What Happens When You Combine Kratom with Other Substances?

While Kratom itself is less dangerous than traditional opioid drugs, when used in combination with other substances, the plant poses a serious risk to your mental and physical health. Kratom research is still in its infancy, therefore there is little known about the plant’s potential interactions with prescription medications or illegal drugs. Do not use Kratom in tandem with other substances; it can result in death.

Kratom inhibits certain functions within the liver and the kidneys, and when used in combination with other drugs that interact with those organs, like ketamine and buprenorphine, it can lead to acute intoxication or overdose.

Kratom also has opioid-like effects when taken in higher doses, like stupor, slowed respiratory rate, and seizures. These effects can be amplified when the plant is taken with opioids, and can, in reverse, dangerously amplify the effects of the opioids. Kratom and opioid interactions pose an extreme risk for overdose and death.

Kratom’s effects and interactions with other drugs are, for the most part, unknown. However, even though no research can solidly identify specific drug-drug interactions, Kratom was listed as a contributing or present factor in more than 4,100 deaths between 2020 and 2022, many of which were overdoses resulting from mixing other substances with Kratom.