The Cut published an article titled, “Why Does the Government Want to Ban Kratom, an Herbal Supplement?” The article reads in part as follows;
“You may have seen the word “kratom” flying around the web in recent weeks, and though it sounds like it could be a comic-book villain, it’s actually a tree in the coffee family found in Southeast Asia. For hundreds of years, people have used its leaves to make tea or capsules in order to relieve pain and improve mood. More recently, people have embraced it as a treatment for conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but government officials are increasingly concerned about the psychoactive substance and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has moved to ban it, at least temporarily. Here’s what you need to know.
How does kratom work?
Kratom activates some of the same receptors as opioid drugs. In small doses, it acts like a stimulant, and in larger doses it has sedative effects. What’s appealing to many users is that, unlike opioids, kratom does not seem to be associated with slowed breathing (a.k.a. respiratory depression), which is the cause of many opioid deaths, and it’s thought to be less addictive.”
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