MD Magazine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified kratom, a botanical substance widely used as a painkiller despite agency approval, as an opioid. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb released a statement referencing the FDA's concerns about the plant substance and its health consequences, which they said include death. Since they've been keeping tally, there have been 44 deaths reported that are considered associated with kratom, an increase from the 36 that had been reported in a November 2017 FDA advisory document.