{"id":1978419,"date":"2026-06-08T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1978419"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:00:30","slug":"brandon-clarke-said-its-just-kratom-his-death-has-the-substance-under-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1978419","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Clarke said it\u2019s \u2018just kratom.\u2019 His death has the substance under scrutiny."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Six weeks before he died, Brandon Clarke sat in the back seat of a deputy\u2019s patrol car, handcuffs digging into his left wrist as he shifted his 6-foot-8 frame in the cramped space.<\/p>\n

Outside, three officers searched his white Corvette along the shoulder of Highway 64 in eastern Arkansas. Across the two-lane road sat a steakhouse serving ribeye and deep-fried alligator, its empty parking lot waiting for the dinner regulars.<\/p>\n

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Moments earlier, deputies had pulled over the Memphis Grizzlies forward with guns drawn, accusing him of attempting to flee at speeds topping 100 mph. But now, officers were more interested in the blue duffle bag on Clarke\u2019s passenger seat.<\/p>\n

Reaching inside, they found seven smaller bags containing capsules of green powder and a few chewable tablets. They stacked them on the Corvette\u2019s roof as Clarke watched from the cruiser\u2019s backseat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, it\u2019s all legal,\u201d Clarke\u2019s deep voice called out with calm certainty in an exchange captured by the cruiser\u2019s dashcam and obtained by The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The bags were labeled \u201c100% Pure Mitragyna Speciosa,\u201d with handwritten names such as \u201cThe Juice,\u201d \u201cEuflooria\u201d and \u201cGold Rhino.\u201d Online, the various strains totaled $223 and promised a \u201csolid amount of relief,\u201d \u201ca speed boost\u201d and \u201ca mind and body melting burst of happiness in a plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waiving his Miranda rights, Clarke quickly identified what had caught officers\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kratom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the same botanical family as coffee, kratom has been used for centuries in Southeast Asia. In recent decades, it has developed a fervent following in the United States among people who say the kratom leaf \u2013 or its synthetic derivative 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly known as 7-OH \u2013 helps manage chronic pain, kick opioid addictions and boost stamina.<\/p>\n

But increasingly, doctors, scientists and lawmakers have warned that it is addictive, dangerous and poorly regulated. Critics have dubbed it \u201cgas station heroin,\u201d arguing that its widespread availability has outpaced efforts to understand its risks.<\/p>\n

In Tennessee, where Clarke spent his entire NBA career playing for the Grizzlies, kratom is sold openly in smoke shops and corner stores. It comes in brightly colored cans resembling popular energy drinks, in capsules packaged like everyday vitamins and in sugar-coated gummies made to look like candy. Beginning July 1, however, Tennessee will join two dozen other states<\/a> in banning or restricting kratom.<\/p>\n

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Arkansas outlawed the plant a decade ago \u2013 long before Clarke crossed into the state in April on his way to show off his new supercharged Corvette ZR1. There, the 235 grams of kratom and 7-OH deputies said they found inside Clarke\u2019s duffel bag carried the weight of a felony drug trafficking charge, one prosecutors put on par with heroin possession.<\/p>\n

That amount of kratom wouldn\u2019t be considered excessive or unusual, said Mac Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association, a consumer group that advocates for states to regulate kratom, not ban it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a month or two months supply,\u201d Haddow said.<\/p>\n

On May 11, those felony charges no longer mattered. Clarke was found dead inside a Southern California home<\/a>. He was 29. News stations reported that drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. Law enforcement officials have declined to confirm such details.<\/p>\n

Toxicology reports from the Los Angeles County Department of the Medical Examiner are expected to take weeks to months. The office would not disclose whether it will test for kratom, though it has screened for the plant\u2019s active components in past death investigations.<\/p>\n

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Industry insiders and kratom critics say they are closely watching the medical examiner\u2019s findings. Clarke\u2019s arrest and subsequent death has put a spotlight on kratom, they said, at a time when lawmakers in many states are deciding whether to regulate or ban it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of questions that need to be answered,\u201d Haddow said.<\/p>\n

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To some, kratom offers relief from pain or opioid addiction. To others, it creates new problems of its own.<\/p>\n

Part of that disagreement stems from the nature of the plant itself.<\/p>\n

Alkaloids found in kratom bind to the same receptors in the brain as opioid drugs, such as codeine. Unlike opioids, kratom is not derived from the poppy plant, but recent research has raised concerns about the addictive properties in kratom extracts and synthetic versions of the plant. The kratom leaf is harvested from a tropical evergreen tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and imported into the United States.<\/p>\n

