DEA defies senators’ appeal to reconsider ‘unprecedented’ kratom ban
Chuck Rosenberg – head of the DEA… with the following educational background…
He attended Tufts University, graduating in 1982 with a B.A., and Harvard, earning a Master’s in public policy.
https://news.vice.com/article/the-dea-chief-just-called-medical-marijuana-a-joke
Declared MJ “a joke” and the White House got a petition with 100,000 + signatures calling for replacing Rosenberg as head of the DEA… Does this demonstrate how useful/practical the White House petition system works ?
It is also the same person that had “determined” that Kratom represents an imminent hazard to public safety.
So we have someone with NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND… using a law that was specifically to be used interdiction of new and previously unknown illegal synthetic street drugs that result in injuries and death… which Kratom does not fit into. Used “emergency regulation” to avoid a public comment period and has now admitted that there MAY HAVE BEEN A SINGLE DEATH SOLELY FROM THE USE/ABUSE OF KRATOM. If these actions do not produce the “final straw” for Congress to at least muzzle the DEA or curtail their budget and/or dramatically narrow their scope of authority. Is it just me, or does it seem that the DEA has ILLEGALLY expanded it statue of authority to exceed the intend of the laws that they are charged with enforcing ?
A bipartisan group of nine senators is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration to delay its “unprecedented” decision to ban kratom, a plant that researchers say holds great potential for mitigating the effects of the opioid epidemic.
The DEA recently decided to place kratom into Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive regulatory category, on a temporary, emergency basis “to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety.”
The Senate letter, spearheaded by Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) says: “Congress granted emergency scheduling authority to the DEA based on the need for law enforcement interdiction of new and previously unknown illegal synthetic street drugs that result in injuries and death. The use of this emergency authority for a natural substance is unprecedented, so it is important to determine whether the circumstances here necessitate a jump to Schedule I.”
“Given the long reported history of Kratom use,” the letter continues, “coupled with the public’s sentiment that it is a safe alternative to prescription opioids, we believe using the regular review process would provide for a much-needed discussion among all stakeholders.”
The DEA announced its plan to place kratom in Schedule 1 only one month ago, using an emergency authority that does not require it to solicit public feedback on the decision. Blowback from pain patients was swift and furious and appears to have caught the DEA off-guard.
People who take the plant have shared their stories on how kratom helped them overcome addiction to opiates or alcohol, or how it has helped them treat otherwise intractable pain. Researchers say that their work with the kratom plant could eventually lead to the development of nonaddictive alternatives to powerful opiate painkillers, and that by placing kratom in Schedule 1, the government is effectively crippling their ability to carry out that research.
Over 140,000 people have signed a White House petition asking the Obama administration to reconsider the move.
The DEA cites 600-plus poison-control center calls involving kratom between 2010 and 2015 in its justification for banning the plant, and notes that 15 deaths were linked to the use of the plant between 2014 and 2016. In an interview with The Washington Post, a DEA spokesman later clarified that all but one of those fatalities involved the use of other substances.
Earlier this week 51 U.S. representatives similarly called on the DEA and the White House to reconsider or at least delay the ban, which was slated to go into effect as early as Friday.
In an interview, DEA spokesman Russell Baer confirmed that the ban was not yet in place. “We have not yet determined a date when we will publish that final order” putting the ban into effect, he said.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the final date of the ban, many online businesses selling the plant have already shuttered or got rid of their supplies for fear of running afoul of the DEA’s stringent Schedule 1 rules.
“Given the extremely short timeframe for the implementation of the proposed DEA scheduling order, we urge you to take appropriate steps to delay the order to allow both for a public comment period and sufficient time for the DEA to outline its evidentiary standards to Congress regarding the justification for this proposed action,” the letter from Hatch and colleagues concludes.
Baer said the DEA would respond to the senators’ and congressmen’s concerns, but could not say whether the ban would go into force before that correspondence happens.
“It’s not a matter of if. It’s simply a matter of when, in terms of DEA publishing the final order to temporarily schedule kratom,” Baer said. “Our administrator [Chuck Rosenberg] has determined that kratom represents an imminent hazard to public safety. So I have a sense that publishing our final order will be sooner as opposed to later.”
The text of the full letter is available here. The list of Senate signatories, sent by a spokesman for Hatch, is below:
Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah)
Mike Lee (R-Utah)
Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)
Angus King (I-Maine)
Filed under: General Problems
With Kratom, you can expect to see a lot of people being able to use it for a variety of different reasons. Everyone is different, which means that the Kratom is going to be used differently and react differently within the body. This is a given. However, researchers have also found that Kratom provides the benefits that are unable to be gotten from other forms of medication.
