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← Signal: State & Power

Leading Kratom Researcher Fails to Disclose Financial Ties to Industry Lobbying Group

Confirmed1 source · Sep 1, 2026

University of Florida scientist Christopher McCurdy, a key voice in policy debates over kratom's legality, has not reported his funding relationships with the American Kratom Association despite accepting travel reimbursements, foundation donations, and symposium support from the group.

Leading Kratom Researcher Fails to Disclose Financial Ties to Industry Lobbying Group
Image via ProPublica

What happened

ProPublica found that Christopher McCurdy, a University of Florida professor and prominent voice in kratom policy, has repeatedly accepted travel reimbursements, donations to his university foundation, and funding for an annual research symposium from the American Kratom Association—none of which appear in his conflict of interest disclosures or published papers. McCurdy has been deployed by the AKA to testify in state legislatures and before federal regulators, earning him a place in the group's Legacy Advocate Hall of Fame. Other scientists who work with the AKA disclose that relationship, but McCurdy has not. McCurdy told ProPublica his views are based on two decades of independent research and are not dictated by the industry, and that reimbursed travel does not influence his scientific conclusions. Advocates for kratom restrictions, including Virginia pharmacist Jennifer Brandt, have filed public records requests and asked medical journals to append corrections listing McCurdy's industry ties.

Context

McCurdy's undisclosed relationship carries significant stakes in an active policy fight. The CDC reports 5,200 U.S. deaths from kratom-involved overdoses between 2020 and 2024, and poison control calls involving kratom have spiked 1,200% in the last decade. McCurdy has built a reputation as a neutral scientist in emotional debates over kratom's risks and benefits, while simultaneously emphasizing its therapeutic potential and downplaying hazards in public appearances—despite his own published research documenting severe withdrawal symptoms in newborns and dependency and death in users. The AKA, funded by manufacturers and vendors, spends roughly $2.5 million annually lobbying to keep kratom available in retail outlets. McCurdy's research focusing on kratom's dominant chemical compound has been funded by an estimated $100 million in federal grants, which could potentially be affected by kratom's legal status.

What's disputed

McCurdy disputes that undisclosed industry support influences his scientific conclusions or the substance of his policy testimony. Advocates for restrictions contend he should disclose his AKA relationship when speaking to policymakers.