- A civil forfeiture action filed by the government (Plaintiff) in 2023 to seize kratom products held by Botanic Tonics, LLC came to an end on January 5th when the Court issued a judgment ending the action in response to the Plaintiff’s notice of dismissal (without prejudice). The Plaintiff’s notice indicated that Botanic Tonics had represented that the products in question were expired, and that Plaintiff had therefore determined that “it would not be a prudent use of government resources to sustain the action.”
- The original action had alleged that seizure was appropriate because the products contained a new dietary ingredient (Kratom) for which there is inadequate information to provide reasonable assurance that such ingredient does not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury (21 USC 342(f)(1)(B)). The government alleged that there were “serious safety concerns” regarding the effect of kratom. A motion to dismiss the action was denied in December of 2025.
- The case is United States v. 250,000 filled bottles of liquid product (4:23-cv-00168) and was filed in the District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.