The parents of 32-year-old Kevin Oliveira have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Palm Beach County, claiming a trendy kratom-based wellness drink hooked their son and ultimately killed him. The June 3 complaint accuses the manufacturer and several local retailers of selling feel free CLASSIC, a drink the family says triggered severe, opioid-like dependence. Oliveira was found dead in his family’s Tequesta home on April 21, 2025. Family attorneys have scheduled a Thursday news conference to walk through the allegations.
According to CBS12, the suit, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, names Botanic Tonics LLC, the maker of feel free CLASSIC, along with Rise N Vape Smoke Shop LLC #6; Global Mart Tobacco and Beverages of Jupiter Inc.; Glass Chamber West Palm Beach Inc.; and Glass Chamber Okeechobee Blvd Inc. The complaint, brought by Adriana Sousa Duarte Oliveira and Francisco Oliveira as personal representatives of their son’s estate, seeks damages under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.
Botanic Tonics’ product and past scrutiny
Feel free CLASSIC has already drawn national heat after users reported addiction-like symptoms and critics said the drink was marketed as an alcohol alternative, CBS News reported in 2024. In response to growing concern, Botanic Tonics says it has updated its labeling and voluntarily raised its minimum-age advisory to 21. The company also announced an April 29, 2026 label refresh that it says will add clearer serving-size information, stronger warning language and a QR code linking to product details, according to a company press release on its site.
What the complaint alleges
Per CBS12, the District 19 Medical Examiner ruled Oliveira’s cause of death as “Toxic Effects of Mitragynine,” a primary alkaloid in kratom. The lawsuit says bottles of feel free CLASSIC were found with Oliveira at the time of his death and ties his decline to a series of escalating symptoms, including vomiting, lapses in consciousness, delirium, seizures and psychosis. The complaint also notes that he checked himself into a Palm Beach County detox facility for a brief stay but left after two days because staff were unable to manage his kratom dependence.
Legal context and precedent
Florida law already fences off kratom from younger buyers. Under the Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act (F.S. 500.92), sales to anyone under 21 are prohibited, and selling kratom to a minor is a misdemeanor, according to the Florida Legislature. Attorneys for the Oliveira family point to a growing stack of kratom-related cases and federal warnings as the backdrop for their suit, including a multimillion-dollar judgment in a previous Florida wrongful-death case reported by WPTV. They also cite federal safety alerts, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2024 advisory on OPMS Black Liquid Kratom, which warned of serious adverse effects and at least one reported death, according to the FDA.
What’s next
The Oliveira case now heads into the early stages of litigation in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. If it survives initial legal challenges, the discovery phase is expected to dig into product testing records, labeling decisions and how local shops handled sales on the ground. Botanic Tonics’ public materials say the company currently focuses on consumer education, third-party testing and a 21-and-older advisory as part of its risk-mitigation efforts, Botanic Tonics states. The local retailers named in the lawsuit have not yet been publicly reported to have responded to the filing.
