Marijuana Articles, Research and Data

• kratom

The Times bought the products from online vendors, gas stations, smoke shops and other businesses around the region. Below are the key testing results for each product.
They are ordered most potent to least, by product type, based on mitragynine levels. The Times also tested one product containing a large amount of 7-hydroxymitragynine, another kratom alkaloid that is more potent than mitragynine.
READ ARTICLE FOR SUMMARY OF EACH PRODUCT.
Sample of product summary

• The package the product was sent in came with a printed-out sheet showing testing results for mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, heavy metals and bacteria. A section of the report showing who ordered the results was blacked out.
• The product’s label advertised “pain relief + mood enhancement.” Federal law prohibits kratom companies from making medical claims on packaging or in advertising because the substance is not an approved drug.
• This product had nine times as much mitragynine as Sharma believes is safe to consume over an entire day.
• This product type was found at the scenes of two kratom-only overdoses in Florida.
• This product type was found at the scene of a kratom-only overdose in Florida.
• This product type was found at the scenes of two kratom-only overdoses in Florida.

• kratom

The Times requested Florida autopsy reports citing kratom or one of its major chemical compounds, an alkaloid called mitragynine, as a cause of death or contributing factor dating back to 2010.
No news organization has ever done this on a large scale. The requests initially turned up more than 600 cases. Reporters handbuilt a database to track the overdoses and key details about them, including blood-mitragynine concentrations, contributing medical conditions and every substance flagged in a person’s system during toxicology testing.
A Times investigation found more than 580 fatal kratom-related overdoses in Florida.

• kratom

Some of the tactics in the kratom business may sound familiar. They mirror the strategies that were used for another controversial product — synthetic cannabis compounds, or “Spice.”

More than a decade ago, U.S. officials spotted a trend. Importers, court records show, were slipping Spice into the country from China by calling the white chemicals “cosmetics” or “sodium.” Products found at gas stations promised Spice was “herbal incense” or “not for human consumption.”

• kratom

As medical examiners log an increasing number of overdoses involving kratom across Florida and elsewhere, the industry has largely operated without government constraints or safety measures that could help protect consumers.
Florida lawmakers considered banning kratom three times in the past decade. But industry advocates successfully fought the efforts, ensuring powders, gummies and liquid extracts are readily available at gas stations and smoke shops from Pensacola to Miami. The products vary dramatically in strength — but manufacturers don’t have to disclose or limit their intensity at all.

• Delta-8
• hemp

Both hemp and marijuana plants are the same species. The main difference lies in how much of a certain cannabinoid each contains.  It’s a common misconception that hemp and marijuana are two different species of plant.  In fact, they’re not distinct speciesTrusted Source at all. They’re just two different names for cannabis, a type of flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family.