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Kradom Or Kratom Is A Powerful Street Drug

Incredibly, kradom has been legal for a long time. Because it can get you high and it is not an approved medicine, it is a street drug. People have been ordering it online and buying it in gas stations. Hence, it is readily available. You can click/tap here are more drug facts.

So, is kradom an opioid or an opiate?

Interestingly, supporters of this drug claim that it is neither. Nevertheless, it does have an effect on the opioid receptors. Its main alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, act on the same mu-opioid receptors that heroin and prescription opioids act on. Whatever the plant is called, it can produce opioid effects, tolerance, physical dependence, and withdrawal. Many of the consequences are the same.

Why is this drug legal?

Most drugs that can get you high are either illegal or highly regulated. Generally, you cannot just walk into a store and buy drugs to get high. Kradom seems to be an exception. Hence, there are shops offering powder, capsules, pills, teas and more. How is this possible?

The law may be changing.

Government agencies have been looking closely at this drug for years, yet the plant itself is still not a federally controlled substance. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said kratom cannot lawfully be sold as a drug, a dietary supplement, or a food additive, and in 2025 it asked the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to schedule the concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) extracts now sold as tablets, gummies, and drinks. Florida has regulated kratom since 2023: it cannot be sold to anyone under 21, and products must be labeled. It is important to protect children from drugs. When the drugs are sold in the aisles of shady little stores, it makes our efforts more difficult.

Beware false claims about the benefits of kradom.

This may be the most important point of all. If you are clean from opioids, stay away from this dangerous plant drug. When your opioid receptors are stimulated by a drug, you may experience cravings. While many supporters of kradom say that it can help you get clean, it may just do the opposite. So, be safe and take no chances with this plant-based street drug. If you want to get clean from opioids, see a doctor about buprenorphine treatment.

This article is educational. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Decisions about starting, continuing, or tapering any medication should be made with your own physician.

Dr. Mark Leeds

Mark Leeds, D.O. is an osteopathic physician and deprescribing specialist providing concierge telemedicine care in Florida, focused on helping patients safely taper benzodiazepines and other psychiatric medications. A member of the medical advisory board of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition (BIC) and host of The Rehab Podcast on the Mental Health News Radio Network, Dr. Leeds offers individualized, patient-directed care through weekly one-on-one video appointments. His practice prioritizes dignity, respect, and collaboration, treating each patient as a partner in building a treatment plan tailored to their unique needs and goals.