Deadly synthetic kratom is being sold in smoke shops across New York City, despite containing lethal compounds banned by federal laws, a Post investigation has found.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over a two week span, The Post visited 52 shops across the city and found eight stores \u2014 about 15% \u2014 peddling products containing two synthetics banned nationwide by the Drug Enforcement Administration in an August emergency order<\/a>: mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, known as MGPI, or dihydro-7-hydroxy mitragynine, known as MGM-15. <\/p>\n That emergency order classified those synthetics as federal Schedule I controlled substances, and anyone found selling them can face up to 20 years in prison. <\/p>\n Synthetic kratom products have come under increased scrutiny after authorities found an illegal form of the drug at the scenes of the suspected overdose deaths <\/a>of University of Mississippi students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20.<\/p>\n Kama 7-hydroxy pseudoindoxyl is sold at Blue Dream Convenience. J.C. Rice for NY Post<\/p>\n Two men have been charged with selling the narcotics to the students. <\/p>\n One of their defense attorneys said in court Friday that one of the men died from a combined use of various substances, including cough syrup, and that the other man died from inhalation asphyxiation, WMC-TV reported<\/a>. A federal filing in the case says a toxicology report found mitragynine, MGM-15 and MGPI in the systems of both men, who died Sept. 21 in separate incidents.<\/p>\n And this week, Utah officials issued an urgent warning after four deaths were linked <\/a>to a substance called \u201ccat\u2019s claw,\u201d which contained \u201cdangerous semi-synthetic kratom chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen\u2019s it going to end?\u201d asked Kratom Danger Awareness founder Wendy Chamberlain, whose son Joseph Chamberlain, 38, died in his upstate New York home in 2020 from an accidental kratom overdose.<\/p>\n Kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia<\/a>, mimics the effects of stimulants and opioids, according to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Small amounts of the drug can spark a surge in energy, while larger amounts act as a depressant or sedative. Synthetic variants can be tens to hundreds times stronger. <\/p>\n The Post visited smoke shops, convenience stores, and dispensaries to see what dangerous and illegal substances lined their shelves\u2014or were hidden behind their counters.<\/p>\n A person working at Ditmars Organic Convenience sells Kratom through an iPad. J.C. Rice for NY Post<\/p>\n A package of Smax Pseudo-DHM tablets, a synthetic kratom-derived product, is shown. Authorities say the package was found near Aidan Hamilton when paramedics arrived. USDC \u2013 Northern District of Mississippi<\/p>\n Employees at several Big Apple stores boasted that their most powerful products contain MGPI or MGM-15 \u2014 either unaware or indifferent that they\u2019re peddling an illegal substance.<\/p>\n Each product containing MGPI or MGM-15 also contained 7-Hydroxymitragynine, 7-OH \u2014 a kratom-derived compound legal in New York that is 13 times stronger than morphine and widely known as \u201cgas station heroin.\u201d<\/p>\n Varieties that contained MGPI available for purchase across the boroughs included 1,000 mg packs of a Kama brand product called \u201c7-Hydroxy+Psuedoindyl,\u201d which were proudly promoted at New City Smoke Shop on the corner of Park Place and Church Street in lower Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n An employee at East Village Smoke Shop along First Avenue in Manhattan promoting the same product tried enticing the Post reporter by saying it\u2019s now \u201chard to find\u201d because \u201cit\u2019s about to be banned.\u201d<\/p>\n Kama products that have a federally banned compound were found at the East Village Smoke Shop. Adriano Torres\/NY Post<\/p>\n The exact breakdown of its components is unclear, but MGPI is an eye-popping 31 times stronger than 7-OH, according to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n A worker at New City Smoke Shop reluctantly admitted customers opt for the MGPI-containing Kama product because it\u2019s much stronger than other varieties \u2013 but a health inspector warned the store a few months ago that the tablets would soon be illegal.<\/p>\n He said he didn\u2019t know the current legal status of any of the substances \u2014 a sentiment shared by employees at multiple other stores.