Colorado is one of the leading states in estimated usage of kratom, a federally-legal drug that can cause effects similar to opioids and that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has labeled a “drug of concern.”
In a new report from the drug-testing company Millennium Health, 2.3% of anonymized urine samples tested in Colorado between 2017 and 2019 contained kratom, giving the state the fourth-highest positivity rate. Nationally, usage of the substance doubled in that time period.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration analysis in 2019 found that various kratom products contained “significant levels of lead and nickel at concentrations that exceed safe exposure for oral daily drug intake.” The potential effects include metal poisoning, kidney damage and increased risk of certain cancers among long-term users.
Read more at Colorado Politics.