Mike the Mad Biologist

Markwayne has been a very naughty boy (boldface mine):

For years, federal health officials have warned about the risks associated with a supplement derived from the leaves of kratom trees that adherents say can kill pain or boost energy. Sold in gas stations across America, kratom has been linked to liver toxicity, seizures and thousands of deaths.

Powerful figures close to President Trump, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, pushed to downplay those concerns.

Mr. Mullin, until recently a Republican senator from Oklahoma, played a key role in a sprawling influence campaign spearheaded by the kratom industry that courted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice President JD Vance, among others in the Trump administration, an investigation by The New York Times found.

Only when he was nominated by Mr. Trump in March to lead the Homeland Security Department did it become clear that Mr. Mullin had a financial connection to the supplement. In a disclosure statement, he listed an investment worth as much as $1 million in a kratom company, Botanic Tonics, that could benefit from the changes he has sought.

The company’s founder, Jerry W. Ross — who had been an energy executive in Mr. Mullin’s home state before pleading guilty to a financial crime — is a leading player in the influence campaign that was devised to benefit kratom at the expense of its rivals in the marketplace…

From 2020 through 2024, kratom was found in the system of more than 5,200 people who died of drug overdoses, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on death certificates and other official reports. Though often found in combination with other drugs, one study determined that those using kratom carried a sixfold increase in the risk of overdose death.

The idea that the head of the Department of Homeland Security has invested in pushing a potentially dangerous drug–one that can be purchased and used without any medical supervision–should be cause for Mullin’s resignation. If he doesn’t resign, impeach him.

Aside: Of course there’s an HHS Secretary Kennedy grift angle too:

To others working on the issue, Mr. Ross highlighted his relationship with Mr. Kennedy, indicating that he was planning to enlist the incoming secretary in efforts to influence the administration, according to one associate.

In the weeks around the inauguration, Mr. Ross donated nearly $162,000 to Mr. Kennedy’s defunct presidential campaign, exceeding by many times his total federal political giving to that point.

MAHA, indeed.