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The timely and positive response from the DEA
2nd CRE Letter to the DEA (September 12, 2016)
1sr CRE Letter to the DEA (September 8, 2016)
CRE has submitted a Request for Information to DEA regarding its listing of kratom as a Schedule I narcotic. The information so requested is the DEA letter to HHS as mentioned in the Federal Register which announced the aforementioned listing, which states:
The Administrator [DEA} transmitted notice of his intent to place mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine in schedule I on a temporary basis to the Assistant Secretary[HHS] by letter dated May 6, 2016.
CRE, serving in its role as regulatory watchdog, ensures that regulators comply with the Data Quality Act, a statute which requires that regulatory actions be based upon sound scientific principals.
The information contained in the DEA letter to HHS is of critical importance in assessing the merits of the agency’s science. CRE was surprised that the said letter is not immediately accessible on the DEA website nor was it made available in the DEA listing of kratom as a Schedule I narcotic as noted in the Federal Register notice.
In that federal regulators review CRE websites, CRE recommends that interested parties increase their leverage by broadcasting this post to other stakeholders.
Please see cre-letter-to-dea-officials
This is a shame what the DEA is doing and how big pharma can still but the american people, if there is no one getting hurt from kratom, no one has died from kratom alone, and there is no crime from kratom, and the benefits out way any harm, why the fire to take something away so harsh, this will not only be wrong and a complete overreach of the agency, but the financial impact on a 300 million dollar industry will affect 12k Jobs. for no good reason, based off pressure from HHS to DEA for political favors, not human and American interest!
The more posts we receive, the more the site becomes “populated” and attracts visits by the regulators.
Thank you!
Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
Have enough yet CRE?? Did you expect such a response? This is amazing!!
And we’ve only just begun! Kratom does save lives. It has science, REAL science, on its side. And it has legions of responsible, intellligent adults all over this great country who demand the right to tell their story of a benign, healing herb that helps them maintain their quality of life WITHOUT being forced into the clutches of the pharmaceutical industry.
The DEA offers no science to back their claims. That’s because their is no science. The science overwhelmingly supports kratom as a safe, reliable, natural source of wellness. Let us hope the DEA and Congress, health officials, the President, and everyone who deigns to decide how we should live our lives and raise our families, see these testimonies and once and for all STOP THIS SENSELESS BAN.
You don’t even need to “feel” for all of these good people writing here. You simply need to listen, review the scientific research, and admit that, in this case, you were wrong.
I am eager to see what science the DEA submitted to HHS officials. By law, it should be available to the public. We have a right to know exactly what “data” is behind a decision that will harm countless thousands of good people, strip them of their rights, and possibly lead to their deaths. I suspect, as you likely do, that their is no “data.” Only a self-righteous ideology that a bureaucrcy must save us all from ourselves. As if we sre children.
Please respond, CRE.. Do you need more testimonies? Really, it is no problem at all!
Thank you James! What perfect points you made! I think Big Pharma acts like they are going to *lose millions* just from people taking a natural herb/plant (Kratom). Big Pharma is obviously a multi-billion dollar industry in which keeping Kratom LEGAL will have no impact on them! I am utterly astounded & appalled at what is happening. There are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of testimonies from Kratom users regarding how the Asian plant has literally saved their lives in so many numerous ways. For example, I was on life support from my Crohn’s Disease & nearly died. I do NOT want to be doped up & numb from pharmaceutical narcotics! If we lose Kratom, I could potentially end up on life support again & die! But yet, greed overcomes the health of millions! I just do not understand this! What a travesty. Again, millions of people have relied on this amazing herb/plant for so many medical reasons & it has saved thousands of lives. I mean, does the DEA all want us numb & back on dope?! I’m sure they don’t want that. Here the DEA has been fighting a tremendous drug war…and all the banning is going to do is create a much larger drug war! It breaks my heart. This is just so utterly heartbreaking for all of us. I read a story about how a young man took his own life when he found out about the proposed *emergency ban* because he knew he could not live without this Kratom. It may just be “one life”…but it is still a life that was taken! There are going to be so many thousands of people who will no longer be able to work, let alone function. There are going to be many people turning back to heroin. There are going to be thousands more deaths related to narcotic overdoses. Just a travesty. I cannot believe what is happening in this country right now!
