The warnings about drugs reaching increasingly younger kids hit parents the hard way in Ventura County. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office arrested an 18-year-old Oxnard man for an alleged narcotics operation that investigators say targeted students at local middle and high schools. He used colorful packaging and cartoon images to appeal to children.

Even though California has a strong program to assist those impacted by drugs ranging from inpatient care to local Narcotics Anonymous Chapters, the case shows that dangers exist in any community.

The Operation

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began when a concerned parent reported that their child was exposed to narcotics and showed significant behavioral changes and a noticeable decline in academic performance. Detectives traced the source and caught 18-year-old Dylan Ruiz of Oxnard as the suspected supplier of illegal narcotics, marijuana products and nicotine to students across the region.

 

On September 10, detectives arrested Ruiz after finding a loaded firearm in his car. A subsequent search of his home in the 500 block of North Garfield Avenue in Oxnard turned up what investigators called an abundance of narcotics and related evidence.

Thereafter, Ruiz was booked into Ventura County Jail. The charges are possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of marijuana for sale and furnishing it to a minor and multiple firearm offenses. He has a $50,000 bail.

Battling the Opioid Crisis in Ventura

This wasn’t the first time that Ventura County officials conducted a drug bust. The recent trend confirms how street drugs marketed to minors carry the same risks as everything else in the current supply. This includes contamination with fentanyl, which drives the overwhelming majority of US overdose deaths. Packaging aimed at kids makes it likelier a child will take it without understanding what it is.

Parents should watch and know the signs. Treat sudden behavior changes, falling grades, new social circles and unexplained money or items as prompts for a calm conversation with their kids.

Anyone who suspects a young person is using drugs, consider an early conversation. It beats an angry confrontation. 

• Naloxone is available without a prescription in California and belongs in every household where opioids might be present. 

• Fentanyl test strips can detect contamination. 

And in fact, treatment works. Teens respond well to early intervention. In addition, families have options from outpatient counseling to structured programs.

NA for Young People

That’s where Narcotics Anonymous meetings come in. They’re free, confidential and allow teens to interact with peers and share experiences.  

Finding an NA group is simple. Use our browsable directory to locate groups anywhere in the USA, filtered by location. You can also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to chat with an expert and look at opioid addiction treatment options.

Researchers studied 716 people who use drugs in San Francisco, and found that those living near police drug distribution arrests reported more drug sources. Researchers say that pattern could raise overdose risk for people with opioid addiction. Enforcement disrupts local markets and forces people to look elsewhere.

Published in the journal Health Justice, the research adds to a long public health debate on whether supply side crackdowns protect people or push them toward riskier sources.

The Opioid Crisis by the Numbers

During the previous three months the median participant had used 9.5 different drug sources. Some reported dozens. Researchers mapped each participant’s location, and compared it with drug distribution arrests within 250 meters during the same period.

People in moderate and high exposure areas reported more drug sources than people in low exposure areas. Researchers also found a clear dose response trend. Older participants and Black participants reported fewer sources. The study is cross sectional so it shows an association rather than proving cause and effect.

What’s Driving the Trend

The danger starts when a familiar source disappears. People who have to find new dealers may encounter drugs with unknown potency, or composition which can raise overdose risk with every unfamiliar transaction.

An unstable supply also makes dosing harder to predict for someone with opioid addiction or narcotic addiction. That uncertainty can make cutting back even more difficult.

Researchers at RTI International conducted the study with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The authors argue that enforcement driven disruption may work against its own public safety goals and recommend broader access to medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone along with a closer look at enforcement practices.

Fentanyl’s Role

Fentanyl has saturated the San Francisco drug supply and its potency can vary widely from batch to batch. When enforcement breaks up established relationships between people who use drugs and sellers they may turn to unfamiliar sources where fentanyl can show up at unexpected strength or appear in heroin cocaine or counterfeit pills.

That uncertainty can increase overdose risk even when the street supply shrinks in a particular area.

Understanding Opioids and Overdose Risk

Opioids bind to receptors in the brain and spinal cord to reduce pain. The class includes prescription painkillers heroin and synthetic opioids led by fentanyl which is roughly 50 times more potent than heroin.

