Leah Wright remembers the moment she received the call that no parent wants to answer.
She learned her son, 28-year-old Carrson Kase Wilson, had died.
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Leah and Jimmy Wright founded Wake Monarch Academy in Raleigh in 2021, the first recovery-focused high school. In fact, the "why" behind the passion project started with Carrson, after his struggle with addiction.
The Wrights said Carrson was in recovery from substance abuse for years, when he discovered 7-OH at a local vape shop in January to help alleviate back pain he experienced.
Kratom, a leaf native to Southeast Asia, is derived from two psychoactive alkaloid ingredients: Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymytragynine, 7-OH.
The Kratom leaves are commonly dried or powdered, and ingested as a tea, tablet, capsule, or extract. The tablets are commonly found at gas stations and smoke shops, and are legal to adults 18 and older.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, consumption of the ingredients causes both stimulant and sedative effects.
It was in late March that Carrson reached out to his mother and father for help after months of 7-OH use. They recalled him calling the detox process "like pain he had never experienced before".
By April 27, he had died.
“[It was] very shocking because this was ... we have been down this road so many times, but yet he was doing well in recovery," Leah Wright said.
Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert pushed for regulation of packaging and more restrictions on the product, which is not on the DEA's controlled substance list, nor approved by the federal government.
"It's disturbing that we have such a dangerous synthetic opioid. [That's] what I will call it. What it’s known for. That’s really causing death, and it accessible in gas stations and vape shops. And it needs to be heavily regulated or banned," Gilbert said.
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] shows a 1,200% increase in kratom-related exposure reports from 2015-2025.
In 2024, North Carolina’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported hundreds of cases of the substance in autopsies from 2015-2024.
In a video posted on social media, Gilbert said his Substance Misuse Task Force will work to tackle the growing problem of addiction by raising awareness to establish safeguards.
North Carolina lawmakers, like Rep. Jeff McNeely, R-Iredell, have pushed for bills that would enact regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco, such as an age increase from 18 to 21, and a requirement for vendors to have a license to sell the product. However, no bills have become law.
Jimmy and Leah Wright remember Carrson as "a bright light gone way too soon."