I am able to for the first time in my life, have a day without debilitating pain and depression. I had several accidents in my 20’s, degenerative disc disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, multiple back surgeries, need surgery on my neck and foot, and Kratom helped me get off a ten year habit of morphine. It was remarkably easy to get off, and today I am a new person. I can get out of bed and walk my dog. I can talk to strangers with ease again. I am no longer a walking zombie. I have lost weight. This leaf has never caused me to be “high”, it just helps me think clearly without the jittery effects of caffeine. I also have two sleep disorders, PTSD and didn’t want to stay on pain pills my entire life. I don’t want to be a burden to my grown children, and want to start volunteering in my community again. aaathere needs to be research on this plant here, and making it schedule 1 will prevent that. Look at the jumble of laws we have with Marijuana. Don’t take away a helpful herb purely to make people go back to opiates. We need to not let greed be what drives this country, especially when there is such concern for addiction problems and OD’s from heroin use. Please do something to prevent this!
Thank you
How does the DEA think it has the authority to issue a ban?
What is really going on here? Someone needs to step in and set them straight. We did not appoint the DEA as lawmakers.
They are up to no good. The DEA thinks it has the power to turn us into drug lords, drug dealers and dopers, in two weeks.
We are teachers, doctors, pharmacists, mothers, fathers and veteran that fought for this country.
My 50-year old son is withdrawing from a serious addiction to opioid medicines and Kratom has been a miracle substance that minimizes the horrible adverse withdrawal effects – vomiting and his inability to function normally – and is an effective painkiller for his bone-crushing accident 24 years ago.
Stopping Kratom is a legal travesty for tens of thousands, a tragedy for my son and absolutely heartbreaking to those who love him.
There isn’t any crime for Kratom but there very well may be if they ban it
PLEASE save our medocine
For the same reasons as always!!! It’s all about the money!!! Our ridiculous government can not profit from a cure, only on from a drug!!!
Kratom is not a cure. Nor is it a drug so don’t label a healing herb with those terms, that only harms it.
True… Kratom is very mild
Here is an article dated today 9/11/16 showing their is known medicinal value based on traditional use in Thailand for centuries and a new patent being registered by Japanese researchers which Thailand is opposing.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1083272/fight-erupts-over-kratom-patent
“… Kratom is part of the country’s biodiversity and a traditional medicine. He said kratom has been used to “stimulate freshness and kill pain since ancient times … but the Japanese researchers laid claim to the plant’s benefits through a Thai-Japanese research project and patented it. “
Amen! Well said! Thank you! I believe I read somewhere that the Secretary has the final say & can prevent Kratom from being a Scheduled 1 Narcotic!
Well stated!
I was diagnosed in the top 3% of the worst menopause symptoms, auto immune disorder, fibromyalgia. My mother tried committing suicide 5 times going through menopause. I have been to 5 doctors over 10 years and have been put in over 30 different prescriptions that made me worse, suicidal for sure. I finally found Kratom that really helps with all of the symptoms, plus many vets count on this to get them through the day. I have prescriptions for codeine and other pain killers too and cannot take it either because it makes me much more depressed and makes me sick. The effects of Kratom does not effect you LIKE POT, CODEINE,ZANAX, etc, giving you that drugged feeling. It gives you better focus, more positive outlook on life, helps with pain and you never get sick from it unless you take it too much. They have received about 100 calls through out the years with complaints that some people have had serious back lashes from i BUT NO DEATHS! Well most of those people used it with illegal drugs. MAKING THOSE COMPLAINTS UNWARRANTED. HELLO! THIS IS A PUSH FROM THE DRUG COMPANIES BECAUSE THEY CANNOT PATENT IT, JUST LIKE THERE IS A CURE FOR CANCER AND THE DRUG COMPANIES DISMISSED IT BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT PATENT IT WHICH MEANS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY IN IT FOR THESE GREEDY, SELFISH, HEARTLESS PEOPLE, THINKING ONLY ABOUT THEM SELVES. THEY WANT YOU TO TAKE THEIR SYNTHETICS WHICH IS MOST CASES ARE BAD FOR YOU. YOU NEVER HEAR ABOUT ANYONE WHO WAS KILLED IN A HEAD ON CRASH THAT USED KRATOM. PLUS THEY ARE ABOUT 100 PEOPLE A DAY THAT DIE FROM PRESCRIBED MEDICINES. PRESCRIBED MEDICINES STILL REMAIN IN 4TH PLACE OF TOP TEN CAUSES OF DEATH. I AM GOING TO be FORCED TO GO BACK ON PRESCRIPTIONS THAT COULD CAUSE ME TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
The DEA is getting paid off to do this WHY else would they do it when it helps so many people with hardly any side effects except for those who abuse it by using it with illegal drugs or even prescribed drugs. OBVIOUSLY they are Hilary supporters.
