American Shaman Lawsuit: Missouri AG Suit, TRO, and Settlement

The biggest American Shaman lawsuit was filed on March 31, 2026, when Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sued CBD American Shaman, its affiliated companies, and founder Stephen Vincent Sanders II in Jackson County Circuit Court, alleging the Kansas City-based company deceptively marketed the concentrated kratom alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a safe, natural alternative to opioids. The case ended roughly two months later in a June 4, 2026 settlement in which Shaman Botanicals LLC agreed to immediately stop selling kratom and 7-OH products to Missouri consumers, drop all Missouri-targeted retail advertising, and face a $5 million penalty if it violates the deal.¹

What the State Alleged

According to the petition, American Shaman manufactured and sold 7-OH on an “industrial scale” while marketing it as safe and natural. The Attorney General said the company handed out free samples “for the purpose of addicting potential customers,” comparing the tactic to the drug-pusher line, “The first hit is free.”²

Product labels, the state alleged, dismissed reports of addiction as merely “anecdotal,” described the products as offering “predictability and safety,” and compared their effect to “happy hour, but without the hangover.” Overdose risk went unmentioned. Testing, the state said, showed some products contained psychoactive alkaloid concentrations significantly higher than the labels claimed.³

The suit rested on three theories. It alleged violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, argued that kratom and its alkaloids qualify as controlled substance analogues under Missouri’s Comprehensive Drug Control Act, and asked the court to declare four of the company’s Kansas City warehouses a “drug den public nuisance” and shut them down.⁴

The Harm Missouri Pointed To

Hanaway said 7-OH products “have resulted in the deaths of Missouri residents,” and the state submitted health data linking synthetic 7-OH to at least 197 deaths in Missouri. The evidence included a sworn statement from a woman whose brother died from a kratom overdose and a statement from an undercover Missouri Highway Patrol officer who said 7-OH was being used to cut fentanyl.⁵

The Attorney General cited an FDA finding that 7-OH produces “respiratory depression with more than 3-fold greater potency than morphine.” Missouri’s Chief Medical Officer, Heidi Miller, described “serious health consequences linked to its use, including dependency, dangerous interactions with other substances and life-threatening toxicity.” The state also pointed to CDC data showing hospitalizations from kratom exposure rose 1,200 percent between 2015 and 2025.²

Why the Judge Didn’t Immediately Halt Sales

The Attorney General asked for a temporary restraining order to stop sales right away. On May 8, 2026, Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles McKenzie denied that motion. He said the court could not decide whether the state was likely to succeed on the merits because both sides had submitted “competing affidavits” from qualified experts, and he wanted live testimony first.⁶

American Shaman submitted statements from five toxicology and addiction experts who argued there was not enough evidence of a public health crisis. One said she had never heard of 7-OH being used to cut fentanyl. Sanders provided his own statement citing “enormous” consumer demand for 7-OH products for pain management and the company’s substantial financial investment. Judge McKenzie denied the TRO without prejudice, leaving the state free to renew the request.⁵

How the Case Settled

Less than a month after the TRO ruling, the two sides announced a deal. On June 4, 2026, Shaman Botanicals LLC (doing business as American Shaman) agreed to immediately suspend all sales of kratom and its alkaloids to Missouri consumers, both in physical stores and online. The company also agreed to pull all Missouri-targeted retail advertising, including billboards, and to put internal controls in place within 30 days to block future retail sales in the state.¹

The enforcement mechanism sits at the center of the agreement. If American Shaman breaches the terms and does not immediately fix the violation, the Attorney General can invoke a $5 million penalty.⁷ The settlement is not an admission of liability, and no court found the defendants liable.¹

The Attorney General reached a parallel agreement with Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, a Kansas City distribution company owned by Dustin Robinson with business partners Stephen Sanders III and Ajaykumar Patel. That company was also barred from selling 7-OH and related kratom alkaloids in Missouri, subject to the same $5 million penalty for violations.⁸

Federal Actions Running Alongside the State Case

Federal authorities were already moving on American Shaman’s 7-OH business when Missouri filed suit. In November 2025, the FDA conducted unannounced inspections of the company’s Kansas City-area warehouses and detained roughly 76,000 units of 7-OH products.⁹

On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Marshals Service, working with the FDA, seized approximately 73,000 units of 7-OH from three warehouses operated by Shaman Botanicals and Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading. The seizure was carried out under a civil forfeiture complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, which alleged the products were adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. No criminal charges had been filed as of the seizure date, but the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said the government would “pursue all possible civil and criminal remedies.”¹⁰

In February 2026, Shaman Botanicals issued a voluntary nationwide recall of its Advanced Alkaloids Chewable Tablets (White Vein, Lot B# AAW.501.3) after testing revealed 7-OH amounts exceeding the 7.5 mg per tablet declared on the label. The company acknowledged the undeclared concentration could cause consumers to ingest a higher dose than intended.¹¹

On July 29, 2025, the FDA formally recommended that the DEA classify 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary called 7-OH an “opioid that can be more potent than morphine.” The FDA said the recommendation was “not focused on natural kratom leaf products,” drawing a line between concentrated 7-OH and botanical kratom. The DEA is reviewing the recommendation, and no final scheduling decision has been made.¹²

Other Lawsuits and Penalties Against American Shaman

The 7-OH case was not the company’s first legal trouble. If you arrived here from a different case, several other actions are worth knowing about.

