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Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Romulo Torres filed a class action lawsuit against Botanic Tonics LLC and 7-Eleven Inc.
- Why: Botanic Tonics allegedly misrepresents its Feel Free Wellness Tonic as non-addictive, failing to disclose that one of its ingredients is potentially highly addictive.
- Where: The Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
Botanic Tonics advertises its “Feel Free Wellness Tonic” as a safe and healthy alternative to alcohol, but fails to disclose that one of its ingredients is potentially highly addictive, a class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Romulo Torres says he chose to purchase Botanic Tonics Feel Free based on representations that the tonic is a kava drink and that the beverage is no more habit forming than sugar or caffeine.
However, Torres says the primary ingredient in Botanic Tonics Feel Free is kratom, not kava.
“Kratom is an opioid that carries similar risks of addiction as controlled narcotics,” according to the Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration have both reportedly warned that kratom can lead to addiction and can pose adverse side effects.
The Botanic Tonics class action notes that kratom is associated with a number of side effects, ranging from nausea, sweating, and constipation to more severe side effects such as high blood pressure, liver failure, hallucinations, psychosis, cardiac arrest, and coma.
“Unbeknownst to consumers, Botanic Tonics not only added kratom in large amounts, but also manipulated the formula of Feel Free to magnify the effects of kratom and induce a quicker, longer-lasting, and greater high,” the Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit states.
Botanic Tonics allegedly failed to disclose the amount or concentration of kratom in the Feel Free tonics, potentially putting consumers at risk of significant side effects.
Plaintiff says he developed Botanic Tonics Feel Free addiction and relapsed to cope with withdrawal symptoms
Torres says he has suffered from alcoholism and is now sober. In 2020, he says he began seeing targeted Botanic Tonics Feel Free advertisements on social media, advertising the product as a safe and healthy alternative to alcohol.
He purchased Botanic Tonics Feel Free from a 7-11 store and allegedly developed a strong addiction to the product within three months. He was allegedly spending about $3,000 per month on the product and experienced withdrawal when he tried to stop using the tonic. He says he relapsed to cope with the worsening withdrawal symptoms.
“Feel Free has caused [Torres] to lose his job, had severe impacts on his family life, and has undermined his decades of work in recovery,” the Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit asserts.
Torres filed the Botanic Tonics class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed class of others who purchased Botanic Tonics Feel Free in California since March 28, 2019.
Last fall, a federal judge dismissed some claims from a class action lawsuit against 7-Eleven that claimed the company falsely advertised some of its products as recyclable.
Have you purchased Botanic Tonics Feel Free products? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
Torres is represented by Robert S. Arns, Jonathan E. Davis, Shounak S. Dharap, and Katherine A. Rabago of Arns Davis Law and Anthony L. Label, Theo Emison, Steven A. Kronenberg, and Jacqueline K. Oh. of The Veen Firm PC.
The Botanic Tonics Feel Free class action lawsuit is Romulo Torres v. Botanic Tonics LLC, et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-01460, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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131 thoughts onBotanic Tonics class action claims Feel Free drink falsely advertised as non-addictive
We began drinking this stuff about 3 years ago. There was not any warnings about Kratom and addiction at that time. Feel Free put most emphasis on the Kava Root, which I researched before drinking. We started using it for that boost of energy and clarity at 1 bottle a day. I asked Feel Free if there was any concern when we started drinking 3 bottles a day and was assured that it was safe.
Now we are dinking 10 bottles a day each and have gone through a lot of money. When we try to ween off, the withdrawal takes over. I went from swimming 30 laps every morning to not getting off of the couch.
I had an opiate addiction years ago and was 10 years sober when I started drinking this stuff. We need help getting off of this stuff. We have spent a huge chunk of our savings to feed the urge. I would have NEVER took a sip had Feel Free been labeled correctly when we first heard of it.
My son is highly addited to this little blue bottle. I made this first purchase for him thinking it would help him get off kratom . It is advertised as kratom free. And non addicting. This is very false and dangerous statement to be made by the company, its further from the truth. It is a very addicting product that has the ability to distroy lives by false advertising.
Feel free has ruined my life I started using it to quit/wean off opms kratom extracts an boy wat a mistake these thing are crazy addictive waaay more so the opms they need to ban all of it but feel free labels flat out lie they recently changed their labels but the damage was already done they are killing me an I can’t stop
Our family has suffered, my husband is addicted to these blue bottles.
I have been drinking these tonics for a long time now and when I first started to drink them I had no idea there was kratom in there. Now it makes sense because of how addictive these things are as I have been trying to get off them for months! I used them first as a curious college student looking for other ways besides alcohol to have fun, and I never would’ve guessed these would lead me to have a more stressed, nauseating, and dry body. I listened to their advertising and thought it was beneficial for work, energy, and also relaxation, but I quickly learned now that these things just mess you up and I wish for justice and this company to be exposed.