An overdose happens when opioid levels become high enough to slow or stop breathing. Fentanyl’s potency leaves little room for error.

Harm Reduction and Treatment

Naloxone remains the fastest way to reverse an opioid overdose. Sold as Narcan the medication reverses opioid overdoses and most pharmacies provide it without a prescription.

Medication assisted treatment with methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone can reduce cravings and overdose risk over time. Peer support through Narcotics Anonymous can add another layer of accountability for people in recovery. Regular NA meetings can complement clinical care, as people rebuild stability after heroin addiction or fentanyl dependence.

Finding Help for Opioid Addiction

Free support is available for those who are struggling. You can find NA meetings through Narcotics.com’s directory, including meeting lists for San Francisco and the wider Bay Area.

Opioid overdose deaths fell sharply in 2023 and 2024 especially those that involved fentanyl. A national study went a step further and showed that improvements didn’t reach everyone equally. In fact, disparities persisted along racial lines.

The Study’s Results

Researchers in The Golden State based at the University of California San Diego reviewed every recorded overdose death in the United States from 1999 through 2024 using the CDC’s WONDER database. The research team broke results down by substance involved and by race and ethnicity.

The national overdose death rate fell 24.4% to 23.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. But 80,000 people still died.

One point stands out. The demographic figures below describe overdose deaths from all substances, not opioid deaths alone. The study reports rates by group but didn’t set out to examine why those rates differ.

Deaths Dropped

Black Americans recorded the largest drop of any group, with overdose death rates falling 29.3% in a single year. Even after a decline that steep, the rate remained more than 1.5x the national average.

American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest rate in the study with 50.8 deaths per 100,000. This was more than twice the national average.

Those stats show that race plays a part. One group can post the fastest improvement in the country and still lose folks to drugs at a rate well above everyone else because the gap it started from was that large.

Study author Joseph Friedman agreed. He stated that “national trends can improve while vulnerable communities continue to suffer disproportionately.”

Beneath the Numbers

Rates like these describe circumstances, not people. Nothing in this study suggests that anyone’s race makes them more likely to experience addiction or to die of an overdose.

However, the study didn’t look at things like access to treatment or insurance coverage. These and other conditions impact who can get care and how fast.

Substances Involved Differed by Community

The study also found that different drugs left different scars for certain groups.

Cocaine deaths affected Black Americans more than other ethnicities. Cases involving methamphetamine especially hurt American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Deaths involving xylazine and other veterinary sedatives now common in the illicit drug trade also hit higher among Black Americans.

The numbers show that a prevention effort only built around opioids won’t reach someone whose drug of choice is stimulants. 

Opioids & Stimulants

Opioids slow breathing and breathing actually stops when an overdose hits.

Stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine work in the opposite direction by speeding up the cardiovascular and nervous systems. A stimulant overdose can look like chest pain or seizure rather than slowed breathing.

Xylazine isn’t an opioid, so naloxone doesn’t reverse its sedation. Give naloxone anyway if you don’t know what was involved since fentanyl is frequently present alongside it. Then call 911 and stay with the victim.

Harm Reduction Options

For opioid use disorders, medication remains the standard. Buprenorphine and methadone reduce cravings. Naltrexone is one option once someon’s fully withdrawn from opioids.

Naloxone is available over the counter and free through many state programs. Tolerance drops quickly after any break in use, which people at risk of relapse should know about.

The authors called for continued investment in treatment, harm reduction and targeted public health work. They emphasized closing these disparities rather than just lowering the total.

NA Still a Top Option

Help doesn’t depend on which community you belong to. In fact, peer support programs build communities and fellowship that cut across race, class and other demographics.

Narcotics Anonymous meetings are free and run nationwide. They only require that participants want to stop using drugs. Formats include step meetings and online options. Browse our directory to locate meetings nationwide. It’s completely searchable by state, city and program type.

Feel free to also call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) for free and confidential guidance. It’s available 24 hours a day.

Opioid addiction remains the main cause of overdose deaths in Berrien County, Michigan. But the county’s numbers have moved substantially in the right direction. Health officials recorded 46 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2022. New data shows the figure is half that.

