The Georgia Poison Center has received 315 calls involving kratom-like products, including synthetic kratom, and reported four related deaths in 2026, according to an Oct. 14 report from WSB-TV. Eight out of every 10 calls involve the hospitalization of an…
Public Health
The Washington Poison Center warned the public Oct. 6 that some supplements sold as cat’s claw are counterfeit products spiked with concentrated kratom-related chemicals that behave like strong opioids. The poison center said the products are causing opioid overdoses and…
The compound 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, occurs naturally in trace amounts in kratom leaves, but products containing concentrated 7-OH — sometimes called “gas station heroin” — are now sold as tablets, gummies and liquid shots at gas stations, smoke shops and…
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…
Fentanyl is no longer the only substance keeping addiction clinicians up at night. Some of the newest threats are being sold not by dealers, but at gas stations, smoke shops and online. From potent animal sedatives contaminating the opioid supply…
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Poison control centers are raising concerns about products sold as cat’s claw, an herbal supplement often taken for inflammation, after testing found some contained kratom-related compounds associated with opioid-like effects, according to an Oct. 1 NBC News report. Cat’s claw…
New Mexico had the highest all-drug overdose death rate in the U.S. in 2025, while Nebraska had the lowest, according to a KFF analysis of provisional CDC data. The national all-drug overdose death rate was 20 per 100,000 individuals in…
New Mexico had the highest opioid overdose death rate in the U.S. in 2025, while Nebraska had the lowest, according to a KFF analysis of provisional CDC data. The national opioid overdose death rate was 13.1 per 100,000 individuals in…
Alaska had the highest suicide rate in the U.S. in 2025, while New Jersey had the lowest among states, according to a KFF analysis of provisional CDC data. The national suicide rate was 13.7 per 100,000 individuals in 2025. Alaska’s…
Suicide moved into the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. in 2024, even as the number of suicide deaths declined from the year before. The finding comes from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics’ Sept. 22 report,…