Circa.com released the following piece titled, “The DEA is cracking down on kratom. People that use it as medicine are ‘terrified’.” The information is listed in part as follows;
“Last week, the Drug Enforcement Agency ruled that it would consider kratom, a plant-based stimulant, a Schedule I drug, putting it on the same level of illegality as marijuana and heroin.
Schedule I drugs are considered highly abusable with no medical benefits.
But some users claim there are very powerful benefits, like treating opioid addiction and PTSD.”
From the article “You can smoke it or buy capsules full of a powdered version of the leaf, according to Narconon. It can increase energy and sociability, but in other users, it can also cause psychotic episodes and hallucinations.” This made me laugh out loud, literally. Anyone who knows anything about kratom will tell you, you can smoke it, but you’re wasting both your time, and your kratom. Smoking it does nothing. Except waste kratom. And the idea of kratom causing psychotic episodes or hallucinations is about equivalent to someone saying coffee or tea causes hallucinations. I find kratom has a less noticeable psychoactive effect than coffee. I have used it for eight years, and never once have I felt it be as mind altering as marijuana or alcohol. Where do these people get their “facts”? The DEA? Come on.
I’m not saying there are no risks at all to kratom. If you take too much you will get sweaty, nauseous, and anxious. It has the potential to interact with certain medications, and can be mildly addictive if overused. If you use it regularly it is recommended to taper off. But using scare tactics and straight up untrue information to convince people to not use a certain herb or drug, does not work. Educate people on the actual FACTS, the benefits and detriments of the herb, tell them real TRUTH, and let them make their own decision. Education prevents drug use more effectively than scare tactics and prohibition. You can’t legislate morality.
“At the end of the day, kratom is not your standard smoke-shop drug alternative. It is not bath salts, and it is not K2. It is a natural plant that seems to have some degree of positive effect in certain communities.
With the potential medicinal benefits of the plant and the testimonies of those who have used the substance to ward off serious addiction, to rush kratom onto the Schedule 1 list seems arrogant and belligerent.
The Daily Iowan Editorial Board believes the DEA ought to take some time to listen to the public it claims to serve. ”
Please read full editorial at the link below.
http://daily-iowan.com/2016/09/15/editorial-where-fools-dread-to-tread/
It is important to note that this article quotes Narcanon, an addiction business run by the Scientologists. It appears at the top of Google results when you search “kratom,” so I am assuming this was probably the extent of this author’s research. Scientologists are not commonly known as a goup that relies very heavily on real science. Ask Tom Cruise.