CDC DATA REPORTS KRATOM DETECTED IN ALMOST 7% OF ALL OVERDOSE DEATHS IN GEORGIA, THREE TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Matt Wetherington – 478-955-6288

ATLANTA, GA: Atlanta based Wetherington Law Firm and Marietta based Ashby | Thelen | Lowry Law Firm are warning consumers that health supplements containing kratom are addictive and deadly.

Atlanta, GA – March 20, 2024– A recent analysis of the CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) reveals a concerning trend in Georgia, spotlighting the impact of kratom in overdose deaths. According to the data, kratom was detected in nearly 7% of all overdose fatalities in the state, marking a rate more than three times higher than the national average.[1]

Despite Georgia’s adoption of the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) in 2019, intended to safeguard consumers by regulating kratom products, CDC statistics indicate an unsettling trend: states with KCPA laws average 23 more kratom detected deaths annually, more than one-and-a-half times the national average. Since Georgia’s KCPA took effect in late 2019, Georgia has led the nation in the number of kratom involved deaths according to CDC data for 2020, 2021, and 2022. Georgia’s alarming kratom trend shows a 40% increase in kratom detected deaths in that same period. This suggests that rather than enhancing safety, the KCPA may increase kratom’s availability and danger, benefiting manufacturers and sellers financially at the expense of public health.

Last session, the Georgia General Assembly considered a bill aimed at imposing stricter regulations on kratom. However, advocacy groups such as the American Kratom Association have been actively working to ensure that regulatory measures remain minimal. But Georgia’s disproportionately high rate of kratom-related overdose deaths calls for an urgent examination of how these substances are marketed, distributed, and consumed.

The Wetherington Law Firm, a leading legal advocate in wrongful death lawsuits involving health supplements, urges for immediate action to address the disturbing rise in kratom-related deaths in Georgia. “These findings are a wake-up call for regulatory bodies and the community to take a closer look at the safety and regulation of kratom and other health supplements,” state Matt Wetherington, the Founder of the Wetherington Law Firm, an Atlanta based firm fighting back against kratom manufactures.

For further information, please contact: Matt Wetherington at 478-955-6288 or email Matt@wfirm.com.

The Wetherington Firm has protected millions of families from dangerous products and deceptive corporate practices. Their efforts have resulted in some of the largest jury verdicts in the country, international product recalls, and helped shape U.S. product safety policy. Most recently, attorneys Matt Wetherington and Eli Cohen took on a global health supplement network that sold prenatal health products and other supplements containing radioactive heavy metals. As a result of their efforts, the products were banned in seventeen countries, and the company shut down.

Ashby | Thelen | Lowry is nationally recognized for changing dangerous industries through rigorous investigation, litigation, and jury trials. They turn over every rock to discover exactly what happened—and why—and then give jurors the opportunity to hold wrongdoers accountable. Their verdicts have been among the most significant in the country for years.  Their efforts have forced numerous corporations to cease dangerous practices and have resulted in five nationwide recalls of deadly defective products.

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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). SUDORS Dashboard: Fatal Overdose Data – Accessible Version. 2022 Data for the 29 reporting states, Retrieved March 20, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/fatal/dashboard/accessible.html