I have heard there is a legal herb that works close to the marijuana effect without giving you that anxiety and dropped mood like the marijuana does after about 4 hours of using it. I do not smoke pot and hate that feeling from it when I tried it 30 years ago, but I am willing to give this a try since it is all natural with no side effects and is perfectly legal. People pray with me because God can turn this around. This is God given herb to help people out of their pits of life has put them in because of circumstances out of their control.
At least the DEA can perhaps allow a prescription for it from your doctor just like some people smoke medicinal marijuana and they can control the amount you can take by giving you a 30 day supply depending on the severity of your problems.
Exactly what DEA is aiming for is to control kratom to the end the drug companies make it so a doctor has to prescribe it.
At that point kratom becomes a great source of revenue for the government for taxes and to the doctors and the drug companies as they will be able to brand it and package it.
When that happens kratom will become quite a bit more costly than it is now for the folks that need it.
Exactly. Government would love to take control over kratom but first they need to make a stink over it so it will look like they need to control it. Only$$$ is the issue!!!!
Don’t give up hope! I Know how bad the pain/depression, etc etc etc can be, Believe me!
But Someone, SOMEWHERE, has Got to have some COMPASSION and God will make a way!
DON’T GIVE UP!
Both Sham and Shame…
Tell me about it I was on oxycotin 80 for my screwed up back and worked in coal mine the government lowered my dose tremendously and it didnt come close to covering my pain. I couldn’t work anymore, they denied me disability I started using Delta 8 THC I buy at gas station. It helped, now there outlawing it. My next option is suicide. Worked my whole life so terrible.
Just another prime example of government overreach and wrongful regulation without the DEA/HHS et al actually doing their jobs. Just another “smash and grab” of Americans’ Rights by the government. This single, obtuse action by the DEA will directly cause unnecessary and avoidable deaths and destruction to real Americans. Possibly even worse, in these very tense and difficult times where community and law enforcement relations are so tenuous, the DEA and DOJ’s flexing its power will necessarily cause further distrust and damage. The DEA is only going to cause the good and honorable law enforcement personnel to have to use their extreme power to breakdown the doors of soccer moms and vulnerable
The DEA’s “temporary rule” will further fuel anti-federalism sentiment as many states have been active and well-informed on kratom and have already taken action. In particular, consider Florida where the Florida Department of Law Enforcement completely debunked many of the DEA’s false statements in its Fed Reg Notice. http://speciosa.org/official-statewide-intelligence-drug-report-kratom-and-the-impact-to-florida/
Very well stated comment United We Stand. Especially important: the statement that law enforcement will have to use their extreme power against US citizens who are not by nature “criminals” and the vulnerable – who are in pain, and/or with severe PTSD, anxiety, depression. The 22 veterans who are said to commit suicide daily? What about all the veterans who are currently able to function with the help of Kratom for their chronic, relentless pain and PTSD? What about those who have given their testimony that Kratom has given them their lives back? Those who have Already said they’d rather die than go back on opiates or live like they did before discovering Kratom. Anti-federalism is one thing – what about the average “soccer mom” (like me) who is growing ever more disillusioned with the “land of the free, and the home of the brave” due to this heavy-handed, precipitous action by a government agency? It almost seems personal. Or maybe, the DEA is just knee-jerk ignorant about this natural, NOT synthetic substance, and acted without adequate background information. Again, sounds incompetent – or personal.
