Via Men’s Health: Matthew Dana, 27-year-old police officer and bodybuilding enthusiast who passed away in August, died from an overdose of the herbal supplement Kratom, according to The Associated Press.
An autopsy revealed, it wasn’t from drugs, but from kratom a herbal supplement sold online and in convenience stores and gas stations. Herbal supplement, kratom also known as mitragyna speciosa, was “the only substance in Dana’s system” at the time of his death, according to Franklin County Coroner Shawn Stuart.
Kratom is made from the leaf of a Southeast Asian plant. It can be used for pain relief, help with depression and anxiety, as well as treating opioid addiction, according to WebMD.
Kratom advocates disputed that kratom caused Dana’s death, the AP reported, which was blamed on a hemorrhagic pulmonary edema.
Dana had turned the supplement into a paste and had been eating it, likely to help with his bodybuilding, the coroner said.
Dana’s obituary mentions that he enjoyed outdoor activities like fishing and hunting, and that he was also a bodybuilder.
“It was the talk of the town. People were upset it was reported as an overdose,” Paul Maroun, the mayor of Dana’s hometown of Tupper Lake, told the AP. “It’s not an illegal drug.”
The Drug Enforcement Agency previously proposed a ban of kratom, which is already outlawed in six states, but the proposal was later pulled after pushback from Congress.
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Id I remember right dont people who are trying to kick opiates take this or people tryna get high think they banned this in a few states people were using it in fat burners or something
No, they weren’t using it in fat burners.
Ron McConnell Jr. Just googled it yes they did fat burners/diet pills
For fucks sake. I take kratom every single day. You cannot overdose on it. It does not cause respitory depression and there were underlying issues and other things he was taking that have been uncovered.
Zero research goes behind these articles.
Exactly. Pure idiocy and the spread of fear mongering. I’ve noticed more and more attacks on kratom lately. I feel like they’re pushing for another ban attempt.
From certain sources that I’ve heard from, I think they actually might leave it alone. But I know more states are pushing for legislation. Illinois amended a ban in 2013 to have kratom legal for people 18 years or older and a representative is trying to back peddle on that.
However, I think the kratom community really did a number on the DEA last year. Also, Chris Bell’s new kratom documentary is coming out so that should help outreach to new audiences and educate about kratom. I’m hopeful.
Never heard of it. I do creatine, CM, and all the standard stuff. Is this another fat loss agent?
You can overdose on kratom you egg. It’s just extremely hard to do, and can only be accomplished through pure idiocy but you can overdose on kratom
I meant overdose as in dying from overdose.
But I understand your point.
You most certainly can take too much, get terrible eye wobbles, nausea, feel like shit, and puke your brains out.
You can die drinking too much water. So, yes you can overdose on kratom.
I’ve used it for a decade instead of the opiates the VA was pushing on me. It is absolutely impossible to overdose on kratom to the point of death. You may puke if you’re stupid enough to use more than necessary but that dude did not die from kratom
some people eat peanuts and zero issues. Some die from peanuts. I’m sure it can happen with Kratom its just rare.
Pretty sure that says “Overdose”… Lets spark some controversy on Tylenol now, pretty sure if you “Overdose” it you can fucking die. Patience, self awareness, and research is how you avoid dieing from stupid shit like, oops I took too much or never got a yearly physical or blood work so had no idea I had a issue that would conflict.
Its a bunch of crap it seems people take it for everything cause the placebo effect makes them believe it’s doing what they want. Stuff is a joke
So not true
If he died then he was taking an insane amount. This should not spark any controversy as their at like 17 deaths from it in the past decsde or so.
No, there’s no such thing as an insane amount. You get nausea and puke reasonably easy. I can say without an ounce of doubt that it is physically impossible to overdose. It would be sitting in the toilet with your dinner before you ever came close
Taylor Krug
Supplements hit everyone different. Your life is not worth your physique
People tend to forget that the supplement industry is regulated only by their health claims and packaging not unnecessarily the ingredients. They do not fall under FDA jurisdiction.
You sure it kratom not kratren?
But it’s over the counter!!!! It means it’s %100 safe!!!!!!………
But prescriptions kill millions yet they are legal lol fucking side affects are like 20 yo fix one issue
Wow – some of the comments here..
