BALTIMORE, MD (Thursday, June 30, 2026)- Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the City Council of Baltimore filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that the manufacturer and certain affiliates of a popular kratom product line, often branded "O.P.M.S.," violated the City's Consumer Protection Ordinance by selling kratom products with false and misleading disclosures, or failing to disclose certain key facts about their products, putting Baltimore residents at risk. Processed kratom products perform similarly to opioids, operating on the same brain receptors and carrying the same risks of dependency and abuse. The defendants' kratom products were marketed and sold throughout Baltimore using promotional language touting their safety and health, wellness, and therapeutic benefits, without disclosure of known safety hazards associated with its use, including the risk of addiction.
"Kratom is harmful and addictive, but these companies have marketed it as an 'organic' health supplement, misleading our residents into becoming addicted to a substance that behaves like an opioid," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "This is a clear public health risk- and a clear violation of the Consumer Protection Ordinance. We are committed to holding these companies accountable, while at the same time providing resources and support to residents dealing with substance use disorder."
The complaint alleges that three affiliated companies- JOpen LLC, Martian Sales LLC, and Pur Botanicals LLC- produce and market O.P.M.S. brand kratom products with materially incomplete and misleading statements and disclosures concerning the products' actual safety risks. Kratom products have been associated with abuse, self-harming behavior, overdoses, and addiction, among other mental and physical health risks. The defendants have marketed O.P.M.S. kratom products as safe, natural, and organic means of procuring pain relief, mood enhancement, focus, productivity, and relief from stress while enhancing mood and relaxation. However, the defendants have failed to disclose, and misrepresented, the true risks of O.P.M.S. kratom consumption, which include dependency and other ailments arising out of the products' activation of the same brain receptors on which prescription opioid medications work.
The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City by the City's Affirmative Litigation unit and outside counsel Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. and Gordon, Wolf & Carney LLP, seeks civil penalties and other remedies available under the Consumer Protection Ordinance.
"Health and wellness supplements have a legitimate place in Baltimore's marketplace, but O.P.M.S. kratom products are falsely and deceptively labeled and marketed," said City Solicitor Ebony M. Thompson. "If a product is offered for sale, it has to be done honestly and consumers have a right to know the risks of what they are consuming."
The kratom market has ballooned in size in recent years. Current estimates provide that U.S. consumers are spending about $2 billion annually on kratom products, with average consumers in the market spending $880 per person per year. The State of Maryland passed a law, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, in 2024 imposing restrictions on the sale and advertising of kratom products. In 2026, the City prohibited sales of kratom products in Baltimore, effective July 2026. Neither law holds manufacturers and distributors accountable for pre-enactment conduct; the City's Consumer Protection Ordinance allows for such accountability to be established.
"Through this lawsuit, we seek to determine legal accountability and to ensure the City's legal responsibilities in protecting the consumer marketplace, and the public health, are fully realized," said Kyle McGee of Grant & Eisenhofer, outside counsel for the City.
A copy of the complaint is available online here.
The legal team in this matter is led by the Baltimore City Law Department's Ebony M. Thompson, Sara Gross, and Thomas Webb; Kyle McGee, Kelly Tucker, Laina Herbert, and Ana Martin of Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.; and Richard Gordon and Ben Carney of Gordon, Wolf & Carney LLP.