A seemingly innocent herbal tonic sold in petrol stations across America has sparked a wave of alarming testimonials on social media. Feel Free kratom drink, marketed as offering “relaxation, productivity and focus”, has users describing devastating addictions that mirror struggles with hard drugs. The testimonials paint a troubling picture of a legal product with potentially dangerous consequences.

The Circle K Confrontation

Misha Brown wasn’t expecting trouble when he walked into his local Circle K in Austin, Texas last month. A teenage boy approached him with an unusual request: buy him a Feel Free kratom drink. When Brown refused, he says the teenager attempted to grab his wallet.

Inside the shop, the attendant had a stark warning. People were coming in roughly six times daily to purchase the small blue bottles. “It’s so addictive and people lose their minds,” Brown recalled her saying.

Brown’s TikTok recounting this experience has racked up over 23 million views. The comments section exploded with stories from young people describing what Brown calls “devastating experiences with these products.”

“I had never heard of Feel Free,” Brown, 37, told NBC News. But that quickly changed.

From Sober to Hooked in Eight Months

John’s story illustrates just how quickly things can spiral. The 35-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina had fought his way to eight years of sobriety from heroin and methamphetamine. Then life took a turn. He lost his job at Aldi. Everything felt like it was falling apart.

In early 2024, a sales representative at a local herbal shop offered him a sample. That first taste of Feel Free kratom drink changed everything.

“I tried it and I liked it a lot,” John said. “It made me feel warm. It gave me good energy and I loved it.”

Within eight months, John was downing nearly an entire case daily. The financial toll was staggering. He drained his £6,300 pension pot. His PlayStation 5 went. So did his gaming laptop. When the money ran out, he started stealing.

“I was doing anything I could,” John admitted. “It turned me into someone that I am not.”

His total spending? Around £23,600. All for bottles of herbal tonic sold legally in shops across his state.

What’s Actually in the Bottle?

Botanic Tonics launched Feel Free in 2020. The formula combines kava root, known for calming effects, with kratom—a Southeast Asian plant that acts as both a stimulant and has opioid-like properties. It’s that second ingredient causing all the concern.

The Food and Drug Administration declared kratom an opioid in 2018. Five American states have banned it outright: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Yet the substance remains federally unregulated, allowing products like Feel Free kratom drink to sit on shop counters nationwide.

Dr Robert Levy, an addiction medicine expert at the University of Minnesota Medical School, doesn’t mince words. “It’s concerning to me. I’ve seen kratom addiction and treated it many times.”

The Science Behind the Addiction

Oliver Grundmann, a clinical professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, has studied kratom since 2016. Back then, the market was much smaller. Demand has surged, driven by the substance’s stimulant, pain-relieving and sedative effects.

The Drug Enforcement Administration lists a catalogue of potential side effects: weight loss, insomnia, seizures, hallucinations. Chronic users face gastrointestinal problems—nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea. Larger doses cause elevated heart rate and sweating. Long-term use links to liver damage, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Marc Swogger, an associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, explained that kratom tends not to hook people in low doses. But tolerance builds. Users need more to feel the same effects. When they stop, withdrawal hits.

A Legal Loophole With Serious Consequences

The Feel Free kratom drink label warns users not to exceed 2 ounces within 24 hours. Half a bottle counts as one serving. There’s also a caution that the product can become habit-forming and people with substance abuse history should think twice before consuming it.

Those warnings came after a £6.9 million settlement in 2023. A class action lawsuit claimed Botanic Tonics failed to warn consumers about kratom risks and marketed Feel Free as a safe alcohol replacement. The company admitted no wrongdoing but changed its labelling.

Botanic Tonics pushed back hard against the social media testimonials in a statement to NBC News. “False and misleading claims are being made about feel free on social media and are being perpetuated on news outlets.”

The company pointed to its sales figures: over 129.7 million servings sold, with fewer than 1,000 consumer complaints total. “This represents an exceptionally low complaint rate that contradicts sensationalized social media anecdotes,” the statement read. The company also disputed Brown’s Circle K story, saying their investigation found no corroborating witnesses.

The FDA Steps In

Last month, federal regulators made a significant move. The FDA recommended the Justice Department classify 7-OH—one of kratom’s two main chemical compounds—as an illicit substance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary wants it listed as Schedule I alongside heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, meaning no accepted medical use and high abuse potential.

