Warnings by company state drink is addictive, police warn about driving under influence, health leaders say ingredient unsafe
ILLINOIS – New Brew, a non-alcoholic seltzer claiming euphoric effects, has been banned in Indiana but is available in surrounding states including Illinois. The beverage’s active ingredients, kava and kratom, interact with brain receptors, producing effects that are felt despite the drink being alcohol-free.
The website for the new drink states that the two main ingredients come from “powerful plants with real effects”. These are Kava and Kratom. While they discuss the plants and potenial affects, nowhere on the site does it state that the drink is safe. It does provide a statement that says Kratom is legal in the United States at a “federal level,” although it is not legal in some states and other countries.
The website also includes a discussion about the DEA trying to prohibit the sale and use of Kratom in 2016, claiming that “congressional pushback and mounting clinical evidence showing its [Kratom’s] safety” caused the DEA to reverse it’s position. It then says that “the stricter scheduling of kratom that would have prompted that sort of ban never occurred.”