How an Addictive Gas Station Drug Found Allies in Trump's Cabinet

Source: New York Times

How an Addictive Gas Station Drug Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet

With support from Markwayne Mullin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the kratom industry is pursuing a potentially lucrative policy. Mr. Mullin owns equity in a company that could benefit.


Bottles of Feel Free, a kratom product produced by Botanic Tonics, displayed at a smoke shop in Oklahoma City last month. Nick Oxford for The New York Times

By Kenneth P. Vogel and Christina Jewett
Kenneth P. Vogel and Christina Jewett have covered special interest lobbying to shape government policies related to health care and public safety.
June 15, 2026

For years, federal health officials have warned about the risks associated with a supplement derived from the leaves of kratom trees that adherents say can kill pain or boost energy. Sold in gas stations across America, kratom has been linked to liver toxicity, seizures and thousands of deaths.

Powerful figures close to President Trump, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, pushed to downplay those concerns.

Mr. Mullin, until recently a Republican senator from Oklahoma, played a key role in a sprawling influence campaign spearheaded by the kratom industry that courted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice President JD Vance, among others in the Trump administration, an investigation by The New York Times found.

Only when he was nominated by Mr. Trump in March to lead the Homeland Security Department did it become clear that Mr. Mullin had a financial connection to the supplement. In a disclosure statement, he listed an investment worth as much as $1 million in a kratom company, Botanic Tonics, that could benefit from the changes he has sought.

{snip}

Georgia Gee and Kitty Bennett contributed research.

Kenneth P. Vogel is based in Washington and investigates the intersection of money, politics and influence.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-p-vogel

Christina Jewett covers the Food and Drug Administration, which means keeping a close eye on drugs, medical devices, food safety and tobacco policy.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-jewett

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/politics/kratom-trump-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qVA.VP2_.nEtUcug_LDZf&smid=url-share|

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Ken Vogel
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SCOOP from @by-cjewett.bsky.social & me:

Markwayne Mullin urged the Department of Health and Human Service to remove warnings from the FDA website about the health risks of the gas station drug kratom.

Mullin owns equity in a leading kratom company called Botanic Tonics that could have benefited.

How an Addictive Gas Station Drug Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet
www.nytimes.com
5:23 PM · Jun 15, 2026
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