“Take as much as you like,” the shopkeeper said with a broad smile, sliding a pile of opioid-like products across the counter.
This was not an obscure store in a troubled neighborhood. I was inside a shop on a leafy street in one of New York City’s most affluent areas.
The shelves were packed with powders, capsules, gummies and lollipops. Nearly every product contained the potentially addictive compound increasingly dubbed “gas station heroin.”
I had already explained that I had never used the products before. The disclosure did little to slow the sale.
Following an undercover investigation, the Daily Mail can reveal the aggressive sales practices helping drive America’s $1.5 billion kratom industry.
Kratom comes from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. It is legal in much of the United States and remains largely unregulated at the federal level, despite repeated health warnings about its opioid-like effects, addiction potential and other serious risks.
Pressure for tougher controls has grown since the deaths last month of University of Mississippi students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20. Investigators said open packages of synthetic kratom tablets were found near their bodies.
Even so, bright neon signs promoting the substance have appeared on streets around Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, close to the student housing where New York University freshmen begin life away from home.
Smoke shops across the country now stock pills, tablets, powders, drinks and gummies containing 7-OH, a kratom-derived compound experts say is 13 times more potent than morphine
I visited New York stores undercover to examine how easily sellers would provide kratom and what, if anything, might persuade them to question a customer seeking a powerful high
Kratom laws differ across the country. Some states have introduced tighter restrictions, while others have prohibited the substance entirely. In New York, it remains legal, although buyers are supposed to be at least 21.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is seeking to place four kratom-related substances temporarily in Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. That category includes drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, LSD and MDMA.
As of November 2026, however, the DEA had not issued a final temporary scheduling order for 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a compound found in kratom.
That legal uncertainty led me from one New York shop to the next, asking questions and testing how readily retailers would sell large quantities of the products.
In total, Daily Mail reporters were sold five kratom products containing differing amounts of the active compounds.
Only some featured clear warnings about their effects or potential dangers. Under current DEA rules, none of the products sold to us was illegal. The risk to a consumer would depend on factors including the product’s strength, the amount taken, frequency of use and whether other substances were involved.
I told sellers that I was pregnant, struggled with anxiety and depression, and wanted to buy a “huge stash” so friends and I could experiment with kratom at a party.
I asked about side effects and whether it was safe to combine the products with alcohol. Throughout the visits, I presented myself as someone with little or no experience using psychoactive substances.
The aim was to see how shop staff would respond to the basic questions a first-time customer might reasonably ask before trying an unfamiliar drug.
What shocked me most was how rarely anyone requested identification. The stores had no way of knowing whether I was old enough to buy the products because staff simply did not ask. That left little to prevent a much younger customer from making the same purchase.
The FDA has not approved kratom as safe or effective for any medical use. The DEA lists it as a drug and chemical of concern, yet it remains legal and largely unregulated
Kratom products made from the plant are legal under federal law but are completely prohibited in nine states
Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar, countries where kratom originated, have banned its consumption, although exporting the plant is not prohibited. Pictured: kratom powder
The more questions I asked, the more options sellers placed in front of me: drinks, teas, lollipops and pills.
But what, exactly, was being sold so casually?
At lower doses, kratom may have stimulant-like effects. Larger amounts can produce sedation and, in some circumstances, may be fatal.
Two of its most recognized compounds, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, act on opioid receptors in the brain in ways similar to drugs such as oxycodone.
Products marketed as kratom can differ dramatically. Some contain crushed leaf, while others use concentrated extracts or enhanced formulas with far higher levels of compounds such as 7-OH.
That variation makes it difficult for customers to determine from the packaging alone what they are taking or how powerful it may be.
Holly Trouville knows the consequences of that uncertainty. Her only child, 25-year-old Tyrell, died from kratom toxicity on February 6, 2024. His death certificate listed no secondary causes and no other opioids in his system.
“Tyrell drank a kratom seltzer marketed as sugar-free, alcohol-free and caffeine-free,” Trouville told me. “It contained less than two percent 7-OH, a level advocates claim is safe.”
Kratom is sold at marijuana dispensaries and promoted as a natural, plant-based product. It can be consumed as crushed leaves, tea, powder, capsules, liquid extracts, gummies or tablets, with potency varying between strains
“My son is gone, so my only purpose now is to stop another parent from experiencing the devastation I live with every day,” Trouville said.
“The fact that some users say kratom helps them avoid opioids does not erase its addictive potential. Regulation does not work.”
Tyrell was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, graduated from Dracut High School and served in the state’s US Army Reserve, his mother said. She now wants the substance blamed for his death to be banned completely.
