Man died after using kratom sold at smoke shop, attorneys say. Family suing for $10M
A man’s girlfriend called 911 when he started having a seizure after consuming an “organically harvested” botanical product sold at a local smoke shop, his family’s attorneys said.
Matthew Torres, a 39-year-old Oregon resident, “suffered a violent seizure with convulsions and foaming at the mouth,” according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
His girlfriend tried to perform CPR on Torres until first responders arrived and continued the lifesaving attempts, but he was declared dead on May 27, 2021, a wrongful death complaint filed Feb. 27 says.
The Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Torres’ cause of death as “toxic effects of mitragynine,” according to the complaint, which calls this a “kratom overdose.”
Kratom is a tree, also called mitragyna speciosa, that grows naturally in Southeast Asia. Mitragynine is one of its main psychoactive components, a December 2021 World Health Organization report says. People often consume it by chewing leaves or ingesting the leaves in powdered form.
According to the complaint, Torres used a product called “Real Kratom,” which he regularly bought from House of Pipes, a chain of head shops in the Portland area. The product’s package displays “100% pure mitragyna speciosa leaf powder” as the ingredient.
Before his death, Torres worked as a skilled carpenter and lived with his girlfriend in Beavercreek, about a 20-mile drive southeast of Portland, according to a news release issued by mctlaw, the law firm representing his family.
His mother, Mary Torres, is suing the head shop chain and its suppliers on behalf of their family over his death.
The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages.
McClatchy News contacted House of Pipes for comment on March 11 and didn’t receive a response.
The case is one of the latest kratom-related wrongful death lawsuits filed in the U.S.
In July, a federal judge in Florida ordered a kratom distributor to pay more than $11 million in damages to the family of Krystal Talavera, who died after using kratom, according to a lawsuit filed over her death, McClatchy News reported. Mctlaw also represented that case.
Similar to Torres, Talavera — who was a mother of four and worked as a nurse in West Palm Beach — died at age 39, a complaint says.
Why is kratom used?
Though kratom isn’t lawfully on the market in the U.S., it is sold in U.S. stores and online, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
People use kratom for a variety of purposes, including to self-treat pain, anxiety, depression, opioid use and opioid withdrawal, the FDA says. About 1.7 million Americans ages 12 and older were estimated to be kratom users in 2021.
In smaller doses, kratom can produce stimulant effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If taken in higher doses, it can produce effects similar to opioids.
According to the lawsuit, Torres used kratom to manage “his pain and muscular ailments,” as he believed it “was a non-addictive substitute to pharmaceuticals.”
In Southeast Asia, it’s been used for centuries and is commonly accepted, similar to how drinking coffee is in the U.S., according to Christopher McCurdy, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida and an internationally recognized kratom expert, who previously spoke with McClatchy News.
Potential risks
There hasn’t been enough scientific data to assess kratom’s level of safety, the FDA says.
The agency warns against using it because it may lead to liver toxicity, seizures, substance use disorder and potentially death, according to the agency.
“In rare cases, deaths have been associated with kratom use, as confirmed by a medical examiner or toxicology reports,” the FDA says.
There have been reports of users experiencing kratom cravings and using kratom longer than they planned to, including when their kratom use has resulted in physical or personal consequences, according to the FDA.
The agency says it continues “to monitor emerging data trends to better understand the substance and its components.”
McClatchy News contacted the FDA for comment on March 11 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
Family deserves ‘justice,’ attorney says
The lawsuit filed over Torres’ death says House of Pipes — and all “kratom involved business” entities — have never established that kratom was safe.
Despite this, House of Pipes has profited off of selling “dangerous” kratom products to Torres and other Oregon residents, according to the complaint.
“I urge kratom consumers to do their homework regarding the product…Sellers of kratom don’t tell you that it’s addictive and that you can die from it,” Tamara J. Williams, an mctlaw attorney, told McClatchy News on March 3. “Until it’s deemed safe and approved for use, don’t use it.”
If House of Pipes informed Torres of the risks of kratom, his death could have been avoided, the complaint says.
“Kratom manufacturers, distributors, and sellers try to conceal their ownership and financial activities to avoid accountability,” Michael Cowgill, an mctlaw attorney representing Torres’ family, said in the news release.
“Families like the Torres’ have had enough of this deception and deserve justice,” Cowgill said.
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