That decline matches statewide stats. The Wolverine State has an abundance of treatment programs from inpatient care to local Narcotics Anonymous chapters. Hannah Darr is the county’s health promotion and prevention supervisor and credited these programs for the drop in opioid-related overdose deaths across Michigan.

The Opioid Crisis in Michigan

Berrien County marked National Overdose Awareness Month in August. They had 23 fatalities, down from 46. This is a 50% cut for a county with only 153,000 people. But officials note they still have a long way to go.

Darr identified two factors behind the decline: increased access to treatment and increased access to Narcan.

That pairing reflects what public health researchers have generally found nationally as well. Naloxone distribution reduces deaths at the moment of overdose. Medication for opioid use disorder reduces the number of overdose events in the first place. Neither one alone produces the trend Berrien County is reporting.

Naloxone in Action

Andrea Loveless is a prevention specialist with the Berrien County Health Department. She says Narcan works on opioid and kratom overdoses. It doesn’t reverse overdoses involving stimulants such as methamphetamine or cocaine.

So if someone is unresponsive and you do not know what they took, administer naloxone and call 911 in that order. Getting it wrong costs nothing. Not acting can cost a life.

Kratom Draws County Attention

Beyond opioids, county officials flagged kratom as a substance under watch.

Loveless described kratom as a problem drug sold in gas stations and smoke shops with no age restriction on purchase in Michigan. Kratom’s active compounds act on opioid receptors and produce opioid-like effects at higher doses.

The Settlement Funds

Berrien County will receive $1.8 million from opioid settlements through 2040. Most of that will go to community and youth programs focused on prevention and awareness.

That’s the majority of the county’s total allocation. Officials say they need to extend care beyond overdose reversal.

Harm Reduction and Treatment

Berrien County held free drive-through Narcan training events throughout the year. Their Health Department maintains an online scheduling system for training throughout the year.

Counseling supplements harm reduction tools like naloxone and medications. Peer support like NA also opens the door to fellowship and camaraderie that carries many folks through their recovery.

NA Still a Top Option

Narcotics Anonymous hosts groups across southwest Michigan in Benton Harbor and Saint Joseph. Meeting formats include virtual options. They’re free and require no insurance, referral or ID.

NA also has chapters across the country. Our browsable directory features meetings by state and city with details on day, time, format, and meeting type. 

You can also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) , which is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day and connects callers to local resources.

Estonia spent more than a decade with the highest overdose death rate in Europe, then broke the back of its fentanyl market in 2017. What replaced it was worse. Nitazene overdose deaths now account for half of the country’s drug-related deaths, and the same class of synthetic opioids is spreading through the United States.

The American numbers are smaller and moving in one direction. Confirmed nitazene-involved overdose deaths in the US rose from 27 in 2020 to 409 in 2024.

Nitzaones Strike Estonia

Heroin mostly disappeared from Estonia in the early 2000s. But by 2004 illicitly manufactured fentanyl had replaced it. Police seized nearly 10 kilograms of fentanyl in 2017, up from 314 grams the year before. The disruption of the main trafficking networks ended the fentanyl era abruptly by the close of that year.

The gap didn’t stay empty for long. In April 2019, Estonia became the first European country to identify isotonitazene and a new class of highly potent synthetic opioids. Drug-related deaths rose from 39 in 2022 to more than 100 in 2023. Over 2021 through 2024, 332 people died from overdoses in Estonia, 262 of them men.

Nitazenes now turn up in powders, counterfeit tablets, liquids and illegal drugs.They’ve displaced fentanyl and heroin across Estonia through Western European countries like Germany.

Nitazenes Behave Differently

Nitazenes produce a stronger, faster, sharper and shorter-lived effect than fentanyl. The clinically important part for drug users is that nitazene overdoses are harder to reverse.

Some nitazenes are now deadlier than fentanyl. They were originally intended as pain meds decades ago and never approved for medical use. The class now includes more than 20 distinct substances.

The US Picture

The DEA began tracking nitazene-related seizures around 2014 and saw a marked increase starting in 2019. Federal authorities have since scheduled dozens of nitazenes as illegal substances.

More than 1,100 US fatalities have been confirmed. Toxicologists think the real figure is higher because only a small number of labs test for nitazenes. Cases go uncounted.

