Kratom does not show up on a standard 5-panel, 7-panel, or 10-panel drug test. These screening programs can not detect Kratom and its metabolites in your blood, urine, hair, or saliva. However, specialized tests like chromatography or ELISA can detect traces of kratom in your urine. Still, Kratom is not safe to use and has the addiction potential. It’s important to consult a drug rehab expert in NJ if you have developed a dependency on it.
Highlights
- Kratom is used for relieving pain or alleviating opioid withdrawal symptoms
- It is either chewed, insufflated, brewed in teas, or crushed in capsules
- Kratom shows up only on lab-based analytical methods or specified 7 hydroxy mitragynine or mitragynine drug tests
- Employers rarely test for kratom, but probation officers, military, or DOT may test you for kratom
Table of Contents
What Is Kratom?
Kratom comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa plant, which is native to Southeast Asia but is now very common in the Western world, including the United States. It is used off-label to relieve pain and detox from opioids. At low doses, Kratom is a stimulant, but higher dosages produce sedative effects like opioids. Although it contains many chemicals (alkaloids), the most potent ones are mitragynine and 7‐hydroxymitragynine. The leaves are used in the following ways:
- Brewed in tea
- Chewed
- Powder
- Smoked/Insufflated
- Taken in capsules
Will Kratom Show Up On A Drug Test?
Whether Kratom will show up on a drug test or not depends on the type of screening conducted. The traditional test would not come positive for it, but a specified test can confirm Kratom’s presence in your body.
Types of Drug Tests Conducted
Drug tests are the tool that screens the presence of controlled substances in your system from urine, blood, hair, or saliva samples. Testing positive confirms the presence of respective substances (such as heroin, weed, or opioids) in your body. Following are a few common drug tests conducted by employers, probation officers, or transport departments:
5-panel: Test for the metabolite of marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, cocaine, and opiates.
7-panel: Screens for benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and the metabolites of the 5-panel test.
10-panel: Looks for methadone, propoxyphene, and quaaludes in your system in combination with the ones that 7-panel detects.
Executive Clinical Director at ChoicePoint.
Most of the time, employers conduct a 5-panel test. In some cases, people working in pediatrics, aviation, or the military may be required to undergo an extended version of tests, including 5, 10, 12, 16, or even 20-panel.
Specified Test For Screening Kratom
Kratom does not show up on any test in blood, hair, or saliva samples but a few lab-based analytical methods can detect kratom in urine. These could be:
LC-HRMS
LC-HRMS (Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrophotometry): It identifies Mitragynine and other metabolites of Kratom from your urine.
ELISA
(Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay) screens for AZ122 protein in your urine. AZ122 protein is the biomarker for Kratom signaling the active use of Kratom.
Executive Clinical Director at ChoicePoint.
Although kratom will not show up on a 5 or 10-panel test, it can create a false positive result for other opioids such as methadone. Law enforcement agencies can specific tests for mitragynine and other alkaloids of kratom if needed.
How Long Does Kratom Stay In Your System?
Kratom is detectable in urine for about 5 days until the last use. However, it is important to note that this product is still new to the market, and there are no rich studies available on its interactions and distribution, so there is no final answer. But it is a known fact for now that each alkaloid has a different duration in your body. Here is the breakdown:
Mitragynine: Has a half-life of 24–45 hours, which means, it can take about a week for all of it to be eliminated.
7-hydroxymitragynine: Has a half of about 5.75 hours, which means it will flush out of your body quite quickly.
Other Alkaloids: Have 12–18 hours of a half-life and can flush out quickly.
Factors That Determine Kratom’s Stay In Your Body
The exact time it will remain in your body will also depend on:
- Last Dosage
- Frequency of intake
- Mode of intake
- Your metabolism
- Interactions with other drugs
If you have a kratom drug test ahead, it is important to stop taking it for 10 days to pass the test.
The Different Drug Panels
Is Taking Kratom Safe?
Taking kratom is not safe. You should remember that Kratom is not an FDA-approved medicine for managing pain or other ailments. In fact, the FDA has warned about taking liquid kratom and clearly stated that it can:
- Damage the liver
- Affect your breathing
- Might even result in death
Taking mega doses of Kratom produces euphoria, which is the reason there is a growing number of Kratom abuse cases in the United States. Some of the side effects of abusing Kratom are:
- Aggressiveness
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Constipation
- Itching
- Psychiatric disorders
- Overdose
Kratom Abuse Treatment In NJ
Instead of worrying about whether your Kratom use will show on the drug or not, it is important to take steps to treat kratom addiction by contacting an addiction treatment center in NJ such as ChoicePoint, located in Fair Lawn. Although we are a Fair Lawn rehab, we provide telehealth addiction treatment services so you can recover from anywhere. Here is a quick overview of the treatments we offer:
Dual Diagnosis: To help address psychological and physical at the same time
Intensive Outpatient Program: Provides structured care for 9 hours a week based on your schedule
Evening IOP near you: Allows you to overcome kratom misuse without missing on school home or work commitments
Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment: Requires you to attend treatment sessions for fewer hours than IOP
Please note this assessment is an initial self-screening, and it is not meant to be a medical assessment or clinical diagnosis of addiction. For proper diagnosis and treatment, schedule an appointment with ChoicePoint.
