Title: Mocking the Dead: The Cruelty Behind Pro-Kratom Rhetoric

In the growing battle to ban a dangerous and unregulated substance like kratom, grieving families like mine are not just fighting lawmakers and industry lobbyists — we’re also enduring something far more painful: mockery, dismissal, and cruelty from strangers who want to protect their drug of choice more than they value human life.

Recently, I came across a Facebook post that was shared widely within the pro-kratom community. In the comments, several people made jokes, accused grieving parents of lying, and dismissed the deaths of loved ones as “propaganda” or “fake news.” Some even suggested that parents should “move on” or that their child “must have taken something else.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BrThpUoeV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Let me be clear: this is not advocacy. This is cruelty.

My son, Joseph S. Lumbrazo, died from mitragynine toxicity — the active alkaloid in kratom. He didn’t combine it with fentanyl or heroin. He wasn’t using it for pain or to quit opioids. He used it because the industry sold him the lie that kratom was a safe, “natural” energy booster. That lie killed him.

To then be told by strangers online that his death doesn’t count — that my grief is some kind of anti-kratom conspiracy — is retraumatizing. And I’m not alone. Dozens of other families have come forward with medical examiner reports, toxicology, and autopsies showing mitragynine as the sole or primary cause of death. We have the proof. What we don’t have is compassion from the people defending the product that killed our children.

“The Great Sage, P... • 6/9/25 g

Replying to

@Ch52471437Wendy

No wonder your son killed himself, I would too if you were my mother.”

This Isn’t a Debate — It’s Denialism

The pro-kratom community claims to support “freedom” and “natural health.” But when faced with evidence of harm, they don’t respond with concern — they respond with denial and disdain. This behavior echoes the worst of Big Tobacco tactics: discredit the victims, silence the opposition, and muddy the science.

If your response to a grieving mother sharing her story is to laugh, mock, or accuse her of being a liar, you’ve lost the moral ground — and you’ve revealed exactly what kind of movement you’re part of.

Tampa Bay Times

Highly concentrated products, he added, could be banned if they were proven to cause deaths. But Haddow blamed dangers associated with kratom on irresponsible consumer behavior.

"Can we regulate stupid?" Haddow said. "I can't do that - no one can."

Grief Should Never Be Political

There is room for discussion on addiction, policy, and public health. But mocking the dead and those left behind is not discourse — it’s cruelty.

We are not asking for sympathy. We are demanding accountability.

We will continue to speak out, to educate, and to fight for federal action. Because no parent should have to read strangers laughing about their child’s death. And no dangerous, addictive substance should be sold without proper warnings, regulation — or in kratom’s case — a complete ban.

If you disagree with that, fine. But if your disagreement requires attacking victims, it’s not a debate. It’s dehumanization.

Join Us in Raising Awareness

If you’ve lost someone to kratom — or if you’re simply horrified by how families are being treated — I invite you to stand with us. Visit www.KratomDangerAwareness.org to learn more, share your story, and join the growing call to ban this unregulated and deadly product.