ANDREW KIRSCHENBAUM

THE TOLL OF KRATOM

American use of the Southeast Asian plant kratom has grown dramatically in recent years, spurring both a lucrative industry and national lobbying effort while worrying health experts who fear its addictive effects and point to thousands of related deaths. In this Bloomberg Originals documentary, we reveal how the unregulated substance is being promoted and even made more potent, and how some users are ending up dead. 

INFO

Documentary short / 29 mins / 2024

Executive Producer: Baldwin Tang, Alex Gittleson, Tre Shallowhorn & Kyle Kramer

Producer: Michael Byhoff & Henry Baker

Editor: Mark Hall

DP: Andrew Kirschenbaum, David Dominguez & Timothy Radek

Camera Operator: Caleb Weiss, David de Souza, Alexander Thornburg

Camera (Indonesia): Yonas Reynald, Abrian Maulana Azmi, Sigit Tri Handaya

Editorial Consultant: Tiffany Kary, Immanual John Milton & Teresa Xie

Sound: Joshua Neal & Kyle Garvey

Series Producer: Leila Hussain

Indonesia Field Producer: Kresna Astraatmadja

Motion Designer: Brandon Smith

Color: Patrick Woodward

Researcher: Lila Hassan

Consulting Producer: Raymond Schillinger

Creative Director: Rumba Shakir

Editorial Supervisor: David E. Rovella