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California Sues Santee Kratom Maker After Alleged Embargo Violations

The case signals California’s push to rein in high‑risk kratom products tied to overdose deaths.

Overview

  • State health officials and the attorney general filed a complaint in San Diego Superior Court against Ashlynn Marketing Group, the Santee company behind Krave‑branded kratom products.
  • The filing says CDPH embargoed all kratom at the facility after a 2025 inspection, then investigators later found embargoed goods moved, tampered with, and repackaged.
  • Prosecutors seek a court order to stop production and sales, destroy all embargoed materials, and levy civil penalties.
  • Officials point to reports linking kratom to recent overdose deaths, including six in Los Angeles County, and to a statewide warning that products with kratom or 7‑hydroxymitragynine are illegal to sell in California.
  • The action sits within a wider crackdown that included ABC visits to thousands of retailers with 95% compliance, plus local steps such as Los Angeles County’s 2025 call for stores to stop sales and new Riverside County rules.