Kratom killed our 25-year-old son, Caleb Sturgis, in 2018. And this opioid-plant extract has killed before,  and will kill again unless state and federal governments take action to either ban it outright or regulate it along with other Schedule I controlled substances, such as heroin, LSD, and Quaaludes. Your support of this petition calls upon public officials to respect and follow overwhelming evidence-based scientific information – compiled by the FDA, DEA, and CDC, among others – that clearly demonstrate that the active ingredients in Kratom (the opioids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine)“have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” FDA/Kratom Warnings
 
In short, Kratom kills and it kills without warning.
 
The Kratom that killed Caleb (second from right, in this family photo) – shortly after he drank it mixed with water before heading to work - was packaged, marketed, and sold online by SoCal Herbal Remedies, LLC, of Big Bear, California. SoCal’s packaging contained absolutely NO product information. Not a word about ingredients, dosages, side effects. Nothing. In fact, the only caution on the label was to  “Keep out of the reach of children.”Caleb, like so many other Kratom consumers, thought it was a harmless herbal supplement, which is how SoCal and the powerful Kratom industry – which fights every attempt at regulation - touts the products it sells in powder or capsule form.
 
As part of its unsuccessful effort – to date -  to regulate Kratom, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration noted that its unsuspecting customers “have been encountered with false claims” and that “these products are marketed as safe for self-medication, but have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any medical uses.” While this petition is directed at government officials, we are also appealing to those who use Kratom, and their friends and families, to please learn from our loss. 

 Caleb was an incredible young man with the brightest future. He loved and enjoyed life to the fullest - art, history, science, space,animals, writing, and he loved to talk and make new friends. He would talk with family and friends until all hours. You would have loved Caleb. We did, and do every minute of every day.

The Medical Examiner found without a doubt that Caleb was killed by Kratom.  In fact, other than the ingredients in Kratom, only a small amount of caffeine (consistent with his morning cup of coffee) was detected in Caleb’s blood.
 

We can’t get Caleb back. But, in his name, we are doing all we can to stop the Kratom killing. #KratomKills
 
Thank you.
Caleb Sturgis Family
Chester County, Pennsylvania