Kratom testing now available to address growing designer drug use trend

Dominion Diagnostics, a national provider of drug testing, medication monitoring, and clinical support services, has launched new testing that will detect Kratom use. The company’s existing designer drug testing menu also includes the detection of synthetic cannabinoids (Spice/K2) and synthetic cathinones (bath salts).

In Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, and other areas of Southeast Asian, Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa korth), an indigenous tree, has been used as an herbal drug for decades by natives. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Kratom is considered a national drug of concern as there is no legitimate medical use for Kratom in the United States. Kratom has been described as producing both stimulant and sedative effects.

Dominion's testing for Kratom will detect mitragynine, the primary active alkaloid of the Kratom plant. Detection of mitragynine will be performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with automatic reflex of positive samples to liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS).

Dominion is also releasing a new testing profile to detect Ketamine (also known as "K" or "Special K"), a dissociative anesthetic that has gained recent popularity as a drug of abuse. Ketamine is a Schedule III non-narcotic substance under the DEA's Controlled Substances Act. Dominion will offer detection of parent drug Ketamine and its metabolites by LC/MS/MS.