The DEA’s New Orleans division issued a warning on August 25 to St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes about a spike in nitazene-involved overdose deaths. They noticed that nitazenes arrived primarily through foreign chemical suppliers and mixed into fentanyl powder and heroin or pressed into counterfeit prescription pills.

That last detail concerns the exposure risk for most folks on Main Street. Someone buying what they believe is a prescription pill or a familiar bag has no way to know nitazene is in it.

Understanding the Terms

Opioids include prescription medications and synthetic compounds like fentanyl and nitazenes. Overdose happens when brain receptors overload and you slow or stop breathing.

Naloxone, sold as Narcan, reverses opioid overdose by displacing opioids from those receptors. It works on nitazenes but more than one dose may be needed as it wears off. That’s why calling 911 matters even after someone responds.

Practical steps in the US context:

• Naloxone is free through many local health departments and syringe service programs.
• More than one dose may be needed with synthetic opioids and call 911.
• Fentanyl test strips don’t detect nitazenes. Some programs now distribute nitazene-specific test strips through local harm reduction services.
• Don’t use drugs alone. Never-use-alone phone lines exist for exactly this.

Medications for opioid use disorder remain one top choice. These prescriptions reduce cravings and lower the risk of fatal overdose. Team it up with peer support rather than as an alternative.

NA Fights Any Opioid Addiction

Peer support like Narcotics Anonymous meetings give people facing drug addiction a place to start tonight, in person or online, in most US cities. 

Start checking it out. Our browsable directory maintains a searchable NA meeting directory by state and city with filters for meeting type, format and language.

Also feel free to call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) 24/7 for confidential guidance alongside a live expert.

Families across Minnesota’s Iron Range are confronting a substance that sits in plain sight on gas station counters. However, it’s not regulated like an opioid in The North Star State, even though doctors say it acts like one.

Parker Martindale, a teenage boy from Cloquet, died from what his family says was a lethal amount of synthetic kratom he believed was an ordinary energy supplement. Communities across the Iron Range are organizing in his memory, and local advocates have launched a campaign warning families about the risks to young people.

Kratom and 7-OH

Kratom is an herbal substance derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, native to Southeast Asia. It’s sold as capsules, powders, teas and liquid extracts. Kratom is also used to relieve chronic pain because of its opioid-like properties, leading to a high jump in numbers among folks who take it.

Its main active compounds are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH. Both interact with opioid receptors in the brain, Effects vary by dose and by how the product is consumed.

Synthetic 7-OH is sold as drinks, shots, powders, tablets, capsules and gummies, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Many people can buy it in smoke shops and gas stations. In small amounts, kratom acts as a stimulant and is marketed as an energy booster or a way to manage anxiety. But in higher doses, it has severe effects and can kill.

Doctors on the Iron Range

Dr. Robert Pueringer is a medical toxicologist and addiction specialist at Essentia. He placed concentrated kratom in the same class of medications as fentanyl.

Without FDA regulation, there’s no oversight preventing other harmful substances from being mixed in. Accordingly, doctors told the station that the lack of control has contributed to a fivefold increase in local kratom overdoses.

Minnesota Law

Kratom isn’t federally regulated and not fully regulated at the state level either. A new Minnesota law that took effect in August raised the legal purchase age from 18 to 21.

Parker’s family has started a petition to ban kratom sales locally. However, some doctors described the regulatory question as a double-edged sword.

Stephinie Mckenzie has been organizing memorial events and questioned what happens after a legal purchase enters a household. “But what really happens after a 21-year-old purchases it and brings it home, especially when it’s marketed, like a five-hour energy drink?” she asked.

Harm Reduction and Treatment for Opioid Addiction

Because 7-OH acts on opioid receptors, the treatment tools for opioid addiction apply here. 

• Naloxone aka Narcan can reverse an opioid overdose and is available without a prescription in Minnesota pharmacies. Signs of an opioid overdose include slowed or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips and fingertips and unresponsiveness. Call 911 immediately and stay with the person.

• Fentanyl test strips can identify fentanyl in a substance, though they don’t detect 7-OH or measure potency.

