Missouri – Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is widening her office’s crackdown on kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine products, casting a broader net across the businesses that make, move and sell them.
With 10 new entities now drawn into the probe, the statewide investigation has expanded to 22 companies and individuals across the supply chain, signaling that the state is no longer looking only at what ends up on store shelves, but also at how those products get there in the first place.
The latest round of action comes through additional Civil Investigative Demands, or CIDs, issued under state law to businesses believed to be involved in manufacturing, distributing or selling kratom products that may violate Missouri law.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the investigation is examining a wide range of issues, including how products are made, what ingredients they contain, how they are labeled and marketed, whether they were tested, how strong their alkaloid concentrations are, where they came from, and whether companies were aware of harmful effects tied to their use.
“Businesses owners who choose to manufacture, distribute, or sell unapproved, unsafe, opioid products in Missouri will be held to account,” said Attorney General Hanaway.
“Our message to retailers: remove dangerous kratom alkaloid products from shelves immediately. We will continue to uncover the facts and root out bad actors at every level of the supply chain.”
The newly targeted manufacturers are AlphaBeta Brewery LLC, doing business as Alpha Brewing Company in St. Louis; Kappa Alkaloids LLC in Kansas City; NUNU LLC in Kansas City; and Francis K. Kalaiwaa, doing business as Rize Botanicals in Gladstone. The distributors receiving CIDs are 72 Wholesale, LLC in St. Peters; Blacktop Distribution LLC in Kansas City; and Quality Wholesale STL, LLC in St. Louis. The retailers are Big Dreams Ventures LLC, doing business as VEGA 7X in Joplin; Green Kings LLC in Springfield; and Mr. Tobacco Maplewood LLC in Wentzville.
State officials say the concern centers on the lack of regulation surrounding kratom products, which can vary sharply in potency and purity.
They say many products contain dangerous levels of 7-OH, far above what appears naturally in the plant, and that the substance is being extracted and consumed in concentrated forms that are addictive, dangerous and function like opiates. In March, the CDC reported that annual hospitalizations tied to kratom exposure rose by 1,200 percent between 2015 and 2025. Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services has also warned residents against using 7-OH.
The expanded investigation follows an earlier legal step taken by the Attorney General’s Office. On March 31, 2026, Hanaway filed suit against CBD American Shaman and related entities over the manufacture, distribution and retail sale of kratom and its alkaloids.
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The newest demands now require recipients to turn over detailed information about product ingredients, labeling, advertising, safety claims, dosage representations, consumer communications about adverse effects, and materials that could show whether unapproved drugs were sold in violation of state or federal law.
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The office is also seeking to determine whether Missouri consumers were not fully told that the products contained psychoactive substances such as 7-OH. Residents who believe they were misled or harmed are encouraged to file a complaint at ago.mo.gov or call the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222.