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Kylee Matlock was just 20 when kratom began to consume her life. Three years later, she was dead. A former employee of the month, Kylee had been studying to become a forensic accountant, her mother, Tia Rustici, told me.
Kylee, who lived in Idaho, had postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. She was introduced to kratom as a supposedly mild herbal option because she did not want to take stronger opioids. Like many users, she learned too late how similar the effects could be.
Tia watched as her daughter withdrew from her family, abandoned school and eventually lost her job. “She became agitated and irritable. She would sleep all day, and we would not see her leave her room until 6 p.m.,” she said.
“We tried everything—conversations, doctors’ appointments and counseling. It was heartbreaking. We were watching our daughter disappear in front of us.”
As Kylee’s condition worsened, Tia arranged for her to move in with her grandmother on the eastern side of Idaho, hoping a change of surroundings might help her regain control of her life.
At one major New York chain, I was given a free kratom drink from this refrigerator. Offering complimentary samples is especially concerning because lowering the cost and effort of access may encourage continued use of a substance with documented addictive potential
Holly told the Daily Mail that the soft drink-style product became part of Tyrell’s routine after it was recommended to him as an alternative to Red Bull
Six weeks later, Tia received three words that devastated her: “Kylee is gone.”
She did not learn for almost two months that kratom had been identified as the hidden cause behind her daughter’s death. The only other substance found in Kylee’s system was her antidepressant medication.
Some users believe kratom offers benefits, but it has not been proven safe or effective for treating any medical condition. US health authorities have warned about its potential dangers for years.
The DEA lists seizures, liver toxicity, anorexia, sedation, addiction and substance use disorder among the serious problems associated with kratom.
During my visits, I told several employees that I was pregnant to see whether the claim would prompt caution. It should have. Kratom use during pregnancy has been associated with withdrawal symptoms in newborns, some of whom require urgent medical care.
Yet a first-time buyer may have no idea about those risks, particularly when the products are displayed alongside candy, soft drinks and energy beverages.
In one shop, I asked for four times the standard dose.
Would the employee pause, ask about my experience or warn me about the dangers? Instead, she agreed to sell it.
Tia told the Daily Mail that kratom killed her high-achieving daughter Kylee, pictured. Kylee had POTS and was advised to try the substance as a supposedly gentler herbal alternative to medication
At another store, I described myself as an experienced user. That did not trigger any additional concern. “It’s a lot of fun, isn’t it?” the shopkeeper said with a wink.
In a third shop, I mentioned anxiety and depression and asked whether kratom was appropriate for someone with anxiety.
“Yeah,” the employee replied casually. “It could definitely give you a common euphoric effect.”
There is a reason some people seek out kratom: one study found that about two-thirds of users said they took it to manage anxiety or depression.
However, kratom has not been established as a safe or effective treatment for either condition. The same study found that about one-third of users met the criteria for another substance use disorder.
Alcohol provided another test. One seller told me I could simply “wash it down” with a drink. When I asked about side effects, he appeared surprised. “Kratom? No, no side effects,” he said, laughing.
Experts warn that combining kratom with alcohol can deepen sedation and raise the risk of dangerous effects, including breathing difficulties.
US poison control centers recorded more than 3,400 reports involving kratom use between 2014 and 2019, including deaths. From 2015 to 2025, kratom-related exposures reported to the National Poison Data System rose by approximately 1,200 percent, reaching a record level in 2025.
Among reports involving multiple substances in 2025, 60 percent led to serious medical outcomes and approximately half required hospitalization.
Against that troubling backdrop, I decided to test one final shop assistant with an even more extreme request.
I asked one retailer whether I could purchase the store’s entire kratom inventory
I later learned that the drink on the left closely resembles the seltzers consumed by Tyrell. Marketed as “similar to Red Bull,” it was presented to me with the same vague assurance that it would simply “boost my energy”
I asked whether I could buy the shop’s entire supply of kratom. Instead of questioning why I wanted such a large quantity or asking what I intended to do with it, the man responded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, have a kratom party,” he suggested. He dismissed my concerns and added confidently: “It will be a very pleasant experience.” His casual endorsement was startling, especially since my request amounted to more than 12,600mg.
The visits left me with a disturbing impression: the push to sell additional products was often much stronger than any effort to explain the risks.
For an industry facing growing scrutiny, the central question is not only what is inside the packet. It is also what customers are told before they pay for it.
When a substance can produce powerful opioid-like effects, the difference between responsible retailing and reckless reassurance can be profound.
People like Tyrell and Kylee, and the families left behind, should not have to learn about those dangers only after they have left the store.