PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing the maker of a product marketed as an energy drink, contending the company failed to disclose that it contains kratom and kava, ingredients Mayes claims can cause dependence, illness and, in some cases, death.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court alleges that Botanic Tonics, which sells the product known as “feel free” at gas stations and convenience stores, is deceptively marketing its product and concealing its potential health risks.

State lawmakers have rejected efforts to impose tighter restrictions on kratom, and there are none on kava. Even so, Mayes, who is suing under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, argues that companies still cannot sell products containing these ingredients without disclosing that to customers. 

Kratom, which is derived from a tree in Southeast Asia, acts like a mild stimulant in low doses and has a sedative effect in high doses, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Kava, derived from the roots of a plant native to the South Pacific region, is commonly marketed as a relaxant and is not considered a controlled substance.

Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, said that the state Department of Health has counted 146 kratom-related deaths between 2020 and 2023.

“It’s a public health threat,” he said.

The lawsuit does not ask the court to take the product off the market. Instead, Mayes wants Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Adele Ponce to order Botanic Tonics to stop engaging in what she called deceptive, misleading or unfair acts — including omitting those two ingredients — when the product is sold in Arizona.

She also wants financial compensation for people in Arizona who purchased the drug and suffered side effects.

The company did not immediately respond on Wednesday.

“Feel free” is one of many products found at gas stations and convenience stores, marketed as a mood enhancer or stimulant. But Mayes alleges the product’s marketing hides the risks associated with the ingredients.

The beverage is marketed as a “kava drink” made with kava and “other ancient plants” — in this case, kratom, according to the lawsuit. But kratom is not mentioned as an ingredient.

“Describing ‘feel free’ as a kava drink is akin to describing a gin and tonic simply as tonic,” the lawsuit states.

“Kratom can produce opioid-like effects and carries risks including dependence, addiction, and withdrawal,” according to the lawsuit. It also presents health risks, “particularly when consumed in concentrated amounts or in combination with other substances.”

Mayes also accuses the company of promoting the drink as an alternative to alcohol, including to people seeking sobriety, “without adequately disclosing that they were substituting one substance presenting risks of dependence, addiction, and withdrawal for another.”

She also takes issue with the packaging, which she argues is designed to look like products such as 5-Hour ENERGY, a legal product that uses caffeine as its stimulant.

Mayes also said the company’s owner, Jerry Ross, knew that some consumers experienced problems with the product and, at one point early on, he put his personal telephone number on packages.

“Yet rather than adequately disclose these risks, defendants built and expanded the market for ‘feel free’ by presenting the product to Arizonans in ways that obscured its nature and risks,” the attorney general said.