White House Rally To Call Out DEA For Making Mockery Of Opioid Epidemic By Ban Push Targeting Coffee-Related, Natural Herbal Product
Seeking a Distraction from Real Crisis, DEA Exploits Concerns About Opioid Epidemic in Bid to Shut Down Kratom; 110,000-Signature Petition to be Presented to White House
… September 13, 2016 News Advisory …
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Hundreds of Americans from across the U.S. will march outside the White House at 12:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday (September 13, 2016) to protest the unfounded and anti-scientific push by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to classify kratom, a natural herb in the coffee family, as a Class 1 narcotic. Organizers of the March will hold a news conference in Lafayette Park near the White House to present the White House with a petition signed by more than 100,000 citizens opposing the DEA’s cynical attack on a legal product that is used without incident by hundreds of thousands of Americans.
What:
Under fire for failing to make headway in the opioid epidemic, the DEA is now seeking to distract the public and lawmakers by focusing unwarranted negative attention on kratom, or Mitragyna speciose, a tree in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia. Kratom leaves have been consumed in countries like Thailand and Malaysia for over 500 years. The herb is now available in the U.S. just like other herbal supplements. Kratom is not an opiate. Many studies have shown kratom to have positive medicinal benefits. Kratom is legal in 44 states. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a December 2015 report that found: “Kratom does not currently constitute a significant risk to the safety and welfare of Florida residents.” Nonetheless, on August 31, 2016, the DEA, under fire for its inability to remedy the US opioid crisis, announced its intention to place kratom into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in order to avoid a supposed “imminent hazard to public safety,” which, in reality, does not exist. In truth, kratom has never been present alone in a single documented death and is as about as habit-forming as the coffee to which it is related. By contrast, pharmaceutical drugs are one of the leading causes of death in this country, killing one American every 19 minutes. Prescription opiate pain killers account for more than 475,000 emergency room visits annually.
Who:
- Travis Lowin director, Botanical Education Alliance (previously the Botanical Legal Defense);
- Susan Ash, director, American Kratom Association;
- Andrew Turner, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who was injured in a subsequent military deployment, Hyattsville, MD;
- Joe Volpe, a retired school teacher who used kratom to replace prescription pain killers, Philadelphia, PA; and
- Additional speakers TBD.
When:
12:30 p.m. EDT march and 1 p.m. EDT news conference.
Where:
Starting in front of White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and proceeding to adjacent Lafayette Park.
The Botanical Education Alliance (BEA) is an organization dedicated to educating consumers, lawmakers, law enforcement, and the media about safe and therapeutic natural supplements including Mitragyna speciosa, also known as Kratom. BEA’s mission is to increase understanding in order to influence public policy and protect natural supplements. The vision of the Alliance is to create a society where every adult has the right to access safe and effective natural supplements. www.botanical-education.org/
The America Kratom Association (AKA), a consumer-based non-profit, is here to set the record straight, giving voice to the suffering and our rights to possess and consume kratom. AKA represents tens of thousands of Americans; each with a unique story to tell about the virtues of kratom and its positive effects on our lives. From Lyme Disease to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and even addiction, kratom can help offer relief. www.americankratom.org
Filed under: General Problems
Dealers and cartels must love the laws in our country since many of our laws makes the dealers and cartels lots of money. Restrictions and bans do nothing but give cartels and dealers more customers. I love your headline, Steve – “coffee-related, natural herbal product” – that’s exactly what kratom is. The fact that it’s been used as traditional medicine in Asia for centuries makes it even that much more ridiculous.
Again, I’ve never tried it, as it is banned in my state, but it seems to help many with chronic physical pain, depression, lack of energy, withdrawal, and those who are in recovery from addiction. (Not to mention that ‘m sick and tired of Big Brother telling me, an adult, what I can and can’t put into my own body).
One more thing – our Constitution was written, clearly spelling out how our elected officials make a law. The last time I checked, the DEA was NOT our elected officials. They have no right passing laws and restrictions. It’s unconstitutional and extremely dangerous, as it is a very slippery slope that we don’t want our government going down. They need to be completely unfunded and disbanded.
While I feel that the DEA should leave kratom alone I also feel they should stop attacking opioids. Some of us in chronic pain that have tried everything including kratom know that opioids are the only thing that works for our pain.
How do they find time for such petty things. They really need to cut back on people working for them. They have way to much time on their hands. What really worries me is what is really behind all this behavior. Care to guess …..Just follow the money…..
Understand now ?
When will the DEA begin classifying things such as parsley, oregano or thyme? They are getting more out of hand by the day and wasting taxpayers money!
A pity this group have not figured out, that the Fentanyl epidemic is 100% caused by El Crimen Organizado, 0% by pharmaceutical makers.
ditto,,,my niece at one time said everyone should be allowed to smoke pot,,that will help stop them from using opiates,,,Again I say to all,,,who are u to decide what works for anyone,,,it is literally impossible to physically feel the physical pain of another,,thus NO-ONE has a rite to decide who suffers in physical pain from medical illness,,or what medicine ,”should,” work,,when its not their body,thus it is impossible to decide if it would work for another,,,As it was said by our forefathers,,,we should have the god given rite to decide as adults what we put in our bodies and the freedom to know that rite will never be taken away,,” as it already has….Geeez coca is use all the world except 8 countries,,,as tea,flour,arthtis creams,religeuos ceremonies etc,,Yet the U.S has now literally changed the definition of cocaine as of 2011 from a white cyrstalline compound to now meaning simply ,”benzoylecgonine”,,,when the very test for cocaine will MAKE COCA LEAFS INTO BENZOYLECGONINE,, w/the reagants in the test kits themselves,,,and not a drop of pee,,,,,,The dea has been lieing for decades,,and they will lie on this kratom thing,,,to get it scheduled so THEY can guarantee more employement for life,,,its all corrupt ,,,plan and simple,,,m