Six weeks before NBA player Brandon Clarke of the Memphis Grizzlies died mysteriously in Los Angeles this spring at the age of 29, he was pulled over in Arkansas for fleeing from the police, who said he was driving well over 100 miles per hour in his new Corvette. CBS News was first to publish the dramatic, never-before-seen body camera footage. Once Clarke did eventually pull over, he was handcuffed and put in the back of the Cross County sheriff deputy's patrol vehicle.
Officers searched Clarke's car and found several large bags of clear capsules containing a green powdery substance, according to a police report. The bags were labeled "100% Pure Mitragyna Speciosa," with names such as "The Juice," "Gold Rhino," "Pure Green" and "Euflooria." In the back of the police vehicle, Clarke told officers: "It's just kratom." Kratom is an herbal extract that comes from the leaves of an evergreen tree called Mitragyna speciosa that grows in Southeast Asia, according to the Mayo Clinic. Kratom has been used for centuries and has been known to help manage pain.
But in its new manufactured form, skeptics call kratom "gas station heroin" because it can be highly addictive . Clarke spent much of the last three years injured. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2023 and underwent two procedures on his right knee in 2025.
This year, he missed games with a strained right calf and the team had said he was out for the season. The Drug Enforcement Administration says kratom produces stimulant effects in low doses and sedative effects in high doses, and can lead to psychotic symptoms, and psychological and physiological dependence. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that using kratom can cause serious adverse events like liver toxicity and seizures.
In rare cases, the FDA says deaths have been associated with kratom use when combined with other drugs. Kratom is primarily regulated at the state level. In many states, it is legal to buy, but in Arkansas, kratom is illegal and is classified as a Schedule I drug.
At the time of Clarke's arrest, kratom was legal in neighboring Tennessee, where he played. In addition to kratom, police said they found a THC vape pen containing a brown liquid that tested positive for marijuana in Clarke's car. Clarke was charged with two felonies: trafficking a controlled substance and fleeing in a vehicle.
He was also charged with three misdemeanors. Six weeks after that arrest, Clarke died in Los Angeles on May 11. Did kratom play a role in Clarke's death?
The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner is investigating. Officially, the status of the case is "deferred." In an email, the medical examiner's office said: "When a case is deferred, it means a deputy medical examiner completed an examination but requested additional testing and/or studies in order to make a determination. Due to the ongoing death investigation, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner cannot disclose what testing and/or studies were requested.
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