7-OH Went Mainstream.”
https://www.gq.com/story/how-kratom-7-oh-gas-station-heroin-went-mainstream
4. FDA Findings of Contamination & Unsafe Products:
U.S. Food & Drug Administration – Kratom Outbreak and Product Testing.
https://www.fda.gov (search: “FDA Investigates Multiple Illnesses Linked to Kratom”)
5. CDC: Kratom-Involved Overdose Deaths (1,800+):
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – SUDORS (State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System).
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/sudors
6. Sen. Mike McKell Utah Statement on Kratom Dangers:
Utah State Legislature Public Record – McKell’s official statement on kratom (2024).
https://le.utah.gov
(search: “Mike McKell kratom statement”)
Wendy Chamberlain
Founder:Kratom Danger Awareness,Inc