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Today it is a $7 billion industry \u2013 and growing \u2013 primarily due to demand in the United States, according to a report from Market Research Future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you start paying attention to it, it\u2019s like \u2018Holy crap, it\u2019s everywhere,\u201d said Kim Quigley, a psychiatrist and mother of two NCAA athletes who runs Onrise, a Tennessee-based mental health organization serving 32,000 athletes from high school through professional sports.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved kratom to be used for any purpose and warns consumers of \u201cserious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt first came to my attention in dealing with local high school athletes that were using it for anxiety and pain control from soreness after practice,\u201d Quigley said. \u201cAnd now we are seeing former professional athletes that have significant difficulty coming off of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One former MLS player who spent nearly a decade in the league said he thought of kratom as a healthy alternative to manage the pain of old injuries from his playing days. He started taking kratom capsules regularly five years ago and then two years ago turned to a kratom drink called Feel Free.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re these little blue bottles that you find at gas stations,\u201d said the former player, who asked not to be named in order to speak openly about his addiction.<\/p>\n

Soon, he said he couldn\u2019t function without it. And when he tried to quit, the withdrawal was intense. As a last resort, he said he turned to an addiction treatment facility in October that utilizes Ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic used in other countries but illegal in the U.S. He relapsed a few months ago, finding himself turning to the familiar blue bottle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean it\u2019s everywhere, every store I go into, every gas station, every mini-mart or convenience store,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Last month, he tried to kick kratom a second time using Ibogaine and said he\u2019s feeling hopeful it will stick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look fit and super healthy, so people would be surprised that this was an issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The American Kratom Association said while the plant appears to be popular in pre-workout and post-workout routines, there is no data about its use in professional sports.<\/p>\n

Athletes, team executives and training staff in the NFL, NBA and MLB told The Athletic<\/em> they had never heard of kratom or did not believe it was commonly used. None of those leagues ban kratom. Nor does the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which is responsible for testing Olympic athletes, or the NCAA, the primary governing body for college athletics.<\/p>\n

The United Football League embraced kratom beginning in 2024, naming one sponsor as the official supplier<\/a>. Jason Brandl, the chief operating officer at CBD Kratom, said in a UFL press release announcing the partnership that their company had been \u201clooking for a professional league open to working with our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The league added in the announcement that kratom has gained attention for its potential to \u201cenhance physical performance during activities like working out\u201d and that \u201cearly studies show the promise of kratom\u2019s ability to aid in chronic pain and pain management.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBD Kratom partnered with the league to create a mini-series to promote the benefits of its products to athletes.<\/p>\n

In one video<\/a>, a CBD Kratom employee recommends an orange soda made with kratom extract to UFL players, extolling its pain relief capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to help your whole body manage that pain,\u201d the employee says.<\/p>\n

In another video<\/a>, the employee tells UFL linebacker Momo Sanogo that a kratom-infused chocolate bar will help with mental clarity during workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only that, it\u2019s going to last you six to eight hours just depending on your body type and your genetic makeup,\u201d she added. \u201cSo, you\u2019re pretty much set for the rest of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sanogo left with a sample of the chocolate bar. When he returned home, he said he forgot it in his car and it melted. He never ended up trying it, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfterward, I heard a lot of bad things about [kratom],\u201d said Sanogo, 27, who retired after winning the league championship last season with the DC Defenders.<\/p>\n

Dartez Jacobs, the president of the UFL Players Association when the sponsorship was signed in 2024, said the league having an official kratom supplier raises concerns about its decision-making process.<\/p>\n

Before the deal, Jacobs said many players were unfamiliar with kratom, the current research surrounding it or state bans.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the partnership carried the league\u2019s endorsement, some players understandably viewed that as a signal that the product had been appropriately vetted,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cThis is ultimately about ensuring that player welfare remains the priority and that leagues maintain a high standard when endorsing products to professional athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

UFL spokesman Mike Wade said the CBD Kratom sponsorship ended before the start of this season. He declined to provide any other details.<\/p>\n

The Missouri Attorney General\u2019s Office launched an investigation<\/a> into CBD Kratom in November for \u201cdeception, fraud, false promises\u201d and other acts.<\/p>\n

