This kratom drink was marketed as an alcohol alternative to be sold over the counter. Some consumers say it led to addiction.
When Jasmine Adeoye, an account manager based in Austin, Texas, decided to stop drinking in June 2022, she turned to a kratom beverage advertised as an alcohol alternative. Within a year and a half, Adeoye said she was addicted to the drink, "Feel Free Classic," lured by what she calls the company's deceptive marketing tactics.
The 29-year-old account manager based in Austin, Texas, said her favorite podcasters promoted the drink, which the company Botanic Tonics manufactures and sells, as "a miracle" beverage that could help people trying to overcome addiction and embrace sobriety. Having struggled with binge drinking in the past, Adeoye was intrigued.
She said she was unaware the drink contained kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia that can produce feelings of energy, ease anxiety and reduce pain— but carries a risk of addiction, seizures, and very rarely, death. Since kratom is unregulated in the U.S., some products are sold in highly concentrated forms and could contain contaminants like heavy metals and harmful bacteria, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Eventually, Adeoye says she was drinking up to 10 two-ounce bottles a day and spending around $100 daily. The company recommends consumers drink no more than a bottle daily. By then, she said, her life revolved around the drink and she needed to make sure she had access to it wherever she went.
A drink advertised an #alcoholalternative
Then came the withdrawals, which some consumers compare on social media to withdrawing from an opioid.
"When I would wake up, I'd be 'dope sick', essentially, and need to go straight to the gas station and go buy Feel Free to immediately feel better," Adeoye said.
This past March, after one bout of withdrawal symptoms was so severe, she sought medical care close to her home in Austin. She hadn't told the doctors she was struggling with kratom use, she said, and they chalked her symptoms up to a virus.
"All of a sudden, it just spirals out of control and you get to a point where you feel like you can't live without them," she said. "And you become just a shell of a person."
Adeoye, who was trying to stay sober from alcohol, said she unwittingly found herself in the throes of addiction — and she's not the only one.
A forum on the social network Reddit called r/quittingkratom has more than 45,000 members while a forum dedicated exclusively to quitting Feel Free has nearly 3,000. There are podcasts, support groups and books dedicated to quitting kratom.
In 2023, a class action lawsuit was filed in California against Botanic Tonics alleging that the drink was advertised as a safe alternative to alcohol. The company used social media to reach its "desired customer base," the lawsuit states, which included individuals who had struggled with addiction. According to the 2023 suit, Botanic Tonics posted over a thousand advertisements on Instagram using the hashtag #alcoholalternative. The suit also says that advertisements on Instagram omitted any mention of kratom or potential side effects.
CBS News spoke with another consumer about their experience with Feel Free Classic who also described the drink's appeal as an alcohol alternative, and said they had become addicted to the beverage and eventually experienced withdrawal symptoms.
The company told CBS News in a statement it "fell short of the high standards of transparency and consumer education that our company now champions." And they've taken steps for "continuous improvement and doing what's right for consumers."
Botanic Tonics said they'd implemented changes including enhanced labeling, raised age restrictions to 21 and over, investing in clinical research, expanded consumer education resources and maintained rigorous manufacturing standards in FDA-registered, cGMP-certified facilities.
CBS News found through an internet search that Feel Free Classic was featured in at least 22 podcasts. The company's founder, JW Ross, has spoken openly with podcast hosts about his previous struggles with alcohol, and how Feel Free Classic was developed as an alternative.
"We make a powerful product. That product works for a lot of people, but it doesn't work for everyone," Botanic Tonics said in a statement to CBS News. "Our priority as a company is making sure it gets into the right hands, which is why it's so important for us to focus on informing people who have issues with substance abuse that it isn't for them."
Upon the lawsuit's settlement in September, Botanic Tonics said it would issue clear labels and warnings — but around the time Adeoye began taking Feel Free Classic and ultimately became hooked, the website advertised the drinks to be "used for productivity enhancement or as a healthy alcohol alternative." As recently as January 2024, a banner on the website read "cheers to a dry January."
Kratom risks not fully known by the public
Kratom is used by an estimated 2 million to 15 million Americans. As kratom's use rises in the U.S., so do the risks. The FDA warns the public against consuming kratom for medical use due to the risk of liver toxicity, seizures and substance use disorder; the DEA classifies it as a "drug of concern" and warns that it can lead to addiction. Botanic Tonics said, "while leaf kratom can lead to physical dependence, its risk profile is significantly lower compared to many other commonly used substances." The company pointed CBS News to comparative safety practices and FDA studies available on the Global Kratom Coalition website, an advocacy group promoting the use of kratom.
It is rare to overdose from kratom alone – a vast majority of the overdoses typically include an accompanying substance like alcohol or cocaine. But it does happen.
Wrongful death suits in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington followed. The family of a Florida woman whose death in 2021 was attributed to a chemical compound found in kratom was awarded $11 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. Last year, $2.5 million was awarded in the first kratom wrongful death trial in the United States. A kratom company based in Washington State was found liable for negligence among other claims relating to the death of a 39-year-old who was found dead in his living room after consuming kratom.
Despite kratom's potential for addiction and subsequent withdrawal symptoms, it has gained a reputation among the online sobriety community as a method to self-manage opioid withdrawal — which has not yet been scientifically proven.
Adeoye said even though information about the dangers of kratom was readily available, she didn't understand the associated risks. If she could go back two years, she said, she would have researched the ingredients "as heavily as possible."
"To my knowledge, it was something that was similar to matcha, like a tea or a coffee," Adeoye said. "So, thought it was completely harmless."
Scrutiny grows around kratom marketing
Botanic Tonics isn't the only kratom product company that has come under scrutiny.
In July, the FDA issued a warning advising consumers against using OPMS Black Liquid Kratom, which "has been linked to serious adverse health effects, including death," according to the agency. Shot of Joy, which sells kratom shots, was issued a warning letter by the FDA in 2023 stating the company markets their products for the "treatment or cure of opioid addiction"— a claim the FDA says has not been determined by the agency. In a series of Instagram advertisements viewed by CBS News, Shot of Joy promotes their beverage as an alcohol alternative. The FDA has issued warning letters to ten companies that sell kratom products between 2019 and 2023.
After nearly two years of silently struggling, Adeoye told her mom, and then her husband following that medical visit. She was ready to quit.
She spent the next few days detoxing at home.
"I couldn't eat anything. My mom had to force me to eat," she said, noting that she had to have someone with her "around the clock."
Though the physical withdrawals tapered off after about three days she says it took six months to feel regulated mentally.
"It's very depressing to feel this emptiness," Adeoye said of quitting kratom. "You feel like life is never going to be the same."
Botanic Tonics' FAQ page now includes a section addressing past marketing practices.
"Our marketing strategy has changed dramatically in the past year, but not as a reaction to the lawsuit filing," the statement reads. "As our business has grown, specifically in retail, we've shifted marketing focus accordingly."