Mother of son who died of kratom overdose makes ask of Utah lawmakers

It was just over three years ago that Patti Wheeler’s son, Wyatt, died of a kratom overdose.

Wyatt decided to start using kratom in 2022 as a way to help him to stop drinking alcohol, when he was a student at TCU. His twin brother Gannon found him in the bathroom and called 911.

After Wyatt died, Patti Wheeler began a journey of advocating for those lost to kratom and spreading awareness of the drug and its dangers.

Kratom leaves come from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia, and the substance has been nicknamed “gas station heroin” due to its accessibility in convenience stores and other shops.

Wheeler said that soon after Wyatt died, she heard of another young man who died from kratom in a very similar way to her son.

“I just knew at that point that I had to do something,” Wheeler said.

Part of that journey included becoming an executive producer of “Kratom: Side Effects May Include,” a documentary about the kratom industry, highlighting and honoring those who have died from the substance.

“The documentary was created for awareness. It was created to hopefully put into play proper awareness, labeling and transparency. We wanted to bring light to the subject of kratom and what it’s all about, the dangers,” Wheeler said.

Kratom has been a big topic of debate during Utah’s legislative session this year as many lawmakers work to either ban or regulate the drug. As part of the effort to draw more attention to the dangers of kratom, a screening of “Kratom: Side Effects May Include” was held in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Wheeler traveled from Florida for the screening.

While in Utah, she also visited the state Capitol where she joined Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, on the Senate floor. McKell has been working this session to get kratom completely banned in Utah.

Kratom is known to have both stimulating and sedative effects based on dosage, and some people use it for pain management. Research shows that kratom can be highly addictive, especially kratom extract, which can be much stronger than the pure leaf.

Existing regulations on kratom are low, especially when it comes to dosage and the potency of some extracts, and the public is just becoming aware of the dangers associated with the drug.

“It is definitely like snake oil,” Wheeler said.

How Wheeler is advocating for and honoring those lost to kratom

Wheeler strives to spread awareness and education about kratom, and the documentary is one of her main tools. She also shared that she plans to go on a college tour this year, where she will teach students about the danger of kratom.

She does this, she said, because of who Wyatt was.

“He was the friend that everyone wanted to have, and he was just an awesome, awesome soul.”

She continued: “He would expect nothing less than for me to advocate for him and really give voice to the people who have been silenced and the families that are grieving for all the ones that they’ve lost.”

The documentary came together after Wheeler started working with a friend who had footage of Wyatt and Gannon over the years. That friend told her that they should do a documentary.

“And I said, ‘That’s it, that’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,’” Wheeler said.

It was hard to make the film and to relive the most difficult time in her life, she said, adding that because it is a difficult topic, it is also a hard film for audiences to watch.

She shared that she has gained a lot of respect for the documentary-making process.

“There’s so much science and detective work that goes into it,” Wheeler said. “We want to be fair, we want to tell all sides, most importantly, we just really want to evoke change and make a difference.”

One of her main motivations is her goal to save lives.

The Deseret News also asked Wheeler how she felt about people who use kratom and truly believe that it has helped them with a number of issues.

“I really do feel for them. I’m happy that they found something that alleviates their pain and suffering on the one hand, but on the other hand, I feel like that I am looking at an addict. There is no safe kratom. It is all addictive,” Wheeler said.

Sen. Mike McKell leading the Legislature’s charge against kratom

In 2019, the Utah Legislature passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The act established penalties for not following specific labeling and selling requirements for the drug.

McKell voted for the bill in 2019, but during this session he has repeatedly said that he regrets that vote. He said that kratom deaths have skyrocketed in the state since that was passed.

“I think it was a mistake, and it’s cool that we, as lawmakers, we get to fix that,” the senator said.

He has since started researching more about the substance and has heard from constituents who have been harmed by kratom.

“We need to stop it,” he said.

McKell is running a bill this session, SB45, that would restrict where kratom can be sold in Utah, and what types of kratom can be sold. His bill originally started as a complete ban on kratom, but after working with other lawmakers, it was changed to what he called a “near ban.”

He said his goal is still to try to get to a full ban at some point.

Kratom would no longer be available in gas stations and other convenience stores; under this bill, it would only be sold in specialty tobacco shops. It would also raise the legal age to buy kratom from 18 to 21 years old.

Two other lawmakers, Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, and Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, have also introduced bills dealing with kratom. Vickers worked with McKell as he changed SB45, taking some language from Vickers’ bill, SB48.

Dailey-Provost’s bill in the House, HB387, would also regulate kratom instead of banning it.

SB45 passed through the Senate earlier this week and will now make its way to the House.

How the documentary looks into kratom and its impact on people

“The documentary is kind of designed to try to be fair to kratom, and it’s hard to do that,” McKell said, before the movie played on Thursday. “Everybody I know that has seen this, the takeaway at the end is you’ve got to get rid of it, but you’re going to get to judge it for yourself.”

McKell wasn’t the only state lawmaker at Thursday’s screening; Sens. John Johnson, R-North Ogden, Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, and Heidi Balderree, R-Saratoga Springs, were in attendance, as well as Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden.

The screening was held in partnership with Drug Safe Utah Education.

“Kratom: Side Effects May Include” is just over an hour long and features a wide variety of people talking about kratom in both negative and positive ways.

Wheeler is the main figure in the documentary as she and her son Gannon tell the story of Wyatt, but the film also features the family members of multiple other people who have died from kratom.

Alongside those who have lost loved ones, the movie also features former kratom addicts and people who currently take kratom who say it has helped them. There were also a number of researchers, lawyers, lawmakers and law enforcement officers who spoke on camera.

There were also interviews from pro-kratom individuals, including the leaders of the American Kratom Association and the Global Kratom Coalition.

The film is a deep dive into the kratom industry and the impact it has on people. The filmmakers tried to get in contact with one of the major producers of kratom extract in the U.S. but said they were unable to contact anyone.

Wheeler said the things she hopes viewers take away from the documentary are “awareness, transparency and informed consent, better information, more questions, getting to the bottom of the ingredients and really creating that conversation that goes beyond a smaller forum. We need to really get the information out.”

Watch the trailer for ‘Kratom: Side Effects May Include’

“Kratom: Side Effects May Include” had its world premiere in New York City in January but has not yet been picked up to be distributed.

A trailer for the film that can be viewed online.