Advocates skewer FDA over 'junk science' blaming kratom for deaths

The Food and Drug Administration falsely blamed kratom for deaths that can instead be linked to other drugs, a suicide, tainted products, or other medical conditions, kratom advocates alleged in a new white paper released Tuesday.

The American Kratom Association accused the Food and Drug Administration of deliberately publishing “junk science” in a report laying out 44 deaths associated with the Southeast Asian tea leaf kratom. The FDA, the paper alleges, is pushing a false narrative in order to have kratom banned in the U.S.