The Scientist Trying to Keep Kratom Legal Has Not Disclosed Longstanding Ties to Kratom Lobbyists

On Tuesday, ProPublica reported that the leading scientist urging policymakers not to criminalize kratom has failed to disclose long-standing financial ties to the substance's most powerful lobbying group. University of Florida professor Christopher McCurdy has accepted travel reimbursements, donations, and symposium funding from the American Kratom Association, none of which appear in his conflict-of-interest statements. The CDC says more than five thousand two hundred people died from kratom-related overdoses between twenty twenty and twenty twenty-four, and calls to poison control have spiked twelve hundred percent in a decade. McCurdy has testified to lawmakers that kratom should remain accessible, while his own research has found risks including dependency and death. He tells ProPublica his views are based on two decades of science and are not dictated by the association, but advocates for restrictions say he should be more forthright about his industry ties.

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