Kratom is an opioid, and opioids can cause respiratory depression. “I take it every day and don’t have a problem” is not evidence of anything beyond how YOU respond to it. Some people are very sensitive to particular side effects – I can’t use codeine, because anything more than 10mg or so makes me really badly constipated.
The CDC records about 10 cases per year where people have suffered “life threatening” side effects from Mitragyna.
It isn’t an opioid any more than caffeine is you moron. I wish you idiots wouldn’t comment on crap you are clueless about. It is absolutely impossible to die from a kratom overdose, you may puke, but it isn’t going to cause respiratory failure
Kratom is not an opiod. Is coffee an opiod? No. More people die from Ibuprofen and acetaminophen overdoses each week than a years worth of “claimed” life threatening effects from Kratom. Yes, excess doses of Kratom can cause sedation, but not respiratory depression. However, if you are creating your own cocktail of drugs to take and some of them do cause respiratory depression, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Kratom is the scapegoat in order to take the attention away from the epidemic of prescription drug misuse. It is easier to blame something people don’t know much about versus fighting multi-million dollar drug companies. PS… Codeine makes EVERYONE constipated. That makes it a common side effect and not an indication not to use it if you really need it.
Okay smartarse – let’s get technical.
Correct – it’s not an opioid. It’s an indole based opioid receptor agonist – which means it works in the same way. Just like trenbolone isn’t testosterone, but it acts on same androgen receptors, causing many of the same effects.
The active ingredients are mitragynine & 7-hydroxymitragynine, which are both selective agonists of the mu-opioid receptor. Mitragynine metabolises into mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, which has an even higher binding affinity.
Additionally, where are the statistics showing the number of lives it has possibly saved? How many people who were heroine addicts, who would likely be dead today if Kratom had not helped them with the opportunity to safely get off heroine and get back on their feet.
Holy crap dude u make one hell of a logan u coukda played his role
Laura Ann – that is utterly irrelevant to the point I’m making. Methadone gets people off heroin, but it’s still dangerous itself. Chemotherapy treats cancer, but it horribly toxic. Insulin keeps diabetics alive but will kill if mis-used. All drugs have risks.
I applaud you on your pharmacology update on Kratom. However, it still is not an opiod. It still does not cause respiratory depression. It is not the cause of this athletes death. And reports like this do nothing but scare uneducated people and fuel a witch hunt for time and efforts better spent elsewhere in both healthcare and legislation.
You’re a fucking moron! It is not an opioid, it is not made from an opium poppy. It is an opioid receptor agonist ffs before you talk shit learn the basics!
For fuck sake Laura – by agonising the mu opioid receptor, it causes the same generalised effects as actual opioids – which includes respiratory depression. Feel free to provide evidence that it somehow manages to magically avoid this effect in all cases, or evidence that this guy died of something else.
I do this stuff for a living btw. One thing we are acutely aware of in the hospital where I work is that some people react to drugs in unusual ways. Drug response is generally a bell-curve with some people throwing major reactions to small doses & others completely resistant. I’ve seen patients go into severe cardiac distress from normal doses of pre-op sedatives, and patient we have had to cancel operations on because we can’t get them to stay under. Yes codeine commonly makes people constipated, but this effect from 10mg is unusual.
Kratom is not a pure compound – it’s a whole ragbag of opioid agonists & alkaliods which can interact with each other and with other drugs in highly unpredictable ways.
Citing deaths from ibuprofen and paracetamol is ‘whataboutism’ at it’s finest. All drugs are risky, and they become more so with misuse.
I’ve no doubt that some people find it useful. Fine. Understand the risks & use it responsibly – just like I do with whatever compounds I might use. Just don’t go around claiming that it’s risk free, impossible to overdose on or cannot cause respiratory distress, because that’s just false.
So we should legalize heroin? I agree
Total B.S.
This isn’t a report, this is shitty reporting. Kratom has kept me off three different VA meds with my only side effect being puking when I didn’t weigh it. Trust me, you’ll puke Way before any chance of overdose. Correlation does not equal causation. It acts on your opioid receptors, that doesn’t make it anywhere near heroin or even codeine. It’s kept me free from anxiety/depression meds for a couple years now. It’s a ground up plant. Stop acting informed because of a Wikipedia post you copy pasted
People die from prescription drugs everyday
Christa Pollett
I don’t take that so I’m good
People die from alcohol, directly and indirectly. People die from tobacco. Of course the tobacco & alcohol industries pay politicians to keep their products legal, so that’s ok then.