• For people who’ve developed dependence on concentrated kratom, stopping abruptly produces a significant withdrawal syndrome. Medically supervised withdrawal management is the safer route, and medications used for opioid use disorder are sometimes used to manage it. That decision belongs with a clinician.

Mckenzie also pointed to a gap that people in recovery on the Iron Range know well. “Not having accessible places where you can go get help, find resources, go to meetings, that adds to that number,” she noted.

Parker’s memorial event is scheduled for September 12 and will include food trucks, prizes, keynote speakers and free Narcan education. It closes with a memorial drive to dedicate a skate park bench in his honor.

NA Meetings and Treatment in Minnesota & Beyond

Peer support nevertheless remains one part of a recovery plan, alongside medical care. Accordingly, Narcotics Anonymous meetings are held across Minnesota. Many groups also meet online. 

Our browsable meeting directory lets you search NA meetings by city, day, format, and meeting type. We index meetings and explain NA concepts for a general audience. You can also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to speak with an expert.

Opioid overdose prevention gets easier when the medication that reverses an overdose is free and someone shows you how to use it. That is what Grant County, Washington is offering on Saturday, August 29, at its fourth annual Community Resource Fair and International Overdose Awareness Day event.

The event runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McCosh Park, 401 W. Fourth Ave. in Moses Lake. Grant County Health District is partnering with the Moses Lake Farmers Market, and the resource fair sits along the same pathway as market vendors near the park’s picnic shelter, which means people can walk into it without having decided in advance to attend an addiction event.

Opioid Crisis by the Numbers in Grant County

Health district officials said overdose remains a significant public health issue locally. A total of 104 overdose-related deaths were reported in the county between 2022 and 2024.

Officials described overdose as a continuing problem in the county rather than a passing one, and the resource fair is now in its fourth year.

Opioid Overdose Prevention Starts With Free Narcan

Free Narcan, the nasal spray form of naloxone, will be available at the event. Participants can also receive brief training on how to administer it.

Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose by displacing opioids from receptors in the brain and restoring breathing. It works on heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioids including oxycodone and hydrocodone. It has no effect on someone who has not taken opioids, which is why it is safe to use when you are not certain what is happening.

Signs of an opioid overdose include unresponsiveness, slow or stopped breathing, blue or grayish lips and fingertips, and pinpoint pupils. Naloxone can wear off before the opioid does, so emergency services should be called even after someone responds.

Fentanyl makes carrying naloxone more important than it once was. It is a synthetic opioid far more potent than heroin, it now appears in counterfeit pills and in supplies sold as other drugs, and a person may take it without knowing.

Who the Event Is Actually For

Health district officials framed the event for anyone who wants to learn more about supporting someone dealing with substance use disorder, whether that person is themselves, a family member, a friend, or another member of the community.

That framing matters, because an overdose is usually witnessed by someone who is not a clinician. Whether naloxone is in the room often comes down to whether a family member, friend, or bystander happens to be carrying it.

Remembrance Built Into the Day

The event includes a way to recognize people affected by overdose. Attendees can dedicate a purple flag in honor of someone whose life was saved with Narcan, or a white flag in memory of someone who died from an overdose.

International Overdose Awareness Day has been observed for 25 years and falls annually on August 31, two days after the Grant County event. Its purpose is to reduce the stigma around drug-related deaths while raising awareness of overdose prevention and available resources.

Grant County organizers described their event as part of that broader international effort to remember people who have died, support those living with substance use, and promote prevention and recovery.

Treatment and Peer Support for Opioid Addiction

An overdose reversal buys time. What follows determines whether it becomes a turning point. Medication for opioid use disorder is the most effective treatment available, and it substantially reduces the risk of dying.

Buprenorphine and methadone are opioid agonists that stabilize withdrawal and cravings, and naltrexone blocks opioid effects for people who have already completed withdrawal. These medications are typically paired with counseling.

Peer support runs alongside treatment for many people. Narcotics Anonymous is a free, worldwide 12-step fellowship for people recovering from drug addiction, with meetings in most communities and online. There is no cost and no requirement beyond a desire to stop using.

Finding Help for Opioid Addiction in Washington

If August 29 is not soon enough, or you are nowhere near Moses Lake, these routes are open now. Narcotics.com’s meeting directory lists NA meetings across Washington by city, including virtual meetings and beginner-friendly formats.

