Kratom was involved in four deaths in Kootenai County in 2025. In one of those deaths, it was the only substance involved, Kootenai County Coroner Duke Johnson revealed during a Kratom presentation to Post Falls City Council on Tuesday.    

"I am here to protect the residents of Kootenai County, also not only from death, but potentially from addiction associated with it," said Johnson during his presentation. 

The substance is originally derived from southeast Asia, from an evergreen tree called Mitragyna Speciosa. Within the leaves of the tree is psychoactive compound called 7-Hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH. According to Johnson, 7-OH is an opioid and occurs at natural levels of 2% in the plant, but in some Kratom substances, it can artificially be raised to 98%. 

"It's 13x more powerful than morphine," said Johnson, citing the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

Kratom has risen in popularity astronomically over the past decade, the CDC reports a 1,200% uptick in exposures from 2015 to 2025. 

Johnson said people in the addiction industry come up to him and say the "problematic issue" they are dealing with now is not fentanyl, but instead Kratom. 

He said studies revealed the half-life of the drug to be from 40 to 60 hours.

He also advocated for the outright ban of the substance, rather than regulation. He said trying to control it does not work. 

"Either you ban it, or you just forget about doing anything," he said. 

He also noted the DEA filed intent to, temporarily, place 7-OH and three related substances in Schedule 1 of the controlled substances act. Placing it in Schedule 1 means it has no accepted forms of medical use, high potential for abuse and a lack of safety under medical supervision. 

Councilman Jack Mosby asked Johnson to explain how Kratom can lead to death. 

"It decreases the body's ability to want to breathe," said Johnson. 

He said most opiates, like fentanyl or heroin, slow down the body's breathing, leading to respiratory arrest. 

He also said that because 7-OH is 13 times more powerful than morphine it is more powerful in its ability to manage pain but is also more powerful "in its ability to cause addictions, it its ability to cause euphoria, to cause respiratory arrest and death."

Johnson also told Councilwoman Samantha Steigleder that one of his death investigators went to a gas station and asked the attendant if Kratom products were popular, to which he was told: "Oh yeah, the kids really like it. Some come in every day." 

Steigleder asked if there had been any under-18 deaths to which Kratom was a contributing factor in Kootenai County, Johnson said no. 

Post Falls City Council members agreed they were in no rush to get anything done about Kratom and wanted to learn more. They also floated a public hearing from which to hear from residents about Kratom. No date was set.

Editor's note: This article was edited to change a reference to kratom to instead use 7-OH.