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Four Kootenai County overdose deaths involving kratom last year, says coroner

The city proposed a ban in 2025 on the herbal supplement kratom, like this one in a chewable tablet form that can be bought in some local convenience stores without an age limit. (COLIN MULVANY /THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Amanda Sullender amandas@spokesman.com(509) 459-5455

Four people in Kootenai County died of an overdose last year with kratom in their system.

According to Kootenai County coroner Duke Johnson, there will “absolutely be more deaths related to the drug in 2026.”

“The government is dragging its feet to address kratom, and we are seeing the result,” Johnson said.

In only one of the four deaths was kratom the only drug that caused the overdose.

Derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia, kratom sold in America is dried and crushed into a powder and can be taken as a tea or pill. Though kratom is not an opioid, it affects opioid receptors in the brain and can create a similar euphoric effect. Some synthetic kratom products like 7-hydroxymitragynine (also known as 7-OH) concentrate the psychoactive element of the plant mitragynine.

Because tests only detect this psychoactive compound, Johnson cannot determine whether the overdose was caused by the natural leaves or 7-OH. But he suspects one of the synthetic derivatives is the cause because it would be difficult to consume enough mitragynine to overdose from the unaltered leaf.

But Johnson is still concerned natural kratom is causing addiction and increasing overdoses in the region.

“Gas station attendants tell us kids come in to buy kratom or 7-OH four or five times a day. I’m stunned we as a society are allowing our kids to get hooked on this stuff,” he said.

Kratom and its derivatives are not currently regulated by the federal government or state governments in Washington and Idaho. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown proposed a citywide kratom ban last year, which was later delayed as the state considers regulation of the drug. Earlier this week the Panhandle Health District warned North Idaho residents to avoid the drug.

There were no kratom associated overdose deaths in Spokane County during 2025, according to Spokane Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Veena Singh. There were two kratom associated overdose deaths each in 2022 and 2023 and four deaths in 2024. All but one of the deaths involved other drugs in addition to kratom.

“We have been able to do expanded testing for kratom in overdose deaths in the past few years; however, budget constraints will prevent us from doing this kind of testing in every case going forward, so we will only be able to test where there is some indication either in history or at the death scene that the person was using kratom,” Singh said.

Johnson said many coroners across the country still do not test for kratom at all.

“Many coroners only test for drugs that are scheduled by the federal government,” Johnson said. “Kratom is thought of as a rare kind of overdose. But how can you say that if you’re not checking for it?”