HEALTH BUZZ
Kratom craze leads to legal confusion
By Chris B. Critter
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Millions
are reacting with outrage
at the latest political
development. But if you
aren’t one of the millions of
Americans affected by the
proposed ban on kratom
herbal tea, you might not
understand what all the fuss
is about.
Kratom is a natural herb
similar to coffee. Native to
Southeast Asia, it’s a popular
health supplement for those
seeking relief from mobility
issues, physical discomforts,
even anxiety and emotional
upset. It’s been used for such
things in Asia for centuries.
Use in the U.S. has been
documented at least as far
back as the 1980s.
Kratom acts on the same
neuro-receptors as some
of the most dangerous pain
relievers; of course many
harmless foods like coffee and
chocolate also trigger these
opioid receptors. Yet, only
kratom has unfortunately
been caught up in the
politicization of the ongoing
opioid epidemic in the US.
While the DEA and FDA
act as though kratom
were equivalent to heroin,
advocates of the herb say
it actually helps fight the
battle against abuse and
addiction. Countless reports
from addicts, and a variety of
scientific university studies,
all show that kratom can help
minimize opioid withdrawal
symptoms. Yet kratom is
not an opioid, and most
importantly unlike opioids,
kratom simply cannot cause
death through respiratory
failure.
In 2013, highly respected
Scientific American magazine
asked Edward Boyer of the
University of Massachusetts
Medical School about kratom.
Dr. Boyer described how he
first discovered kratom when
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one of his patients treated
their opioid addiction by
switching to herbal tea. Boyer
also explained that when lab
animals were given kratom,
“Those rats had no respiratory
depression.”
Likewise, addiction expert
Dr. Jack Henningfield, of John
Hopkins School of Medicine
has stated that, “There has not
been a single verified report of
an acute poisoning death that
we can say with certainty was
caused by kratom use.”
Dr. Henningfield has also
elaborated on kratom’s role in
battling addiction.
“We need to find a path for
kratom to continue to realize
its benefits to help keep
kratom available as a path
away from opioids, and to not
replace the legal marketplace
with the black market that will
surely emerge in the vacuum
of a lawful market. It makes
no sense to take kratom
out of the equation and risk
avoidable opioid epidemic
deaths.”
Thankfully, not all members of
the government are opposed
to kratom. For example,
representatives Mark Pocan
(D-WI) and Frank LoBiondo
(R-NJ) have agreed to lead in a
bipartisan congressional letter
asking the DEA to thoroughly
review all of the many positive
scientific studies on kratom.
Another congressional letter
written by representatives
Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Dave
Brat (R-Va.) is addressed
to the FDA. That document
describes kratom as a weapon
to help fight the opioid
epidemic.
The proposed kratom
ban would take away a
reasonably priced alternative
health care option from
an estimated 3-5 million
Americans. Please consider
contacting your government
representatives and tell
them you are opposed to
making this harmless herbal
tea illegal. Kratom advocacy
groups, the American Kratom
Association and the Botanical
Education Alliance, have a
lot more information. Please
see their respective websites
at americankratom.org and
botanical-education.org.