<\/p>\n Wendy Chamberlain holds a photograph of her late son, Joseph Lumbrazo, who died from a kratom overdose in 2020. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Lumbrazo was a father of three. His mother founded a nonprofit to help others suffering from kratom addiction. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n An Astoria business called Ditmars Organic Convenience selling Kama and similarly illegal pseudoindoxyl-containing products from a brand called Opia seemed well aware that they were selling contraband.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead of displaying the products out in the open, an employee pulled out an iPad to show off the illicit selection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n East Village Smoke Shop also sold dangerous tablets containing 7-OH, MGPI and MGM-15 from a brand called Rush. <\/p>\n A worker said they were going to become illegal soon \u2014 unaware that they already are.<\/p>\n Kratom brands are displayed at a shop in Astoria, Queens, New York. Kratom extract products are legal. Adriano Torres\/NY Post<\/p>\n Customers love how the stuff makes them feel. <\/p>\n \u201cI asked [customers] why are they taking this and they say that it makes them feel stronger, stay awake, focused,\u201d the man, who only identified himself as Rifa, said.<\/p>\n \u201c[But] when you see him [after they take the tablet] they\u2019re too f\u2013king weak. Literally you can see them too weak. If you push them, maybe they\u2019re going to fall down,\u201d a worker at an Astoria shop said. <\/p>\n The ingredients in the products found by The Post were similar to those of the \u201cSMAX Pseudo-DHM\u201d tablets linked to Hamilton and Strang\u2019s deaths, which officials said contained MGPI, MGM-15 and 7-OH.\u00a0<\/p>\n A brand called Rush contained MGM-15 and MGPI. Adriano Torres\/NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWe are licensing these places [and they\u2019re] like crack houses,\u201d Rich Marianos, a former ATF boss who founded the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network<\/a>, warned of smoke shops.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo synthetic narcotic producing a euphoric high like heroin should ever be sold without a doctor\u2019s authority.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg Kiesow, founder of Kratom Anonymous and a former user, was 18 years sober before getting hooked on 7-OH \u2014 which he had no idea was an addictive drug.<\/p>\n Aidan Hamilton is one of the University of Mississippi students who died. Hamilton family<\/p>\n Robert Strang, a student at Ole Miss, was found dead at an off-campus residence. Family handout<\/p>\n He said he started dabbling with kratom leaf powder before progressively finding himself needing more to get his fix and landing on 7-OH products.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hollows you out. It makes you a ghost of yourself. You aren\u2019t really capable of feeling joy, love, peace, and connection with others,\u201d Kiesow, of Illinois, said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou completely isolate. And that\u2019s what I did. I I just spent 10 months on my back porch staring at the birds with my bird feeder thinking my life is perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n Kratom products are displayed at the Empire Smoke Shop on First Avenue in the East Village. While controversial, the above kratom extract products are legal. Adriano Torres\/NY Post<\/p>\n Products created using botanical kratom<\/a> are technically legal on the federal level, but they are fully banned in nine states<\/a>.\u00a0Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar, three of the countries where kratom originated, have made consuming it illegal. Exporting it is not.<\/p>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that between December 2024 and December 2025, 1,221 drug overdose deaths involved kratom. Some 24 million Americans have used kratom, an industry expected to be grow to whopping $7.80 billion by 2032. <\/p>\n The New York State Health Department reported 100 overdoses linked to kratom from 2023 to 2024. It contributed to 45 overdose deaths from 2024 to 2025, but a spokesperson noted there were other substances involved in some of these cases as well.<\/p>\n Sion Grocery and Candy Corp. sells Feel Free Liquid Kratom Leaf. J.C. Rice for NY Post<\/p>\n Flashy colorful packages of pills and powders with 7-OH are readily available at 34 of the stores The Post reporter visited \u2014 but that may soon change. <\/p>\n