In response, CBD Kratom<\/a> said they welcomed the \u201copportunity to demonstrate the strength of our safety standards, compliance practices, and long-standing commitment to consumer education.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBD Kratom is one of nearly two dozen kratom companies under investigation by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often, these products are marketed in ways that downplay their potency and potential dangers, particularly to athletes, young people, individuals dealing with pain, or those recovering from addiction,\u201d Hanaway said in a statement to The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Clarke spent much of the past three years saddled with injuries.<\/p>\n

There was a torn left Achilles tendon in 2023 that prompted \u201cmany difficult emotions,\u201d he wrote on Instagram. A right knee injury sidelined him next, followed by a calf strain. A 2019 first-round NBA Draft pick out of Gonzaga, Clarke played just two games this past season.<\/p>\n

After seven seasons with the Grizzlies, Clarke had a year remaining on a four-year contract worth $12.5 million annually. The Grizzlies said Clarke was expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season. Getting ready for that was a key focus, those close to Clarke said.<\/p>\n

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\n Brandon Clarke was beset by various injuries the past three seasons. (Brandon Dill \/ Associated Press)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At the time of his arrest in April, Clarke had a THC vape pen on him and a prescription for a painkiller often used for sports injuries, according to the dashcam audio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat right there is legal pain medicine,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cThat\u2019s Toradol.\u201d<\/p>\n

For decades, the potent anti-inflammatory Toradol has been the drug of choice to help professional athletes push through pain. Its widespread use in the NFL prompted a task force of physicians to recommend limiting its use, particularly as a means of reducing anticipated pain before games, because of the drug\u2019s long-term side effects.<\/p>\n

Advocates for kratom say it has been a lifeline for many people who have struggled with chronic pain. One former college wrestler called kratom a lifesaver that allowed him to compete without taking prescription pain medications for his neck and back injuries.<\/p>\n

That athletes have turned to the plant is not surprising, said kratom researcher Christopher McCurdy. Long before kratom appeared in the United States, laborers in Southeast Asia used it for added stamina as they pushed through exhausting work in the tropical heat and humidity, said McCurdy, a medicinal chemistry professor at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n

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The same allure pushed it into gyms, weight rooms and combat sports, where athletes look for ways to increase endurance and ease painful injuries.<\/p>\n

But, without any scientific studies, McCurdy said kratom \u201cshould be used with a high degree of caution by athletes who have trained to be champions, not guinea pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> said poison centers have received a marked increase in the number of calls related to kratom, hitting a record high of 3,434 last year compared to 258 in 2015.<\/p>\n

McCurdy said one issue is the various potencies of products that all call themselves kratom.<\/p>\n

Products range from powdered leaf, which most closely resembles the traditional use of kratom, to isolated extracts of active ingredients in the plant. If concentrated, those kratom extracts can produce stronger \u2013 and, according to McCurdy, riskier \u2013 products that are quickly absorbed into the body.<\/p>\n

Then there is 7-OH, which is found naturally in the kratom leaf in trace amounts, but is chemically or synthetically concentrated to create a potent opioid product.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe treat kratom like a garbage can description,\u201d McCurdy said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost as if we treated alcohol all the same, where you have a light beer or seltzer and you equate that as the same thing as Everclear with 95% alcohol. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening in the kratom space right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the industry, manufacturers of products made from the leaf regularly spar with the makers of synthetic versions like 7-OH over how kratom should be regulated. Kratom leaf companies have tried to distinguish themselves as wholly different from 7-OH manufacturers, who disagree with such delineations.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why one kratom advocate was quick to point out that Clarke wasn\u2019t arrested for \u201cjust kratom,\u201d as he told deputies last April.<\/p>\n

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The arrest warrant lists both kratom and 7-OH. Lab testing would be needed to confirm exactly what was in the capsules found inside his blue duffel bag.<\/p>\n

All felony drug cases in Arkansas require seized evidence to be sent to the state\u2019s crime lab. The kratom inside Clarke\u2019s car was awaiting testing when Clarke died.<\/p>\n

With the case now closed, the kratom will instead be destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u2014 <\/strong><\/em>Christian Clark contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six weeks before he died, Brandon Clarke sat in the back seat of a deputy\u2019s patrol car, handcuffs digging into his left wrist as he shifted his 6-foot-8 frame in the cramped space. Outside, three officers searched his white Corvette along the shoulder of Highway 64 in eastern Arkansas. Across the two-lane road sat a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1978419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1978419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1978419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1978419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1978419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}