Parents sue over son’s death after he took kratom supplement

By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The parents of a 23-year-old Georgia man who died after using kratom have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against about a dozen people, companies and organizations connected to the manufacturing, marketing and sale of the herbal supplement. Extracted from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, kratom is used to make capsules, powders and liquids and is marketed as an aid for pain, anxiety and drug dependence. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy found that Ethan Pope died from mitragynine intoxication. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says mitragynine is a psychoactive compound in kratom. The lawsuit was originally filed in May and an expanded version was filed earlier this week.