Featured Image Credit: mctlaw
James Moorhouse
Warning: This article contains discussion of drugs which some readers may find distressing.
The dangers of a popular 'natural' supplement have been exposed after a man from the US tragically died after taking it.
Jordan McKibban, from Washington, US, was someone who 'loved life', according to his mother, Pam Mauldin.
In April 2022, he went to his job at an organic food distributor and returned home as usual, fixing himself a drink of lemonade with a tablespoon of a powdered supplement mixed in.
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After receiving a call from her grandson, Mauldin broke into his bathroom to find the 37-year-old unresponsive on the floor. However, despite his mother's attempts at CPR, Jordan tragically never woke up.
According to an autopsy report, his death was the result of a compound in a substance called mitragynine, which is found in a drug called kratom.
The New York Post reports that the powered supplement Jordan had put in his drink was a kratom supplement.
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Kratom is one such drug that supposedly helps to treat symptoms such as pain, coughing, diarrhoea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder, and opioid withdrawal.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), kratom is a leaf from a tree native to Southeast Asia.
However, it comes with a whole host of side effects.
According to Mayo Clinic, the 'unsafe and ineffective' drug can lead to serious side effects including: dry mouth, nausea and vomiting, constipation, liver damage, muscle pain and high blood pressure.
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It can also affect the nervous system and the mind, which can cause seizures, hallucinations, drowsiness and trouble breathing, while it has also been linked with a small number of deaths in the US.
The FDA has warned people not to use kratom because of the possible harm it can cause, while the US Drug Enforcement Administration has called it a drug of concern.
Despite this, it remains reliably available from a lot of gas stations in the US, which has failed to follow in the footsteps of the UK, which in 2016 prohibited the sale, import, and export of kratom under the Psychoactive Substances Act.
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The FDA adds: "Kratoms not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement. FDA will continue to warn the public against the use of krkratomor medical treatment."
Dr Robert Levy, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, told The New York Post that just because something is 'all-natural' doesn't necessarily mean it's safe.
Pam said that her son 'shouldn't be in the cemetery', adding: “I’ve lost my son. I’ve lost my grandchildren that I could have had, I’ve lost watching him walk down that aisle, watching him have a life that I get to watch with my other kids.
"I’ve lost enjoying these years with him."
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