The agency focused specifically on synthetic, highly concentrated forms of 7-OH, not plant-based kratom. Botanic Tonics confirmed Feel Free kratom drink contains plant-based kratom, not synthetic 7-OH.

This isn’t the FDA’s first attempt. In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced plans to schedule kratom compounds, including 7-OH. Pushback from kratom advocates killed that effort.

Dr Levy notes that compared to kratom, 7-OH is a “much more powerful opioid”. Products sold as “7-OH” are almost completely artificial.

When Recovery Meets Relapse

For people in recovery, Feel Free kratom drink represents particular danger. Dr Levy compared a recovering addict’s brain to someone in cancer remission—healed but never quite the same. A small trigger can bring everything roaring back.

“You’re playing with fire,” Levy said. “As an addiction medicine doctor, I would never suggest that somebody consume that in recovery.” He added he wouldn’t recommend it to anyone generally because it lacks regulation.

Mac Haddow, senior fellow in public policy for the American Kratom Association, shares these concerns. “We’re concerned about any product that has an addiction liability that is classified as causing serious adverse events. We strongly support very tough regulations on kratom products.”

Utah took decisive action, banning Feel Free sales entirely. “State law prohibits the sale of any kratom product that is mixed with other ingredients in a way that alters its quality or strength to the extent that it could be harmful to consumers,” explained Caroline Hargraves from Utah’s Department of Agriculture and Food.

The Hospitalisation That Changed Everything

John tried quitting multiple times. Each attempt brought brutal withdrawal symptoms. He documented them on TikTok: intense body tremors, drenching sweats, difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth.

February brought the worst of it. His withdrawal became so severe that paramedics rushed him to hospital. Medical staff placed him on a ventilator. He later developed pneumonia. Hospital notes reviewed by NBC News showed marijuana as the only other substance in his system.

“They thought I was going to die,” John said.

He survived, but the experience shook him. Now he shares his videos with a mission. “I just want to try to help people and make a difference.”

A Growing Online Movement

John and Brown aren’t isolated voices. On Reddit, a community dedicated to quitting Feel Free kratom drink has attracted over 5,000 followers. The posts tell similar stories of rapid dependence and difficult withdrawal.

“Believe me when I tell you, you need to run away as fast as you can from this,” one Reddit user wrote.

Brown, himself a former drinker, understands addiction’s grip. “Addiction is something that affects a lot of people. If this is something that’s just so easily attainable and is marketed as, like, an alcohol-free substitute or like an energy drink, I think that it’s pretty dangerous.”

The ease of access particularly troubles him. No prescriptions needed. No age verification in many shops. Just walk in, pay, and walk out with a product that users say rivals illegal drugs in its addictive potential.

The Marketing Question

Feel Free kratom drink sits alongside energy drinks and wellness shots in convenience stores. The packaging looks professional, almost medicinal. The marketing emphasises focus and productivity—attractive promises in a culture obsessed with optimisation and performance.

But that professional veneer may obscure genuine risks. When a legal product sold in ordinary shops carries addiction potential comparable to opioids, the lines between wellness and danger blur dangerously.

The FDA maintains kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and there’s “inadequate information to provide reasonable assurance that such ingredient does not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury.” People often use it to self-treat anxiety, depression, pain, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal.

What Happens Next?

Federal action on 7-OH could reshape the kratom market. A Schedule I classification would effectively ban synthetic versions. But plant-based kratom, like that in Feel Free kratom drink, might remain available depending on how regulators draw the lines.

State-level bans could proliferate as more stories emerge. Utah’s prohibition might serve as a template for other jurisdictions concerned about public health.

Meanwhile, the testimonials keep coming. TikTok videos documenting withdrawal. Reddit posts warning newcomers away. Hospital admissions. Financial ruin. Relationships destroyed.

For John, now in recovery again, the message is clear. What looked like a harmless herbal tonic nearly cost him his life. What was marketed as natural wellness turned into a daily compulsion that consumed his savings, his possessions, and very nearly his future.

“It turned me into someone that I am not,” he said. For thousands following his journey on social media, that warning resonates with painful clarity.

Source: NBC News