“”
Users and health professionals are debating over the benefits and risks of Kratom, a natural substance, from the leaves of a tree that grows in Thailand.
The legal drug can be bought online and in stores. Users say Kratom is a stimulant that in small doses gives them energy and boosts their mood but if you take more of it, the drug has the opposite effect, working like a sedative or narcotic.
Jane Babin, a Kratom user said the natural drug is harmless, and helps with her joint pain.
“You know, my joints ache sometimes,” she said. “(I’m) probably getting arthritis, and you know, it works well, for me.”
Babin is a lawyer and biochemist. She said she buys Kratom legally on the internet, from sellers who import it from Southeast Asia.
“The euphoria or addiction potential is overstated,” she said. “It doesn’t really have that effect on me at all.”
NBC 7 Investigates found numerous overdoses associated with Kratom, causing sickness and death. According to the state Poison Control System, since 2015, there have been more than 100 calls for help to poison centers in California, 11 of those calls were reported in San Diego County.
In the last four years, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, 11 deaths have been linked to Kratom in the county with four of those deaths happening this year. According to the medical examiner reports, all but one of those fatalities involved other addictive drugs as well.
“People say it’s natural, so it has to be safe,” Dr. Clark Smith, a drug and addiction expert said. “You know what? Arsenic is natural.”
Smith said it’s foolish to assume Kratom is safe and no one should use it until clinical studies prove it’s not dangerous.
“Who knows, maybe somebody uses it casually for a couple of years, and they get kidney failure, or they go blind,” he said.
Last year, the DEA labeled Kratom as a dangerous substance, with no medical benefit. The agency planned to classify it as a schedule one controlled substance, making it illegal, everywhere. As news of those plans was made public, Babin and thousands of Kratom users flooded the agency with phone calls and petitions. They argued drug addicts use Kratom to help soothe withdrawal pains.
“It’s a better solution than prescription opioids for a lot of people,” Babin said.
In the end, 51 members of Congress and nine U.S. Senators supported that effort, and the DEA backed off.
“So, there’s really no control over it,” Smith said.
While not federally regulated, states and cities can, and have, passed laws related to Kratom, including the city of San Diego, which outlawed it last year.
Adults can legally buy Kratom in 17 of San Diego County’s 18 cities. Smoke shops sell bags and capsules of the natural substance.
Babin said responsible adults should have access to Kratom, but others disagree.
“The fact that there are deaths associated with it should give anyone a healthy fear of it,” Smith said.
“You know, when we have 91 people dying every day from opioid overdoses, the last thing we need is to have another opioid out there,” Amy Roderick with the DEA said. “Something else that somebody could really use for the first time, and become addicted to.”
In the city of San Diego, seven people have been charged with illegal possession for the sale of Kratom. If convicted, defendants face six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Filed under: General Problems
I do not believe there have been any deaths from a Kratom. Also, it is not an opioid. Apparently, the government is trying to ban Kratom via the Sista Act which us making its way through the system for approval, There are too many people who have benefited from Kratom. The government needs to stay out of trying to control our lives.
Kratom organizations lawyers are trying to educate lawmakers concerning the sista act. That act pertains to synthetic substances that mimic other illegal substances. Kratom is a natural plant,not a synthetic.Thats What Hopefully The lawmakers will understand once educated on kratom.
I’m 65. I’ve drank small cups of kratom tea for the past several years. It is safe, non addictive, and based on my experience,non toxic. I’m disabled with chronic pain conditions. It works so well to alleviate pain that I’ve been able to keep other meds to a minimum. Kratom is also full of anti -oxidants,many of which have been identified in credible research. I’ve not even had a cold since using this.
Mrs. Roderick referred to it as “ another opioid.” Truth is kratom is NOT an opioid. It has an affect on some of the same brain receptors as an opioid.So does coffee,chocolate and other natural substances. On days that for varied reasons I didn’t drink the tea,there were no cravings or withdrawals as there would be with narcotics.None. Many vets have found its calming effects helpful for ptsd conditions, and many addicted to heroin have found it helpful to get off the drug and alleviate withdrawals.
As article says,only one of the deaths was without other other substances in the system.If I die today they will find kratom in my system ,as well as coffee, sugar,and high doses of vitamin C. But my death would attributed to kratom? Foolishness.The hysteria is not based on reality.Ask the 5 million or so That enjoy kratom. There isn’t a euphoria with K, but a calming similar to a mild anti anxiety agent.Minus the addiction. It’s effects are similar to a muscle relaxant,not an opioid.Taking to much,which I’ve done when first trying it, is unpleasant enough to keep it from being a substance of abuse.Unless one enjoys nausea & dizziness. With kratom, less is better.
There have been cases of kratom adulteration with other substances. Those were identified and the sellers put out of business. The vast majority of distributors are credible and don’t resort to such dishonest and dangerous deception. At a time when society is looking for a non addictive alternative to pain meds, banning this simple herb would be a big mistake. Most who use this are old farts in pain like me,not young people. Please stop the lies and hysteria.