Heavy Metals Class Action (2020)

In May 2020, Michael Davis of Broward County, Florida, filed a proposed class action in federal court alleging American Shaman’s CBD products contained undisclosed heavy metals (copper, nickel, and lead) and that tinctures tested positive for yeast and mold at levels three times higher than allowable limits. The suit accused the company of falsely marketing its products as “all natural.” Davis sought more than $5 million in damages under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, among other claims. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case in August 2020.¹³

Deceptive Marketing Class Action (2025)

A separate class action, Korte et al v. CBD American Shaman, LLC, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. The plaintiffs alleged the company deceptively marketed 7-OH as safe while knowing it was highly addictive. The lead plaintiffs voluntarily dropped the suit, and the case was dismissed by December 2025.¹⁴

FDA Warning Letter (2022)

In November 2022, the FDA issued a warning letter to CBD American Shaman and CEO Stephen Vincent Sanders II. The agency said the company’s CBD-infused foods (suckers, cookies, and sparkling beverages) were adulterated, its CBD sunscreen was an unapproved new drug, and its animal products (tinctures and chewables for dogs, cats, and horses) were unapproved new animal drugs. Testing of one cookie product showed CBD levels nearly double the amount declared on the label.¹⁵

EPA Pesticide Fine (2023)

In December 2023, the EPA fined the company $120,720 for selling unregistered antimicrobial products called “Shaman Cleansing Wash” and “Shaman Cleansing Gel” in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Inspectors found the violations at an Overland Park, Kansas, retail location and the Kansas City headquarters. As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to donate $250,000 in medical supplies over five years to a Kansas City nonprofit.¹⁶

The Company and Its Founder

CBD American Shaman was founded around 2015 by Vince Sanders (full name Stephen Vincent Sanders II) in Kansas City, Missouri. Sanders opened one of the country’s first CBD retail stores in the Crossroads district in 2016 and expanded through a franchise model. By 2020, the company reportedly had about 500 franchise locations across more than 30 states. Franchisees were required to buy products exclusively from the company’s manufacturing arm, Shaman Botanicals.¹⁷¹⁸

Sanders’s earlier record was part of the Attorney General’s picture of the company. Around 2000, he was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for organizing and financing a marijuana trafficking scheme prosecutors valued at $2.5 million. He served roughly half that sentence after cooperating with federal authorities, providing information that led to the arrest of a Tucson-based drug supplier. Before founding American Shaman, Sanders ran a title loan business in the 1990s and a teeth-whitening operation that the Kansas Dental Board sued to shut down in 2011, alleging he was practicing dentistry without a license.¹⁷

The Missouri lawsuit described a “web of businesses” sharing personnel, office space, and warehouse facilities under Sanders’s control. The named manufacturer defendants included Shaman Botanicals LLC, CBD American Shaman LLC, SVS Enterprises LLC, American Shaman Online LLC, American Shaman Ecommerce LLC, and Konig Products LLC, which does business as “Advanced Alkaloids.” The suit also named four property owners as defendants for allegedly permitting a “drug den nuisance” on their premises.³

1
Missouri Attorney General. American Shaman Agrees to Suspend Sales of Kratom and 7-OH in Missouri
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Missouri Attorney General. Attorney General Hanaway Files Suit Against American Shaman
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Missouri Attorney General. Petition for Injunction, Civil Penalties, and Other Relief
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Missouri Independent. Missouri Attorney General Sues American Shaman to Stop Sale of Kratom, 7-OH Products
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Missouri Independent. Kansas City-Based American Shaman Agrees to Stop Selling Kratom and 7-OH
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Springfield News-Leader. Missouri Judge Denies American Shaman Kratom Sales Ban
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KSMU. Kansas City-Based American Shaman Agrees to Stop Selling Kratom and 7-OH
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Missouri Independent. Missouri Settlements Halt Sales of Concentrated Kratom Product 7-OH
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Missouri Independent. Feds Seize Thousands of 7-OH Products From Kansas City Warehouses
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U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Seizes Unlawful 7-OH Products From Three Warehouses
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Shaman Botanicals LLC Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Alkaloids Chewable Tablets White Vein
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Takes Steps to Restrict 7-OH Opioid Products Threatening American Consumers
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ClassAction.org. Class Action Claims All Natural CBD American Shaman Products Contain Multiple Heavy Metals
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Law360. Korte et al v. CBD American Shaman, LLC, et al.
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CBD American Shaman, LLC Warning Letter
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Fines Kansas City-Based CBD American Shaman LLC for Violating Federal Pesticide Law
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Kansas City Star. American Shaman Kansas City
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KCUR. The Man Behind Kansas City’s Fastest Growing CBD Chain