Kratom capsules: you can buy them in Anchorage, but should you?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - In smoke shops, cannabis and vape stores and gas stations across Anchorage, consumers can buy kratom.

But should you?

The Food and Drug Administration says it’s often used to treat depression and opioid use disorder, but reports that it will “continue to warn the public against the use of kratom for medical treatment.”

“The agency will also continue to monitor emerging data trends to better understand the substance and its components,” the FDA says.

Anchorage Assembly member Randy Sulte, whose term representing South Anchorage expires before the end of the month, doesn’t think anyone should ingest kratom.

“It’s kind of — in my sense — trying to get ahead of the spice epidemic we saw a while back,” Sulte said. “We are behind.”

Kratom studies are still relatively new and many people have never heard of it.

The FDA describes it as an herbal extract from the leaves of a tree that is native to Southeast Asia. It’s a green powdered herbal supplement that is widely available and virtually unregulated that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says “contains chemicals with mind-altering effects.”

It’s not approved by the FDA for any medical uses, but roughly 1.7 million Americans (or roughly 0.6% of those ages 12 and older in 2021) used kratom.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says it can produce opioid and stimulant-like effects with some users saying it helps them manage drug withdrawal symptoms and cravings, especially related to opioid use.

But the flip side of that report shows that kratom use can cause psychiatric, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory problems.

Because kratom research is relatively new compared to more widely used drugs, there is little evidence to determine how kratom use may affect someone over time. Case reports do show regular, long-term kratom use in large amounts may be associated with serious liver problems, according to the NIDA.

Anchorage consumers like Beau Bodnar, who has used kratom for about 10 years off and on, says kratom doesn’t get a user a “high” and he says it doesn’t lead to feelings of intoxication.

“It’s a lot like coffee, really,” Bodnar said. “Just makes you feel good. Ready to start the day. I don’t know, maybe takes away a little anxiety, just all around makes you feel good. Kind of like just like coffee.

“So it’s pretty mild, I think, compared to how some people try to portray it.”

Bodnar says the pills taste like “hay” and describes, what he calls “barn burps,” when someone belches after ingesting kratom.

“I doubt there’s ever been a homeless person that’s homeless because of kratom,” Bodnar said.

But Sulte says constituents have come to him with concerns about nitrous oxide and kratom being sold in stores in Anchorage and Eagle River.

That prompted him to put an ordinance forward to the Anchorage Assembly that would put recreational possession of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and kratom on the list of misdemeanor drugs.

“It’s when people start abusing these drugs, it becomes a problem,” Sulte said, “and no one goes into this with the intent of abusing it or having an unexpected outcome.”

An Alaska’s News Source reporter recently purchased kratom from a shop in downtown Anchorage. The store clerks offered suggestions to save money by buying in bulk and gave two samples of free “gummies.”

No ID was requested.

When asked if kratom use has increased in Anchorage, the police department emailed Alaska’s News Source that the last case involving kratom with APD was in 2020.

“We have not seen an increase in its use within Anchorage,” the department said.

Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.