VIDEO – IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE –
April 21, 2026 – The social media ad for a 2-ounce tonic called “Feel Free” caught Melanie Clark’s attention because it promised she could eliminate drinking from her life while still feeling a buzz.
“It was just advertised as a healthy, natural botanical drink.” It spoke to the 35-year-old Upper Peninsula woman’s healthy-living sensibilities.
But the ingredients in the tiny shot-size bottle almost killed her, according to Clark and her family. Feel Free is a brand of kratom, an unregulated substance derived from a tree plant in Southeast Asia that is sold in liquid concentrate, tablets and capsules at tobacco shops and convenience stores with the promise of mind-stimulating focus, alertness and energy. Some strains of kratom are also marketed for pain management, as a herbal alternative to doctor-prescribed narcotics.
