A deep dive into kratom, the herb that helps with opioid withdrawal
https://boingboing.net/2016/12/01/a-deep-dive-into-kratom-the-h.html
Kratom (previously) is a widely used herb that has been very effective in treating opioid withdrawal and other chronic, hard-to-treat conditions — it also became very controversial this year because the DEA decided, without evidence, to class it as a dangerous drug, and then changed its mind (unprecedented!) after a mass-scale petition that included interventions from members of Congress.
Wired has done an excellent, deep dive into kratom, and its past and future — which may include a degree of regulation, but also guarantees of quality. The DEA reprieve is only temporary, and kratom could end up back on Schedule 1 as a dangerous drug, depending on who Trump appoints and what they do.
All that research costs money. Which is kratom’s catch-22: The DEA wants to schedule the drug because they think it might pose a danger to public health, but the only way to confirm (or refute) the DEA’s worries is with more research—which will be next to impossible should the DEA follow through on its promise to schedule.
One of the few scientists studying kratom is the University of Florida’s Oliver Grundmann, who is finishing up an online survey of nearly 10,000 users. And the data (preliminary, though Grundmann plans to publish a paper in the coming months) reveals a different profile of kratom users than you’d expect from an “illicit” recreational drug.
“The age range is more geared toward an older population,” says Grundmann, “which is more likely to experience work related injuries or acute or chronic pain from another medical condition.” Over half of users are between the ages of 31 and 50. Eighty-two percent completed at least some college. Nearly 30 percent of respondents pull in a household income of over $75,000 a year. Not quite the party drug demographic. And the public comments on the DEA’s scheduling notice reflect that population. Many of those folks are using kratom to either wean themselves off prescription opioids or use the drug alone to treat pain.
Filed under: General Problems
Speaking of the big picture here,,us ,”older” population,,,[im,52],,,jmo,,heres another way were government plays a hand in all of this..Now thee average joe,,has gotta work 2ce as hard in thee last 30 years,,,then our parents did,,,for the same life style our parents had…30-40 years ago,,u could find a very decent house for 50 to 80,ooo,,,even cheaper out in the country,,,Now a days,,well we all know what it is like,,,,but us baby boomers had to work our bodies 2ce as hard as our parent’s generation,,,for the same needs/money..There has not been a raise in this country in over 30 years,,U could go to a grocer story and fill up your cart for 75 bucks,,now your lucky to get 1 bag of groceries for 75 bucks,,Point being our bodies our breaking under the stress of working tooooo hard for what we need in life,,,not for what we want,,,what we need,,,food,,,a roof ,,and medical care..I found a receipt from when my tonsil were yanked at 4 years old,,1968,,chicago,,,yea that was a fun ride for my parents,,,,,ie riots,”but,,Anesthethia,,15 dollars,,,surgeon,,who was our primary,,350.00,,,hospital charge,,50 dollars,,,,,Now that type of bills we could handle,,,a home for 40,000 ,,we could handle,,,a car for 3,000 ,,,we could handle,,but now a days,,,its allllllll too expensive,,,,for us not getting any cost of living raises,,thus some work 2,3 jobs,,,,their bodies break,,Send a generation to war,,,young men/women get hurt,ptsd,,,but when it come time for our government to pay the piper,,,ie,,medicines for our vets broken bodies,,ie medicines for these baby boomers broken bodies,,,,our government said ,,screw u,,,Kratom,,,which does not work for me,,,but obviously works for others,,,came into play out of necessity,,,,,us baby boomers,,us hard workers,,OUR vets,,,,,needed some sorta of medicine that was cheap,,accessible,and worked,,for some,,,,,Just ;like pain management,,filled that gap,,, that need,,for the broken bodies,,of the medical errors,,all those conditions that DO NOT HEAL,, with time,,,and it was working,,,,up until the government stuck their noses into our business,our medical decisions as adults,,,Which is why all the numbers are up,,,not down since the government budded into our medical decision..Our governmet was/is sooooo out of touch w/ the reality of thee average joes life,,,but sooooo full of arrogance,,,their ignorance of our lives,,our reality,,,has on;ly caused MORE HARM to us,,,,The government budding into your kratom,,will do the same thing its doing to us chronic physical pain humanbeings,,,Their interference into your decision to use kratom because it works for u,,,,will only cause more harm to all kratom users,,,,just like it has done to the chronic physical pain due to medical conditons humanbeings,,,,and that is when we as a whole have a duty,,when any form of government causes death,destruction or despotism onto its citizens,,,is when the citizens should fight back,,,maryw