You can also search opioid treatment programs by location to find providers offering buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone.

Washington residents can find free naloxone through the state Department of Health’s locator and through many pharmacies without a prescription. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to learn more about treatment options near you.

The gap between deciding to stop and being able to start is where a lot of people lose their footing. Opioid addiction treatment in Denver now has one fewer step in the middle of it.

The nonprofit WellPower has opened a walk-in medication assisted treatment clinic where a person can arrive without an appointment and leave with a prescription, Denverite reported this month.

Colorado Public Radio carried the story. There is no six-week wait for an intake appointment, no requirement to enter residential care, and no daily clinic visit built into the schedule.

The Opioid Crisis Context in Colorado

WellPower opened the clinic against a local trend running opposite to the national one. In a statement, the organization said it launched the program as overdose deaths rose again in Colorado and Denver even as national trends improved, and described same-day access as the central problem it was trying to solve. WellPower framed the clinic as low-barrier care built to reach people at the moment they decide they are ready, rather than weeks later.

Understanding the Medications Involved

The clinic prescribes two formulations, both built on buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist that occupies opioid receptors strongly enough to blunt withdrawal and reduce cravings without producing the effects of a full agonist like fentanyl or heroin.

Suboxone is the daily version, a film taken under the tongue. Sublocade is a monthly injection, which removes daily dosing from a person’s routine. Both received FDA approval in recent decades, and both have become easier to obtain as regulations loosened and generic alternatives entered the market.

Buprenorphine is one of three medications the FDA has approved for opioid use disorder, alongside methadone and naltrexone, and all three are recognized forms of opioid addiction treatment.

Which one fits depends on the person, their history, and what they can realistically get to. Methadone works well for many people for whom buprenorphine does not, and the reverse is also true, which is why access to more than one option matters.

There is one hard requirement, and it is the part people find most daunting. Because buprenorphine can displace other opioids from the receptor and trigger sudden withdrawal, a person has to already be in withdrawal before the first dose.

Clinical staff at the program told Denverite that with fentanyl the necessary window is roughly 24 hours for most people before a Suboxone titration can begin, though it varies with how much and how often a person has been using.

What Low Barrier Care Actually Means

The clinic does not require abstinence from other substances as a condition of treatment for opioid use disorder. That is a deliberate design choice, and it is what makes the program reachable for people who are not ready to stop everything at once.

Program staff described the goal as reducing use and reducing risk, with the door open to people who are not prepared to quit entirely but are willing to engage.

Staffing reflects the same logic. Peer specialists who have used drugs themselves work alongside nurses and pharmacists who help match a person to the right medication.

Peer roles have become standard in low-barrier programs because they change what the first conversation feels like, and because retention improves when the person doing intake is not perceived as an evaluator.

Fear of judgment is the barrier the program is built around. Staff told Denverite the clinic works to make people comfortable regardless of what is in their system or where they come from, which is a service design decision as much as a clinical posture.

How the Program Runs

The walk-in clinic operates Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at WellPower’s Recovery Center at 4455 E. 12th Ave. in Denver. No appointment is needed.

Capacity is currently around six patients a week, and the program hopes to expand both its hours and its numbers. That is a small footprint, and worth reading as a pilot rather than a citywide solution. WellPower is supported by Medicaid, grants and individual donations, and costs vary depending on a person’s insurance.

The model is what makes it notable rather than the volume. Same-day initiation without an intake queue removes the delay that a person’s decision to seek addiction treatment often cannot survive, and if the approach holds up, it is replicable by other community mental health providers.

Finding Opioid Addiction Treatment in Denver

Peer recovery groups and medication are not competing choices, and a person can use both. Narcotics Anonymous meetings run throughout the Denver metro area and across Colorado, in person and online, and attending one costs nothing.

Kratom use among American teenagers rose by roughly half in a single year, according to federal survey data, and the increase is sharpening a policy fight over whether the leaf itself drives opioid addiction.

The Food and Drug Administration has concluded the plant contains opioid compounds and warns Americans against using it. Regulators have nonetheless acted against only one concentrated kratom product, leaving the leaf unscheduled, and clinicians disagree about whether that line is drawn in the right place.

