Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Monday against kratom retailers operating as Smokey’s Paradise in Midlothian for selling products containing nearly 50 times the legal limit of a dangerous opioid-like substance.
The legal action represents part of a broader crackdown on illegal kratom distribution as Texas enforces strict potency limits enacted in 2023 to protect consumers from addiction and overdose risks.
The law was enacted in response to a “surge in overdoses and emergency-room visits linked to kratom products,” the lawsuit states. “Between 2019 and 2024, the Texas Poison Center Network received 602 kratom-related calls, including over 250 serious and life-threatening cases, including a fatality in Ellis County.”
Laboratory testing revealed the retailers sold kratom products containing 86% to 96% 7-hydroxymitragynine, far exceeding the state’s 2% legal maximum.
The compound, known as 7-OH, is more than twenty times stronger than morphine.
Kratom comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa plant and produces opioid-like effects. The substance carries serious risks, including addiction, respiratory depression, and potential overdose.
Texas lawmakers passed the Kratom Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act in 2023 to establish potency limits and ban synthetic additives. The law specifically caps 7-OH content at 2% of total alkaloid content.
“Kratom is addictive and deadly, and I’m suing these companies for knowingly endangering Texans by selling products with nearly 50 times the legal limit of this opioid,” Paxton said. “The Legislature enacted clear safeguards to protect consumers from deadly kratom products, and my office will aggressively enforce those laws against anyone who puts Texans’ health at risk with these drugs.”
The investigation also uncovered products containing synthetic alkaloids expressly prohibited under Texas law. These findings prompted the attorney general to seek immediate action against the retailers.
The lawsuit seeks to halt all sales and distribution of illegal kratom products in Texas. Paxton is also pursuing civil penalties and other relief under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.