Kratom Deaths: Why Extract Shots Are More Dangerous Than You’re Being Told

You can buy a kratom extract shot at a gas station in parts of America for about $5. In the UK, where it’s been banned since 2016, you can still order it online and it arrives in two days — just relabelled so it doesn’t say kratom anywhere on the bottle. I know because I ordered some and that’s exactly what happened. This is what I found out about what these products actually are, how they’ve been linked to deaths, and why they’re still being sold.

What Is Kratom and Why Are People Taking It?

Kratom comes from the leaves of a tree native to Southeast Asia. At low doses it acts as a stimulant — more energy, more alertness, less fatigue. That’s how it’s marketed at gas stations across America: a natural botanical stimulant, sitting on the same shelf as 5-hour energy shots, in the same sized bottle. At higher doses, the active compounds — mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine — start binding to opioid receptors in the brain, producing sedation and pain relief. At high enough levels, it causes respiratory depression. That’s the same mechanism that kills people in opioid overdoses: the brain stops sending a strong enough signal to keep you breathing.

The problem isn’t kratom powder at low doses. The problem is concentrated extract shots — which can be 10 to 50 times stronger than standard powder — with nothing on the label to tell you that.

How Did a Kratom Extract Shot Kill Breck Brossett?

Breck Brossett was 38 years old and lived in Springfield, Missouri. By all accounts he was health-conscious — he intermittent fasted, worked out every day, and watched what he ate. He bought kratom extract shots legally from a vape store. On October 9, 2022, he died. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as mitragynine intoxication. An empty K-Blast kratom extract shot was found nearby.

His mother, Deborah Brossett, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors, arguing they knew the risks of concentrated products and sold them without proper warnings. The company’s defence rests on two things: the “natural supplement” label and the phrase “not for human consumption.” That’s the loophole.

What Happened to Jordan McKibben?

In 2022, Jordan McKibben, aged 37, died in Washington State. Hush Liquid kratom shots were found at the scene. The autopsy again ruled mitragynine intoxication as the cause of death. His sister Rachel filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming 22 defendants — the manufacturers and sellers behind Whole Herbs capsules, Hush Liquid Shots, and Cloudhouse powders. Different state, different products, same outcome and the same absent warnings.

Why Are Kratom Extract Shots So Much More Dangerous Than Powder?

Standard kratom powder comes from dried leaves with a relatively low and predictable concentration of active compounds. Concentrated extracts are processed down to a much higher potency — sometimes 10 to 50 times stronger. There is no legal requirement to put that on the label. There are no standardised dosing guidelines, no maximum potency limits, and no required safety testing. The potency varies between brands, between batches, and sometimes between bottles from the same batch. Someone picking up one of these shots and drinking what looks like one serving has no reliable way of knowing how much active compound they’re actually getting.

Compare that to caffeine, where the FDA has established known thresholds and products are designed to stay within expected levels. Kratom extract has none of that structure around it.

How Is Kratom Still Being Sold in the UK If It’s Banned?

Kratom has been banned in the UK since 2016 under the Psychoactive Substances Act. When I ordered kratom extract from a website, what arrived was a bottle labelled “Ginto Buzz.” No mention of kratom anywhere on the label. The ingredients listed were water, ginseng extract, turmeric, black pepper extract, and natural flavours. When I contacted the seller and asked if they’d sent the wrong product, they confirmed that Ginto Buzz is what they send to UK customers — relabelled specifically to get past the law. The box it arrived in said “ginseng based beverage.” That’s not a misunderstanding. That’s a deliberate system for selling a banned substance while maintaining plausible deniability.

Who Is Most at Risk from Kratom?

The data shows that around 80% of kratom-related deaths involve people who either had a history of substance use disorders or had other drugs in their system at the time. But there are cases where kratom alone was listed as the cause of death. There are also documented cases of liver damage in people who weren’t taking anything else alongside it. If you’re in recovery from addiction or taking medications that affect opioid receptors or liver function, the risk profile is significantly higher.

Is This About Banning Kratom?

No. People should be able to make their own choices. Some people use kratom powder at low doses and report that it helps them. That’s a different conversation. What this is about is concentrated extract shots — up to 50 times stronger than powder — being sold next to energy drinks with no potency information on the label, no dosing guidance, and a legal shield of “not for human consumption” that everyone involved knows is fiction. That’s not freedom of choice. That’s being kept in the dark about what you’re buying. The same products found next to Breck Brossett are still on gas station shelves in parts of America right now.

Author

Stuart Patrick

Stuart Patrick is a health and fitness lifestyle journalist who writes for ListedFit.com.

“I've spent a lot of time trying to get in shape and change my body and I realised there are so many untruths in the health and fitness industry that can slow down or stop your progress, so I share my knowledge and experience to help others to cut through the BS.”

Latest entries

More from this author

• SupplementsMay 19, 2026Berberine vs Ozempic: Why Psyllium Husk Might Be the Better Natural Alternative
• MacaMay 14, 2026What Does Black Maca Do for Men? My 60-Day Test (And What Happened When I Stopped)
• AshwagandhaMay 14, 2026Ashwagandha vs Rhodiola: I Tried Both for 30 Days — Here’s the Difference
• AshwagandhaMay 14, 2026How Long Does Ashwagandha Take to Work for Sleep? My 30-Day KSM-66 Test