Will Kratom Show Up On A Drug Test? Diving Deeper
Learn more about the effects of Kratom and how you can avoid putting yourself in danger:
What Happens When You Take Benzo With Kratom?
Both benzo, (benzodiazepines) and Kratom inhibit the cellular pathway that protects your body from toxins. Taking the two together can exponentially hinder your ability to clean off harmful substances, resulting in:
- Intoxication
- Respiratory depression
- Death
Can You Take Kratom After Suboxone?
Suboxone is an FDA-approved medication to treat opioid addiction. It consists of Buprenorphine, which makes it a partial opioid agonist. Kratom also acts as an opioid in high dosages. Taking Kratom during the Suboxone treatment can result in precipitated opioid withdrawals. If you want to take Kratom for pain management, then it’s important not to self-medicate. Instead, contact your doctor to know what medication can help you relieve pain.
Can Kratom Make You Gain Weight?
Kratom does not cause weight gain, rather it can play some role in reducing your waist circumference and overall weight. Research suggests that this is potentially possible because Kratom is involved in the following:
- Improves the metabolism syndrome
- Boosts energy, leading to physical activity
- Suppresses appetite
However, more research is required to understand Kratom’s role in governing metabolism.
Can You Take Kratom And CBD At The Same Time?
The limited research conducted on the interaction between kratom and cannabinoids (CBD)/ THC suggests it is not entirely safe to take them together. The clinical trials conducted on male rats revealed that taking CBD and Kratom found an increased amount of Kratom alkaloids in the bloodstream, which can:
- Delay its action
- Produce an intensified euphoria
Can Kratom Cause Hair Loss?
Kratom does not directly affect your hair growth, but since it can cause stress, and disrupt the hormonal balance, taking capsules, tea, or chewing it can result in hair loss.
How Long Does Kratom High Last?
Kratom high can last anywhere between 1.5 hours to 10 hours depending on dose, strain, and mode of ingestion. At low doses (less than 5 grams), kratom acts as a stimulant and the high produced remains for a short period. However, taking increased doses of 5 grams or more makes kratom an opioid, and the euphoria produced may last for about 10 hours.
Additional Resources
- Suboxone For Kratom Withdrawal
- 30-Day Drug Rehab Near Me
- 3-Month Rehab Program Near Me
- Alcohol And Drug Detox Centers Near Me That Accept Medicaid
- THC Detox
- IOP Near You
- Rehabs That Accept BCBS In NJ
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Outpatient Rehab
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Drug Rehab Coverage
- Marijuana Withdrawal Symptoms
- Do Edibles Show Up in a Drug Test?
References
- Drug Testing and Analysis. 2022. Drug testing for mitragynine and kratom: Analytical challenges and medico‐legal considerations
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10098727 - U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Controlled Substances Program
https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/cder-offices-and-divisions/controlled-substances-program - American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2020. A Kratom Metabolite Causes False Positive Urine Drug Screening Results for Methadone
https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/154/Supplement_1/S19/5942516 - Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry. 2023. Development and validation of ELISA for screening of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) habitual users using urinary AZ122 biomarker
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35931067/ - Pharmaceutics. 2022. Clinical Pharmacokinetic Assessment of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a Botanical Product with Opioid-like Effects, in Healthy Adult Participants
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8950611/ - U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2024. FDA Warns Consumers Not to Use Optimized Plant Mediated Solutions (OPMS) Black Liquid Kratom
https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-warns-consumers-not-use-optimized-plant-mediated-solutions-opms-black-liquid-kratom - American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2022. Past-Year Kratom Use in the U.S.: Estimates From a Nationally Representative Sample
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8319032/ - Heliyon. 2022. Association between kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) use and metabolic syndrome
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9124704
Medical Disclaimer:
ChoicePoint aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use disorder and mental health issues. Our team of licensed medical professionals research, edit and review the content before publishing. However, this information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For medical advice please consult your physicians or ChoicePoint's qualified staff.