Recent media reports about kratom-related deaths are leaving out basic information about these tragic events. Preexisting conditions and possible drug interactions are sparsely mentioned or left out of reports entirely. Media is also using the term “kratom” to describe all products, from fresh leaf to extract to kratom products mixed with other substances (such as phenibut, tianeptine, and kava).

For example, in a recent New York Post article, Jeanette Settembre wrote of Krystal Talavera, “her partner found her collapse beside a cup of hot coffee and an open bag of ‘Space Dust,’ one of the names under which kratom is marketed.” The only companies we have found selling a product called “Space Dust” is Kratom Distro, who sold this as an extremely strong extract to Ms. Talavera, and another company who was selling regular leaf powder, not an extract, under the same name.