Utah Warns of Four Deaths Tied to Kratom Compounds Sold as Cat's Claw

Four people have died in Utah after using herbal supplements that laboratory testing showed contained illegal, high-potency compounds derived from kratom, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services said Monday in an urgent public health warning.

The deaths are tied to products sold under names such as "cat's claw" that actually carried semi-synthetic kratom chemicals, according to the department, which issued the alert jointly with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and the University of Utah's Poison Control Center.

"The Utah Poison Control Center strongly advises the public not to buy or use any products labeled as 'cat's claw,' products marked 'adults only/21+,' or any non-prescription item marketed as legal while promising psychoactive 'highs,'" the department said.

What testing found

Agriculture department laboratories identified two compounds in the products — mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, known as MGPI, and dihydro-7-hydroxymitragynine, or MGM-15 — in items sold online and at the state's smoke shops and gas stations. Both are now Schedule I controlled substances in Utah, a classification that took effect in August, alongside related chemicals. Utah law permits the sale only of pure, natural leaf kratom.

The compounds act on the body's opioid receptors. That has two practical consequences the department emphasized: naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication, works against them, and people going through withdrawal should seek medical care rather than trying to manage it alone.

Officials asked residents to report any kratom extracts or semi-synthetic kratom products still on shelves to a dedicated agriculture department address, udaf-kratom@utah.gov, and said anyone with questions about a possible overdose or withdrawal can reach the Poison Control Center around the clock at 1-800-222-1222.

A labeling problem, not a cat's claw problem

Natural cat's claw, a supplement drawn from a tropical vine and sold as Uncaria tomentosa, is not itself harmful, the department said. The danger lies in what testing found inside the bottles. Labels in the cases at issue claimed the product was legal and free of kratom, yet also warned that it was for adults only or produced strong psychoactive effects.

It is the same pattern state investigators documented this summer, when they traced a death and several severe poisonings to Buzzers brand Cat's Claw Extract tablets containing the same two chemicals. That earlier episode, reported in August, produced a warning letter and retail pull notices; the new alert covers four confirmed deaths and broadens the target from a single brand to any product carrying the misleading labels.

Utah is far from alone in confronting the products. Two University of Mississippi students died in a case that drew national attention after kratom-related compounds were found near them, as CNN reported, and states across the country have split on how to regulate concentrated kratom derivatives — some banning them outright, others leaving the market untouched, the result being that the same bottle can be legal on one side of a state line and illegal on the other.

Enforcement runs into the black market

Utah's restrictions on kratom products took effect in May, following a 2026 law that limited legal sales to pure leaf kratom bought by adults 21 and older at specialty shops and gave manufacturers a year to wind down production of everything else. The latest deaths suggest some supply did not leave the market so much as relabel itself.

Federal regulators have moved in the same direction. The Drug Enforcement Administration has temporarily scheduled 7-hydroxymitragynine and related synthetic compounds, the same class of lab-concentrated derivatives now surfacing in Utah's convenience stores, and has taken emergency scheduling action against MGPI, MGM-15 and a related chemical.

State officials have not released details about the four people who died. What the cases share is a product that never announced what it was.

What people should do

Anyone who has used a product labeled cat's claw or marked adults only and develops severe drowsiness, slowed breathing or difficulty staying awake should be given naloxone if it is available and call 911, the department said. Emergency care remains necessary even after a reversal, because the compounds involved can be more potent than morphine and carry withdrawal effects with repeated use.

People seeking treatment for dependence on kratom or other opioids can find medication-assisted care and withdrawal management through licensed programs, and the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 can advise on immediate steps. Officials said their investigation into the deaths and the distribution of the mislabeled products is continuing.