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1 year ago
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Tanya Stone died just two weeks shy of her 37th birthday.
On her autopsy, the coroner wrote that she had suffered a cardiac arrest brought about by 'acute mitragynine intoxication,' the main ingredient in kratom - the highly addictive herb originally grown in Asia.
Stone's grieving sister and mother reached out to local station Boston 25 after seeing they had done a report on concerns about kratom.
The mother-daughter-duo are pushing for regulation of the legal drug and establishing a minimum age to buy it.
In a televised interview, Catherine Stone showed the local TV crew her daughter's ashes: 'It's something I look at every day to remind me of her.'
Tanya Stone, 36, of Boston died last July after becoming dependent upon kratom - a highly addictive herb from Asia
Tanya's mother, Catherine (left) and sister Sabrina (right) discussed her devastating passing because of kratom, something she discovered when she was looking for a natural painkiller
Catherine and Sabrina Stone - her sister - say Tanya suffered from chronic back pain following multiple surgeries, which had brought down her usually sparkly spirit in recent years.
They say she never used drugs and was opposed to taking prescription painkillers, which led her to research 'natural' alternatives.
It was then that Tanya began purchasing kratom from a store in Pennsylvania that shipped it to her home in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Her sister said that in the moment Tanya took the herbal remedy she would say she was better, 'But overall, her life quality, I saw it taking a dip. She wasn’t interacting with people anymore. She was more moody, agitated.'
About a year after Tanya began using kratom, she passed away.
Through sobs, her mother recalled the day she died: 'I went to her room. She said 'Ma, I’ve got a stomachache.' She said 'I don’t know what’s wrong.''
An ambulance was called to the scene, but Catherine said she watched her daughter pass before emergency medical technicians arrived.
'She said, 'I can’t hear, I can’t breathe,' takes two breaths, closes her eyes. She was gone,' recounted her mother.
Catherine said Tanya was her daughter, but also her best friend, 'and I had to watch her die in front of me.'
Tanya had begun taking kratom about a year before her death to help with pain she was experiencing after several back surgeries
Kratom, according to medical professionals, is a highly addictive herb originally grown in Asia
Tanya's mom and sister are now hoping to raise awareness about kratom that leads to regulations being put into place
On her death certificate, the coroner wrote that Tanya had died of cardiac arrest brought about by 'acute mitragynine intoxication' - the main ingredient in kratom
Tanya bought kratom from a supplier in Pennsylvania, who shipped the addictive herb to her in Massachusetts
Tanya's family say they are certain kratom is to blame for her premature death.
'That’s what was in her system. That’s what killed her. It’s on her death certificate,' said Catherine.
Now, the family have hired an attorney who is working on about 20 wrongful death lawsuits including kratom. They hope to get the drug regulated.
They want to ensure that children can't get access to it, and that selling it becomes a highly regulated process.
'It has to be regulated. It has to be tested. It has to be it has to be controlled. It really does, because people are dying from it,' said Catherine.
'There's not enough awareness. And I'm hoping this helps out somehow,' said Sabrina.
English (US)