A family in the United States has issued a stark warning after their 23-year-old son died from an overdose of a herbal supplement that caused his skin and internal organs to turn a shocking shade of green.
A Search for Natural Relief Ends in Tragedy
Dominic Roose, a labourer from Pella, Iowa, had a long-standing battle with severe social anxiety. In search of a ‘natural’ alternative to manage his symptoms, he turned to the internet and purchased kratom, a herbal product used by an estimated 15 million people globally. Having previously struggled with alcohol, Dominic soon developed a dependency on the substance, progressively increasing his doses.
On a day in December 2023, Dominic took kratom at his home and rapidly fell ill. Emergency services rushed to the scene and attempted resuscitation, but he had suffered cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead shortly after at Knoxville Hospital & Clinics in Iowa.
The Shocking Autopsy Discovery
In the immediate aftermath, doctors advised Dominic’s parents, Doug and Kristal, not to view his body. The reason for this grim recommendation became clear weeks after his funeral when the autopsy results were returned.
"Dom’s internal organs were green from the kratom use, and his skin was turning green too," his mother Kristal revealed to The Sun. "That’s why they thought we shouldn’t see him. They didn’t want us traumatised by just how much he’d been hiding from us about how ill and sick he was with the addiction."
A Patchwork of Regulation and a Family's Campaign
The legal status of kratom varies dramatically. In the United Kingdom, it is classified as a psychoactive substance, making its import, export, or sale for human consumption a criminal offence. Conversely, regulations in the United States are far more relaxed, differing by state, with the substance sometimes available for purchase in places like petrol stations.
As they face a third Christmas without their son, Dominic’s family is campaigning to raise awareness of kratom's potential dangers. They stress that the term ‘natural’ is not synonymous with ‘safe’.
Kristal believes the system failed her son due to a widespread lack of knowledge. "The addiction centres had barely heard of it; they didn’t even have plans for how to treat addictions to it. He had nowhere to turn," she explained.
Their warning is echoed by official health bodies. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised against using kratom due to risks of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.
