Four deaths in Utah have been linked to semi-synthetic kratom compounds found in certain herbal supplements, including products labeled as cat’s claw, state health officials said Oct. 5.
The Utah Poison Control Center began receiving calls in March from people who had taken products labeled as cat’s claw and developed symptoms resembling opioid overdoses, according to an Oct. 1 NBC News report. The center now advises the public not to buy or use products labeled as cat’s claw, products marked “adults only/21+,” or nonprescription items marketed as legal while promising psychoactive highs.
Here are five things to know:
1. What’s in the products? The compounds, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI) and dihydro-7-hydroxymitragynine (MGM-15), are semi-synthetic derivatives of kratom that are illegal to sell in Utah. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food identified them in products sold online, as well as in smoke shops and gas stations.
2. How they’re marketed. The products are often sold under brand names like Buzzers and labeled as containing cat’s claw or its scientific name, Uncaria tomentosa. Labels often claim the product is legal and kratom-free, yet warn it is for adults 21 and older or produces strong psychoactive effects. Michael Moss, MD, medical director of the Utah Poison Control Center, said one of the four deaths was linked to a Buzzers product, according to an Oct. 6 NBC News report. Exo Club, which makes Buzzers, said on its website that the product doesn’t contain kratom but that it extracts an alkaloid from cat’s claw to mimic kratom’s effects. The company did not immediately respond to NBC News‘ request for comment.
3. Cat’s claw is generally considered safe. The supplement, which comes from a South American vine and is taken by some people for inflammation, is not harmful on its own, state officials said. The danger comes from the compounds found in the mislabeled products, which act as powerful opioids much stronger than morphine and carry risks of addiction, withdrawal, overdose and death, according to the officials.
4. What clinicians should know. Dr. Moss said healthcare providers should be aware of the potential for addiction, withdrawal and overdose tied to these products. Because the chemicals act on opioid receptors, naloxone is effective in reversing an overdose, and evidence-based treatments for opioid dependence and withdrawal are effective for people addicted to these substances, according to Utah officials.
5. The regulatory picture. The Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily classified three kratom-related compounds — MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16 — as Schedule I drugs in August. On July 1, the agency announced its intent to temporarily schedule 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, as well, but that order has not yet taken effect. Tennessee issued its own warning in September after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found MGM-15 in cat’s claw products. UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center in Charlottesville, Va., has also received calls about cat’s claw products causing opioid-like effects. Poison centers recorded 233 kratom-associated deaths from 2015 to 2025, 79% of which involved other substances, according to a CDC report.
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