Marc Brocco I remember that time you almost died from it
Fitness vault? More like spreading shit news vault!
Chris Bell
Thoughts???
When you take to much of anything!!!! Yeah, bad shit happens! Pretty sure you can’t overdose on this anyways, I would have already! Fake article bs gets old!
Lenny Frey Jordan Smith
I’ve saw that there is more to it the worst Kratom does is make you ?
It’s funny that you just tagged me in this I just ordered a kilo like a minute ago I’ve been on subs for a month from a DR and I’m going to use kratom for the withdrawal I’m going to have ?
??? A Kilo
Go big or stay at home ?
Justin Towery this dude was on other drugs kratom did not kill him
I take kratom every day and have been for over a year. It’s harmless. You will throw up before you overdose. The DEA wants it gone because it gets people off substances and takes money away from Big Pharma. This guy was on drugs, the kratom did not kill him. It’s a shame they want to give it such a bad name.
Ellie Byrne
I wanna tag all of Blackwood gym ?
Beaufort Kratom isn’t this some bull crap!!!
Total fake news. If someone died it wasn’t from Kratom. Just another big pharma attack. Totally BS.
They said he didn’t have any other drugs in his system, if that’s the case, he had previously been on drugs or had an underlying issue. Kratom did not kill him. DEA and big pharma are in bed together and it’s taking money from their opiate sales
I call bullshit on that.
So why are you posting it here like it’s some big news hubhub? Next thing you know, you’re going to post something like crossfitter dies of bad form or powerlifter dies of excess cholesterol. Stop making our community look like a bunch of dangerous drug addicts.
This is as stupid as saying Santa Claus is racist because the Elves are slaves. Total B.S.. You can’t die from Kratom anymore than you could die from a cup of coffee. Kratom saves lives everyday.
Eric Michael Gill
Isn’t this just an attempt by big Pharma to Corral supplements into a prescription venue.
He could have been taking Kratom extracts but I would find it most likely impossible to OD from a leaf or crushed leaf. I chugged the powder straight from a spoon & it helped with opiate withdraws but in no way did I get any kind of high. If I hadn’t ever taken opiates from a broken back then I’d probably get a buzz. MOST likely an underlying problem with this man.
It says he turned it into s paste, and used it. He abused it by changing the way it was intended to be taken. Stop placing bodybuilding at the forefront to taint the industry. He just so happen to body build but in no way is he a bodybuilder. Gym rat maybe but bodybuilder is on a whole different level. Every security guard isn’t an actual cop….get it.
Its not the supplements fault, its the abuse of it
How about as a consumer you educate your self on what is going in your body
Justin Osborne
Oh shit ?
I doubt it was that. Steroids, HGH more likely.
Thats why we should legalize synthetic test
John Connor
Pretty sure he was making concentrated extract with it. It is possible that a compound can have toxic levels at high doses.
Just wondered what your thoughts were. I figured it’s pretty hard to overdose on Kratom
My wife is one of the very rare folks that cannot take Kratom. The irony is not lost on me. Im a Kratom vendor and the love of my life cannot use it without an extreme negative reaction. People who say Kratom is never harmful are not thinking about the minority of folks who have side effects.
Right
How much kratom did he take???? Must have been an extreme dose. You have yo eat a lot to get a slight effect. How much plnt powder did he ingest?
What’s healthy about overdosing on anything duh
Less people are dying from Kratom then opiates so I will just stick with the Kratom.
Heather Houston
Omg
People also die from peanuts …..this article is useless and doesn’t actually give details into the persons health and/or complications
Good thing I stopped lol
Travis Lazoran
Wasn’t from the Kratom was from underlying stuff. Stupid article.
Nuh uh. Kratom did it
Dont blame the herbs … it can’t do anything just by sitting on the table.
Blame the overdose.
Don’t blame the gun, blame the one who pulled the trigger.
Why control herbs? Control the idiots.
Its ok.. its all natural they said…
Lie