A 39-year-old Florida mother of four, Krystal Talavera, ingested what was marketed as an “all-natural” herb, an over-the-counter product. While preparing breakfast for her family, Krystal Talavera fell to the floor and soon died. The supplement is legal in Florida and most states in the US.

After ingesting kratom, which she had been using for pain, she was found by her family on the ground, face down. Next to her was an open package of a kratom derivative with a label on it calling it “Space Dust.” Her family called paramedics, but she was declared dead at the hospital.

The family of Ms. Talavera, led by her oldest son Devin Filipelli, filed an $11 million lawsuit against Grow LLC, a kratom distributor using the name “The Kratom Distro,” and the company’s owner, Sean Michael Harder. The family was seeking damages for loss of support, loss of services, mental pain, and suffering.

Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, ruled last week that the company, Kratom Distro, must pay $11 million in damages to the four surviving children of Krystal Talavera and her estate.

“There is of course no amount of money that will make up for the pain and suffering that Ms. Talavera’s children are enduring because of their mother’s death,” Middlebrooks said in his decision.“The law nonetheless recognizes that the defendant must pay something, however inadequate.”

Tamara Williams, an attorney representing Ms. Talavera’s estate, confirmed that Talavera had been using kratom for pain management and never thought it was dangerous.

“Never in a million years did she think that the kratom would kill her,” said Williams. “There’s no dosage recommendations on any of these packages. So really, you’re talking about selling kratom to uninformed consumers, people who are looking for help, banking on the sellers to do the right thing, but they’re not.”

Plaintiffs alleged in court documents that the owner of the kratom company, Mr. Harder, caused the death of Ms. Talavera through product marketing that touted the supplement as “all-natural” without warning users of any possible health dangers.

Indeed, kratom is used in the US by about 1.7 million people. The CDC reports that kratom was the cause of death in 91 people out of the 27,000 overdoses reported in the six months between July 2016 - 2017.

Kratom is an herb offering opioid effects, but it is not approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). However, in the US, numerous herbs and “natural” products, including kratom, are sold online or in local stores without any oversight from the FDA.

In 2016, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency proposed a ban on kratom but failed to get approval.

Kratom, like some other natural herbs or products, can be deadly in some cases. The Palm Beach Country coroner blamed Ms. Talavera’s death on “acute mitragynine intoxication,” due to the ingestion of one of Kratom’s ingredients, mitragynine.

The coroner’s report stated that “at high concentrations, mitragynine produces opioid-like effects, such as respiratory failure.”

Mitragynine, if taken in high dosages, will result in opioid effects, vomiting, nausea, sedation, addiction, and difficulties in breathing, which may lead to death.

After the judge’s ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor, Mr. Filipelli released a statement, saying, “I am grateful for the judge’s decision, but no amount of money will bring my mom back or numb my pain.”

Though kratom can be found online or in numerous stores, the FDA states that “kratom is not lawfully marketed in the U.S. as a drug product, a dietary supplement, or a food additive in conventional food.”

“There are no drug products containing kratom or its two main chemical components that are legally on the market in the U.S. FDA has not approved any prescription or over-the-counter drug products containing kratom or its two main chemical components, mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine (7-OH-mitragynine).”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports 1.7 million Americans are still using kratom annually.

As of today, only six states, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin, have bans on the sale of kratom. There is pending legislation to ban kratom in eleven states, including Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee.