How to find Kratom Addiction Help
Kratom is a relatively new popularized substance that many, including health professionals, are not familiar with the risks. Many assume this plant-based supplement is perfectly safe because it is readily and easily accessible. However, medical professionals continue to warn the public about the hidden dangers of Kratom. One of the biggest side effects is the development of addiction. Now, one of the biggest concerns is how to find kratom addiction help.
Clinical research has found that the plant’s active compounds work by fitting directly into the opioid receptors in the brain. Repeatedly turning on these receptors produces opioid effects, changes your brain chemistry and can cause physical dependence over time. With physical dependence, users will find they need to use the substance simply to feel normal. When this occurs, an addiction is in full effect.
Kratom has not been shown to be safe or effective for treating anything. The FDA continues to warn the public about the dangers of developing an addiction to this substance. Fortunately, finding effective kratom addiction help depends on practical and supported strategies that will guide you back to lasting freedom in recovery.
What is Kratom?
Kratom is derived from a leafy plant native to Southeast Asia and has become popular due to its ability to produce psychoactive effects. It is now being increasingly used as an opioid type substance. The main opioid compounds produced by kratom are mitragynine and 7-OH. The effects of the substance can start within minutes and last for hours. The more you take, the stronger the effects.
Kratom products are often sold as supplements, energy boosters, mood lifters, pain relieves and remedies for opioid withdrawal. They are unregulated in the US. Most of the time, kratom products lack clear labels so it is almost impossible to know how much kratom you are ingesting. This unknown contributes greatly to taking high levels of kratom. When you take more and more, your body becomes physically dependent and that’s how an addiction starts.
What does Kratom do to your Brain?
Once mitragynine and 7-OH enter your body and lock into the opioid receptors in your brain, it can begin to mimic the effects of natural endorphins. Over time, these effects become less responsive naturally and require more of the substance to function normally. If you try to quit cold turkey, it can throw your brain chemistry out of balance and you begin to experience physical discomfort and anxiety.
Because your brain has now been hijacked by kratom, seeking professional dependence treatment options is needed. Kratom addiction help can be extremely effective when clients reach out to drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs.
How to find Kratom Addiction Help?
Deciding to quit kratom is a huge victory. But like coming off opioids, it is not an easy task and requires professional guidance. Quitting kratom can put people at risk for developing intense withdrawal symptoms that can drive people straight back to using the drug again. There is no definitive guideline for treating kratom dependence and addiction. Fortunately, there are many evidence-proven options that have been clinically shown to help improve sobriety outcomes.
Professional behavioral health programs utilize the taper methods when it comes to treating kratom addiction. A kratom tapering schedule is an individualized treatment plan created by your healthcare provider in which you are given medication dosages that slowly decrease over a set period of time. This allows the body to slowly adjust while remaining stabilized as it comes off kratom.
Doctors and healthcare providers frequently utilize this method as part of medication assisted treatment (MAT). Because kratom affects the same receptors as traditional opioids, medications such as suboxone can be prescribed for withdrawal and taper management.
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What is the status of Kratom?
The DEA lists kratom as a drug of chemical concern. Despite this, kratom is not federally regulated. But due to its rising danger, some states have begun putting stricter regulations on the substance.
Governor Abigail Spangberger of Virginia signed Cole’s House Bill 360, which creates new safeguards for the sale of kratom. The new policy requires products containing kratom not to be sold to people under the age of 21 and mandates that they must be stored behind the counters or locked up. Labels of these products must also indicate risks associated with using this herb substance. The new law also bans products that contain a specific compound of kratom, 7-OH.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a 95% compliance rate from California businesses with the removal of kratom products from CA businesses. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and the California Department of Public Health have removed more than 3,300 kratom and 7-OH-based products from the shelves of licensed businesses.
Today, foods, dietary supplements and medical drugs that contain kratom or its compound 7-OH are illegal to sell or manufacture in California due to their significant risks. According to California’s Health Department analysis data, kratom was reportedly implicated in about 242 deaths from 2020 to 2022. In early October of 2025, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced additional fatal overdoses tied to kratom.
Agency warnings against using Kratom
A 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates there are about $1.6 million annual users of kratom in the US. From 2014 to 2019, the Poison Control Centers in the US received over 3,400 reports on the problematic use of kratom. In a CDC analysis, researchers found that kratom was implicated in about 836 fatal overdose cases across multiple states in 2022. There are no FDA-approved kratom products in the US and the agency has continued to put out warnings against the substance.
FDA policies have banned kratom for human consumption. But enforcement of these regulations has not been consistent. At one point, the DEA proposed listing kratom as a scheduled substance in 2016, but rescinded the proposal after facing some backlash from the industry.
Kratom might not be a scheduled substance, but many states have created their own policies and bans. Some restrict purchase and others, while others have zero regulation.
The FDA recently stated that the derivative 7-OH is an opioid. In addition to these warnings, the FDA has also partnered with the US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice to take actions to limit the sales of unlawful kratom products being distributed in the US.
Despite the warnings, researchers have found that there continue to be increasing reports of rising kratom use among the public.
Reach out to Hotel California by the Sea
We specialize in treating addiction and other co-occurring disorders, such as PTSD. Our Admissions specialists are available to walk you through the best options for treating your addiction.
Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
Kratom is a psychoactive substance that can produce effects similar to opioids. Users of kratom can also develop a dependence on the drug, experience intense withdrawal symptoms and are typically treated as those with an opioid addiction.
Researchers and clinicians have repeatedly warned the public of the dangers of this drug. This is in part because there is very limited data to determine the effects of long-term health or optimal treatment options for kratom users. Professional behavioral health programs like Hotel California by the Sea provide resources, tools and support for those who are addicted to kratom.
We offer treatment at all levels of care including detox, residential, PHP and IOP. We utilize evidence-based methods such as CBT, DBT and EMDR therapy. Hotel California by the Sea is dedicated to helping clients reach their goals of sobriety and overcome their addiction.
References:
https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/what-is-kratom-and-why-is-raising-concerns
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prescription-drug-abuse/in-depth/kratom/art-20402171
https://virginiamercury.com/2026/05/27/kratom-product-sales-to-be-regulated-in-virginia
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-and-kratom
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/03/03/governor-newsom-announces-95-compliance-with-prohibition-of-illegal-kratom-products/
