People speaking out about Kratom energy drinks

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USA TODAY
She thought it was just another energy drink. It took half her bodyweight and sent her to rehab.

Kim Maloney says she needed a pick-me-up. She had been struggling with energy in the morning. When someone she trusted recommended a Feel Free tonic that contained kratom, she bought it from a local CBD store in 2021. The little blue bottle, she says, looked similar to a 5-Hour Energy. She thought it was harmless.

But for her it wasn't, says the 49-year-old Ohio mom of two. "Nobody knew at that time what it was," Maloney says. "You figure 'all-plant-based,' 'all-natural.' I didn't know too much about kratom. I did not know it was that addictive."

Maloney says she soon fell into a debilitating kratom addiction, one that eventually had her drinking upward of 10 kratom drinks a day. Her addiction, she says, took nearly everything from her: Her car. Her house. Her 27-year marriage. Nearly half her bodyweight. At one point, she says, she weighed 70 pounds.

"My eyes were rolling in the back of my head. I couldn't walk straight. I didn't leave my couch for months. I had pancreatitis. I had shingles. I was sick. I mean, I was really sick. So my daughter, who lives in LA, said, 'You know what, mom? I'm done. If you can't get off this stuff, I'm done,' " Maloney says. "My blood pressure was like 58 over 49. I was dying."

USA TODAY spoke with over 20 people who say they became severely addicted to kratom - a plant ingredient found in products sold at gas stations, liquor stores and smoke shops across the country by various companies. Many of the people we spoke with had no history of substance abuse prior to ingesting kratom. Some were health and fitness enthusiasts who thought kratom was just like any other wellness supplement. Others thought it was a healthy alternative to alcohol. A few mistook it for a run of the mill caffeine drink, like coffee or tea.

But kratom has addictive potential, medical experts say - and getting hooked on it often carries devastating consequences. A mom in California says she maxed out at least two credit cards to fuel her addiction - now she doesn't know what the future holds for herself or her 9-year-old son. A father says his addiction drove him $50,000 into debt and tanked his credit score into the 500s. Crushing withdrawals, he says, have made it extraordinarily difficult to quit; still, he's trying to rebuild a life for himself and his young child.