Attorney General Mayes Sues Kratom Maker Botanic Tonics in First-In-Nation Consumer Protection Lawsuit

PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today sued Botanic Tonics, LLC, a company known for its kratom and kava tonic “feel free,” for violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, including unlawfully promoting the 2-ounce kratom shots as energy drinks, obscuring feel free's kratom content, and failing to adequately disclose the risks of addiction and withdrawal from using the product.     Feel free contains the psychoactive substances kratom and kava. Kratom produces opioid-like effects and is known colloquially as “gas station heroin.” Botanic Tonics has sold feel free throughout Arizona at gas stations, convenience stores, and other mainstream retail locations, as well as online, while allegedly marketing it as a wellness tonic, energy product, kava drink, and alternative to alcohol. Arizona Department of Health Services has identified 146 documented kratom deaths in Arizona between 2020 and 2023 alone. “We allege that Botanic Tonics has repeatedly and willfully violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and endangered the health and safety of Arizonans, including minors, by improperly marketing its kratom-containing beverage...