At this time, the CDC recommends that people not consume kratom in any form because it could be contaminated with salmonella:
An outbreak of 28 salmonella infections in 20 states has been linked to kratom products, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Tuesday. Though no deaths have been reported, 11 people have been hospitalized.
[...] California had the highest number of salmonella cases (three). North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Utah each reported two cases while Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, New York, South Carolina and Tennessee each reported a single case, the CDC found.
Kratom should not be consumed in any form, the CDC said, because the source of salmonella contamination has not been identified.
Also at The Verge, STAT News, and CBS.
Previously: DEA Welcomes Kratom to the Schedule I List Beginning September 30
The Calm Before the Kratom Ban
FDA Blocks More Imports of Kratom, Warns Against Use as a Treatment for Opioid Withdrawal
FDA Labels Kratom an Opioid
Related: Opioid Commission Drops the Ball, Demonizes Cannabis
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday February 21 2018, @06:24PM
I do think you have a point.
But broccoli producers are regulated. They can spot the trend and narrow it down to, "Hey, these people all ate Brand X broccoli. Let's go and require Brand X to test their plant for contamination with Listeria. Oh. Positive. Issue recall. Problem solved." If they were able to narrow down this to a particular source of kratom, and require that supplier to stop supplying, would it be a similar response?
But, like I said, I think you're right that the gov is picking on kratom as a cause celebre.
Separately to the story, I'd like to explore its pharmacology a bit more. Something tells me it's probably more than just coffee but less than fentanyl.
This sig for rent.