I’m skeptical of this story of the “confirmed death”. That being said there probably does need to be a good deal more research into the effects of kratom but I can say it’s a great alternative to something like opiates that is hands down very deadly.
Kratom has developed a large following due to it’s ability to aid in the recovery in opioid addiction by easing withdrawal symptoms without risk of fatality. Considering the epidemic our country is currently facing with prescription painkiller deaths (over 10,000 per year), the health benefits of kratom absolutely must be explored and researched. A Schedule 1 classification seriously hinders that possibility, as supporters of medical marijuana should know. The DEA is endangering the lives of countless American’s with it’s decision, as those who use kratom as a lifeline to stay above deadly opioids risk falling back to them.
1 confirmed death, in empirical science is not data. Statistically speaking, you will likely find more people who have died in the same period of time while brushing their teeth with Crest. Does that mean Crest Kills? Catchy slogan but no…neither does kratom. Statistically speaking, 1 death proves its safety. Of course someone was eventually going to die of natural causes while taking kratom. Someone is about to die who is wearing a blue shirt. Personally, whether the DEA feels the same or not, I will not go on T.V. advocating to ban blue shirts. Neither would I ever attempt to paint kratom as harmful. How many people die every year from drier sheets, legos, nut allergies or any other mundane cause? Absolute foolishness to cling to a single death. This is why we’re winning, they’re so full of ****.
My personal part in the quest to keep kratom legal and available to the hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of responsible and law-abiding American citizens, is to mention Mr. Chuck Rosenburg by name in as many public comment sections as I am able every night after work.
This in addition to sharing the truth about kratom on my FB, writing countless letters to my congressman and senators, and dozens of phone calls, encouraging others to research this amazingly beneficial and harmless plant, telling my freinds and anyone in need how to use kratom and where to get it, posting the petitions, giving money to the AKA (American Kratom Association), talking with and encouraging others on Reddit, telling everyone who will listen (or not) about what kratom has done for me and last, but not least- enjoying my kratom and being forever gracious for it’s existence. AND I WILL NOT STOP.
Thank you Doug, maybe Mr. Rosenberg should step down over this. To me this is worse than what Ms. Leonhart did, his predecessor. I think this whole agency is off the rails right now, and they need to take a good look at what they are doing to the community
Is there more info on that single death? I had heard there were pre-existing conditions.
I heard that it was a suicide.
A call was made by the AKA on 9/29 to the WI senator and published on a Facebook post that the DEA will accept public comments. Thus, as of right now the ban has been delayed. There’s been research at several universities with federal money over the last 2 years & many doctors will also comment on its medicinal purposes. It’s also been being used in our synthetic opioids since 2008 by BIG PHARMA. Over 400 people attended the protest on 9/13 & have so far concluded victory with them allowing comments. I’m glad they’ll be happy to hear that the DEA states publicly that it’s only caused one death as most would throw up & they knew that not 15-30 people died from Kratom alone. This included the woman who testified that her son was addicted to Kratom and died.Therefore, it’s my belief based on that call that the ban has been put on hold as they’re awaiting the time & place for public comments. I’m sure there’s many Americans & many, many Veterans ready to give their comments.
How can someone with no medical training be put in the position that can destroy so many lives? What is his real reason for this ridiculous ban? He reminds me of the doctor I had years ago who told me I was addicted to ANTIBIOTICS because once a year I went to him with bronchitis and asked for an antibiotic and cough medicine! His excuse,I found out later was that he was using patients to write himself prescriptions and he had a terminal brain tumor. It sounds to me like the head of the DEA has either a tumor or severe psychiatric problems!
If the DEA is using a single death as a justification then every single food product in the entire country will have to be outlawed for causing at least one single fatality. Death from an allergic reaction or even a choking death would fall within the DEA’S broad scope of ignorance. Rosenberg is an idiot and not only needs to be fired but he needs to be prosecuted for intentionally and purposely causing pain and suffering to obviously at least 140 thousand people. This has all gone far beyond medical ignorance, it has now breached the point of assault on handicap people.
I agree completely. Said the same thing. More people die from breathing than from using Kratom and it doesn’t cause diabetes like sugar or high blood pressure like caffeine. Heck even getting your hair washed at a salon and dying of a blood clot from that has more threat to your safety than using Kratom.