If you have walked into a Dallas smoke shop, gas station, or vape store in the past few years, you have probably seen kratom on the shelf. Bright packaging. Bold claims. Words like "natural," "herbal," and "wellness." What most Texans do not see on those shelves is a warning that kratom can cause addiction, liver injury, seizures, or death. That gap between what kratom companies are selling and what they are warning about is now the center of a fast-growing wave of lawsuits, and the State of Texas itself has joined the fight.
What Just Happened in Texas
On February 9, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Texas kratom retailer Smokey's Paradise. The lawsuit accuses the retailer of selling kratom products containing nearly 50 times the legal limit of 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, the powerful opioid-like compound that has become the most dangerous part of the kratom market.
This is a turning point. The Texas Attorney General does not file consumer protection cases like this lightly. The state's own complaint signals that Texas regulators believe kratom retailers are selling illegal, dangerous products and that consumers are being harmed.
For Dallas families who have lost a loved one to kratom, or who watched a son, daughter, parent, or spouse spiral into addiction or end up in the hospital after using a 7-OH shot or extract, that public action matters. It validates what families have been saying for years.
Kratom Is Legal in Texas, But Not Without Limits
It is a common misunderstanding that because kratom is sold openly, it must be safe and unregulated. That is wrong on both counts.
Texas passed the Texas Kratom Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act, HB 1097, which took effect September 1, 2023. The law lives in Health and Safety Code Chapter 444 and sets clear rules. In Texas, a kratom processor or retailer cannot legally:
- Sell kratom to anyone under 18
- Sell kratom adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom substance
- Sell kratom that is contaminated
- Sell kratom that contains synthetic alkaloids, including synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine
- Sell kratom where 7-hydroxymitragynine is more than two percent of the total alkaloid fraction
When a Dallas-area smoke shop, gas station, or online seller violates one of these rules and someone gets hurt, that violation is powerful evidence in a Texas personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
The 7-OH Problem
The most dangerous corner of the kratom market right now is 7-OH. The FDA has warned that highly concentrated 7-OH products can act up to 30 times more potent than morphine. They are sold as shots, tablets, gummies, and "premium" extracts. Often they look like energy products. Sometimes they are sold right next to candy at the checkout.
The FDA sent warning letters to seven companies in July 2025 for illegally marketing 7-OH products and has recommended scheduling certain 7-OH products under the Controlled Substances Act. The agency has also flagged contamination problems, including salmonella outbreaks, heavy metals, and at least one death tied to a liquid kratom product.
What does this mean for a family in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, or anywhere else in Texas? It means that when a loved one collapses after using a 7-OH product bought at a local store, the company that sold it can be held accountable.
The Injuries We See
Kratom and 7-OH products have been linked to a long list of serious harms. In our intake calls and across the broader litigation, the most common include:
- Liver injury, sometimes severe enough to require transplant evaluation
- Kidney injury
- Seizures, including in people with no prior seizure history
- Cardiac arrest and dangerous heart rhythm changes
- Respiratory depression
- Severe addiction and physical dependence, with withdrawal symptoms that look like opioid withdrawal
- Newborn withdrawal in babies whose mothers used kratom while pregnant
- Death from acute mitragynine or 7-OH intoxication
If a Dallas-area emergency room, a Texas hospital, or a medical examiner has identified kratom or 7-OH in a recent injury or death, that documentation is the start of a case.
What a Texas Kratom Lawsuit Looks Like
Texas kratom claims are usually built on a combination of:
- Product liability: The product was defective in design, manufacturing, or warnings.
- Failure to warn: The company knew or should have known the product could addict or kill, and it did not say so on the label.
- Deceptive marketing: The company sold kratom as a safe, natural supplement while knowing it could cause serious harm.
- Statutory violations: The product was sold in violation of the Texas Kratom Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act, particularly its 7-OH cap and ban on synthetic alkaloids.
- Negligence: The retailer or seller failed to take reasonable care, such as failing to check IDs, ignoring FDA warnings, or selling products from companies with histories of recalls and adverse events.
Defendants can include the manufacturer, the distributor, the online seller, and the brick-and-mortar Texas retailer that put the product into a consumer's hands. The AG's lawsuit against Smokey's Paradise is a reminder that the corner store does not get a free pass.
What Verdicts Tell Us
Kratom litigation is still relatively young, but it is not theoretical. Courts have already issued meaningful awards:
- An $11 million judgment in Florida on behalf of the family of a 39-year-old mother of four who died from acute mitragynine intoxication after using a kratom product called "space dust"
- A $2.5 million jury verdict in Washington state for the family of a man who died after consuming a kratom product, with the jury finding the distributor liable for inadequate warnings
Texas juries are not bound by what happens in Florida or Washington, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case. But these verdicts show that judges and juries are taking kratom injuries and kratom deaths seriously.
What Dallas Families Should Do Right Now
If kratom or 7-OH may have hurt you or a loved one, take a few quick steps to protect your potential case.
- Keep the product. The bottle, the packaging, the receipt, and any leftover product or unused portions all matter.
- Photograph the label. Front, back, lot number, expiration date, and any QR codes.
- Note where it was bought. Smoke shop name and address, gas station, online store, or app.
- Save medical records. Hospital discharge papers, ER records, addiction treatment records, autopsy and toxicology reports.
- Do not give a recorded statement. Manufacturers and their insurers will try to call. Talk to a lawyer first.
- Watch the calendar. Texas generally gives you two years from the injury or death to file. Do not let that deadline pass.
Why Texas Cases Matter
Texas is one of the most consequential battlegrounds in kratom litigation right now, for a few reasons. The state has its own statute on the books. The Texas Attorney General has already sued a Texas retailer. Texas product liability law and Texas wrongful death law give injured Texans real tools to hold sellers accountable. And Texas juries have historically been willing to push back on out-of-state corporations that ship dangerous products into our communities.
For Dallas families especially, there is no shortage of places where kratom and 7-OH are sold. From Deep Ellum to Uptown, from Plano to Garland, from Fort Worth to Arlington, these products move through hundreds of stores every day. If your family was harmed, you are not alone, and you are not without options.
How Armstrong Law, PLLC Can Help
Armstrong Law, PLLC is a Texas personal injury firm based in Dallas. We work with families across the state, and we handle kratom and 7-OH cases on a contingency basis. You pay nothing unless we win your case. Initial case reviews are free and confidential.
When you call us, we will:
- Listen to what happened
- Walk through the product, the seller, and the medical records with you
- Tell you honestly whether you have a case
- Explain your options under Texas law
- Answer your questions about timelines, fees, and next steps
To speak with our team about a kratom injury or wrongful death case anywhere in Texas, call (214) 932-1288.
Armstrong Law, PLLC | 4040 N Central Expy Suite 400, Dallas, Texas 75204 | (214) 932-1288 | You pay nothing unless we win your case.