Kratom Use by the Numbers

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that 1.85 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2024, up from 1.63 million in 2023.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, past-year use climbed 51 percent over the same period, from about 43,000 to 65,000. Poison center data points the same direction.

A 2026 report in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found kratom-related poisonings and hospitalizations rose 1,200 percent over the past decade, an increase that largely predates the arrival of concentrated products two years ago.

Research from the University of Michigan and Texas State University in the Journal of Addiction Medicine reports the highest use at ages 21 to 34, and found kratom use was associated with cannabis use, preexisting substance use disorders, and serious psychological distress. Those are associations, not proof of cause.

Why Kratom Is Classed as an Opioid

The pharmacology is the starting point. Kratom’s principal active compound acts on the same brain receptors as heroin and prescription painkillers. In 2018 the FDA sought to place kratom in Schedule I after concluding the leaf contains opioid compounds.

Industry lobbying helped stop that effort. The agency’s website still advises Americans against using kratom, citing risks including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder. The FDA commissioner at the time said kratom “isn’t just a plant, it’s an opioid.”

Writing in Psychology Today in July, Dan Mager, a licensed clinical social worker, argued that the pattern around kratom echoes the early years of the prescription opioid epidemic, when warning signs were minimized.

In his view the receptor activity settles the question, and kratom is an opioid regardless of how it is marketed. That is a clinician’s argument rather than a regulatory finding, but it aligns with the FDA’s own stated conclusion about the leaf.

Where Regulators Have Drawn the Line

In July 2026 the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its intent to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, above a specified concentration into Schedule I, along with three synthetic derivatives. 7-OH is made by chemically treating kratom leaf to raise its opioid potency.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA commended that action and stated plainly that it is not intended to regulate natural leaf kratom without enhanced 7-OH levels.

Kratom itself remains off the federal schedule, though the DEA lists it as a drug of concern. State law is a separate and increasingly uneven track. Tennessee’s full ban took effect July 1, 2026, while other states restrict concentrates only.

Where Advocates and Critics Disagree

The American Kratom Association, a consumer advocacy group, supported the DEA’s move on 7-OH. Mac Haddow, the group’s senior fellow on public policy, has argued that chemically manipulated 7-OH products are high-potency opioid products falsely marketed as kratom, and that natural leaf carries a different risk profile. The group opposes restrictions on the leaf and is urging states to preserve access to it while banning concentrates.

Mager reads the same regulatory decision differently, describing the narrower action as an acceptance of an industry framing that treats ordinary kratom as a benign wellness product.

Some federal lawmakers have pushed further than the DEA. In a March 2026 letter to the FDA commissioner, senators wrote that scheduling 7-OH was an important first step but urged the agency to consider scheduling whole kratom leaf as well, citing products marketed in forms that appeal to young people.

Advocates on the other side counter that full bans push people toward unregulated online and out-of-state sellers, raising the odds of adulterated products.

Understanding Kratom and Overdose Risk

Kratom refers to the dried leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree and the products made from them, sold as capsules, powders, teas, and liquid shots at gas stations, convenience stores, and online. Lower doses produce stimulant-like effects; higher doses produce opioid-like effects.

People report using kratom for pain, for emotional distress, and to manage opioid cravings or withdrawal. Kratom products have not been shown to be safe or effective for any medical condition.

Because the active compound is an opioid, repeated use can lead to cravings, tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal, and overdose risk rises when kratom is combined with other sedating substances.

Harm Reduction and Treatment

People who use kratom or concentrated 7-OH products are exposed to opioid risk whether or not the products are scheduled, and a few practical steps reduce that exposure.

Finding Help for Opioid Addiction

Peer recovery groups give people a place to talk with others who have been through opioid dependence, and NA meetings run in person and online nationwide. Narcotics.com is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous or NA World Services.

You can use the Narcotics.com directory to find NA meetings near you and to compare opioid treatment programs by location and level of care. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to find a treatment option near you.

Opioid addiction has produced one of the largest waves of civil litigation in American history, and the settlements that followed were supposed to pay for treatment, naloxone distribution and prevention.