I need an attorney ASAP regarding the class action law suit against the product Feel Free. My family has suffered tremendously.
I will say it saddens me to find this thread of comments of other recovering alcoholics going through the same things that I am! I am a recovering addict that kicked heroin and suboxone about 2 years ago! I was unfortunately on Suboxone for 4 years to as the doctors said, “ treat my heroin addiction”! I won’t go into details but when I got off the Suboxone it was the hardest thing I have had to do in my life. Way harder than kicking the heroin! I was successful and stayed off of all opiates for over two years now. Unfortunately I stayed off the opiates but had picked up drinking! I know I was definitely an alcoholic because I drank every night when I got home from work! I was constantly reminded by my loved ones that it was a problem and I needed to do something about it! Man was it costing me a lot of money! I just couldn’t seem to get ahead with the alcohol habit! In February of 2023 I was doom scrolling Instagram reels like I usually do on the weekends I am off work and something interesting caught my attention! It was an instagram reel with what I now know as an affiliate marketer promoting the Feel Free Tonic! He was on the porch of a beautiful serene cabin in the woods of the Arkansas Ozark’s! He was a fit Influencer and very charismatic! His demeanor had me hooked immediately and very intrigued to say the least! He proceeded to say that he found this all natural and organic energy tonic recently called Feel Free! He went on to say he drinks it instead of coffee in his morning routine and even before a workout! He also went on to describe how when he drinks one after getting off work he has no desire to drink at all! He said it will make you not want to drink! So all my guilt, from my drinking and knowing it was a bad habit I had formed, set in! I immediately ordered a case from the link posted on the instagram reel. Which basically took me straight to their website! Ever since that day I have been controlled by feel free! I have tried to stop but withdrawals are just as bad if not worse than Suboxone withdrawals! My skin is peeling dry and red! My eyes and nose are so dry I have to put aquifer on them all day and eye drops! I am so nauseous for most of my day! I think my liver is failing and am going to seek medical attention right away! I know for a fact if I never saw that reel I would have never bought this shit! This companies marketing tactics are flat out wrong and it’s not right! I have the dream job of my life right now and just got a very good raise and position increase. Me and my girlfriend just bought our first house together! How am I going to explain to my employer that I need a month off of work for medical purposes? Im pretty sure I know their answer! I hope no one has to go through this! I definitely do not Feel Free!
I am or was in the same boat. Clean off optiates and alcohol for 8 years.
Started trying Kratom in about 2016-17 I was told it wasn’t habit forming and at the time there wasn’t much about it on the internet. Finally after 6 years on that Kratom I finally got off Of it for 2 months and felt great! Bad withdrawals while I was using it every 3-4 months like clockwork I would fall VIOLENTLY Ill. I thought I was literally dying for 7-8 days at a time.
Anyways I had a bunch of dental work done. Full mouth tooth extraction and in the middle of getting implants
The drugs they gave me that day didn’t work and it’s was AWFUL!
They had to stop mid surgery. At that time I was taking 4 whole bottle of feel free a day. Two first thing in the am just to get out of bed. I’m 44 and shoupd not feel like I’m 140 years old
I believe that feel free was the reason the drugs did not work well. (Benzodiazepines)
Today I am 6 days FREE from “feel free” ☝🏼
How AWFUL these withdrawals have been tho. I thought my organs were giving out I went to ER like 5 times before I figured out they wouldn’t help me. They kept asking me if I smoked weed? I’m like yes to help sleep sometimes. They told me I had a allergy to weed 🤨
I’m telling them about this Kratom and they are COMPLETELY disregarding that as the problem.
Feel Free has basically ruined our lives. My husband, a recovery alcoholic saw this tonic being advertised in a podcast as a wellness drink. Knew nothing about the ingredients and started taking it. After a couple of months using it he started getting puffy read eyes, then his skin dried to a point that he started to get bad rashes all over his body. His eyes got so dry that eyelids started to bleed. He stopped eating and couldn’t focus anymore. Anxiety and depression kicked and he tried to stop without success. He has been losing work as he withdraws from it for the second time. Has been hell. He is showing signs of kidney failure and is about to lose his job as he can’t concentrate, and I’m so worried trying to care for him that I can’t be productive in my work either. It’s 2:49am as I’m post this because I can’t sleep full nights anymore worrying about him. So sad the company take zero responsibilities from their misleading ads
I am experiencing similar experiences
Add me
I am also trying to get off these drinks, they make me sick when I try to stop. I’m in the hospital now with pain in my lower abdomen and I think it’s from these drinks!