A lawsuit filed in June offers an unusually clear look at the machinery underneath that money, and at how much of it can get tied up before it reaches anyone.

What the Lawsuit Alleges

Giant Eagle, a grocery chain based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, filed suit on June 17, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Aon Risk Services Central and Aon Financial Services Group.

The complaint says Giant Eagle hired Aon as its insurance broker from 2014 to 2025 and, beginning in 2018, paid additional fees for claims advocacy services under which the broker was responsible for identifying and notifying every insurer that might cover a claim.

When Ohio governmental entities began suing Giant Eagle in 2018 over its role in the opioid epidemic, the company says it asked Aon to notify its full insurance tower, including Chubb unit Westchester Fire Insurance, Navigators Insurance and Argonaut Insurance.

According to the complaint, notice went to a general claims email address rather than the address specified in the directors and officers policy, and two of the three insurers were never notified at all. The insurers subsequently denied coverage on late-notice grounds. That dispute is now in arbitration.

Giant Eagle says it has already spent more than $1 million litigating the notice defense and stands to lose the full $40 million in coverage if the insurers prevail.

The complaint also cites a 2018 SEC filing in which Aon’s parent company acknowledged that errors-and-omissions claims against it could include failures to place coverage correctly or notify carriers of claims.

The company is seeking actual and punitive damages and has demanded a jury trial. Aon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. These are allegations in a complaint, not findings by a court.

The Opioid Crisis by the Numbers

Grocery and pharmacy chains nationwide have paid billions in settlements arising from the opioid crisis. Giant Eagle alone has been named in more than 30 lawsuits alleging it failed to establish proper controls over opioid distribution, according to its complaint.

That litigation produced settlement funds now flowing to states, counties and municipalities, generally with requirements that money go toward abatement: treatment, recovery support, harm reduction and prevention. How well that requirement is honored varies considerably by jurisdiction, and oversight has been uneven.

Why This Matters for People Affected by Opioid Addiction

It would be easy to read a broker liability dispute as pure corporate housekeeping. The connection to people is real, though indirect.

When a defendant’s insurance coverage fails, the money to satisfy judgments and settlements comes from somewhere else, or the defendant’s capacity to pay shrinks.

Coverage fights add years and legal costs to resolutions. For a county waiting on abatement funds to open a treatment program or stock naloxone, timing is not an abstraction.

None of this changes what a person with opioid use disorder can access today. It does explain why the money announced in headlines often takes so long to appear as an actual service in an actual community.

Understanding Opioids and Overdose Risk

Opioids include prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and codeine, along with heroin and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Fentanyl is substantially more potent than morphine and is now present throughout the illicit supply, frequently in counterfeit pills pressed to look like prescription medication.

An opioid overdose is a breathing emergency. Signs include very slow or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips and fingertips, pinpoint pupils, and unresponsiveness to shouting or a sternal rub. Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose by displacing opioids from receptors in the brain. It works within minutes, has no effect on someone who has not taken opioids, and is available over the counter.

Because opioids like fentanyl outlasts naloxone in the body, a person can slip back into overdose after an initial reversal. Call 911 in every case, even after naloxone works.

Harm Reduction and Treatment

Carrying naloxone is the single most direct thing anyone can do. Many health departments, syringe service programs and community organizations distribute it free, and it is available without a prescription at pharmacies. Fentanyl test strips let people check a supply before use, and they are legal in a growing number of states.

Medication for opioid use disorder, using buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone, has the strongest evidence base for reducing overdose death and keeping people in treatment. It is not a lesser form of recovery, and it can be combined with peer support.

Narcotics Anonymous offers free peer support meetings for people recovering from drug addiction of any kind. NA meetings are open to anyone who wants to stop using, with no cost, no insurance requirement and no referral needed. Many people combine NA with medication treatment, therapy or a formal program.

Finding Help for Opioid Addiction

If you are looking for support right now, Narcotics.com’s NA meeting directory covers all 50 states with city-level listings, filterable by meeting type and format, including virtual and Spanish-language meetings.

Narcotics.com also lists opioid treatment programs by location for people seeking medication treatment alongside or instead of peer support. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to learn more about your treatment options.