People need to do some real research for themselves- don’t bite on the sensationalist media stories that are not researched at all- see for yourselves how truly harmless this leaf is- not a single death recorded from Kratom alone- every single death linked to Kratom was in conjunction with other drugs- I urge you all to make up your own minds about this matter- I have no doubts you will see the blatant overreach and that this is yet another freedom trampled on by the self-righteous- look for yourselves- don’t stand for it! We should have the final say in matters regarding our own bodies
My Son takes kratom for his anxiety and I have been suffering with chronic neck pain for 20 years taking prescription medication which has not really helped with my pain, I have difficulty doing daily housework and have to pace myself. I have been working at my job for 14 years now and the older I’m getting the worse my chronic pain gets. I have just learned about kratom and want to try it. I want to be able to do my daily housework and remain with my job for longer so I hope I can get that chance and be able to maintain. There are so many people who WANT to work and have to rely on their prescription medicine to be able to work and if taking this kratom is going to help people so that they can work, why would you want to take that away? With my job taking medical marijuana would get me fired so I can’t and it’s difficult the older I’m getting, I want to stay working and be able to do my job and if kratom is going to help not just me but others who are just trying to maintain a job and a life then why would you want to take that away??
I feel completely betrayed by my government. I’m a retired teacher, a vet, and a grandmother. I was hoping to enjoy my retirement, but the DEA, by banning kratom, is making that impossible, as this herb is the only think that really helps my severe restless leg syndrome. The DEA is going to make me a felon.
Oh, and by the way, when I was teaching high school English, had a student ever turned in a paper with so little accreditation, he would have failed.
That’s the point entirely. No citations, only knee-jerk reactions. It’s all a money, power-grab game.
I am an excellent teacher with a master’s degree in education, two beautiful sons, a loving wife, a great house in suburbia. I never miss a day of work because my students need me and I love my job.
I am not a “hippy” or a “druggy” or some head-shop Deadhead. I pay taxes, I take care of the people I love and even those I don’t particularly like, but I do it all with energy and a smile because my life is good. I thank God for all of this when I go to church with my family on Sunday. I love the arts and theatre. I donate money to several charities fighting cancer. I volunteer when I can. I help coach my sons’ sports teams (their seemingly endless sports teams!)
In addition, every morning after I shower, I mix about a half teaspoon of kratom leaf into some boiling water, stir in some honey, and grab the paper for about 20 minutes before work. This does not “cure” me of anything, but it sure does help my back stop screaming at me. I stand all day teaching children just like yours. I give them everything I have, despite the back spasms that have haunted me for nearly 20 years. I’ve had pills from doctors, MRI’s, more pills from doctors. And I’m done with that. Kratom works for me. Keep your pills.
I have been using this amazing leaf for almost 8 years now. Eight years … Never more than a half teaspoon in the morning, one more at night. Never need more. Never crave it. Never rob convenience stores to get it. Never am found passed out in a car with my child in the back seat while I require emergency resucitation because of a needle stuck in my arm that had some kind of elephant tranqulizer in it.
And guess what? I am healthy. I run three miles three days per week. I work out. I look damn good. Ask my wife. 🙂 In fact, I challenge anyone in the D.C. offices of the DEA to a pushup match, because I will win. You have to stay fit to keep up with kids, any good teacher and father will tell you this.
Kratom has made all of this possible. It has saved my life. Period. End of story.
If we are so obsessed with cherry-picking shady anecdotal evidence to try to demonize a natural herb, we better damn well listen to the thousands upon thousands of kratom success stories being shared all over the world right now. It is real. Banning it is not only ridiculous and rash, it is cruel. So many veterans, moms, dads … grandmas, grandpas … good people all. And we are going to make them all felons.
To what end, I ask you? What exactly will this accomplish? The dangerous drugs you are fighting in your highly,-funded drug war are the very drugs kratom helps people avoid. Doesn’t anyone see this? Will ANYONE in Congress step up? All I hear are crickets and the fear of innocent good people being immorally turned into felons at the whim of a bloated bureaucracy.
James, I hope you are sharing your story with your members of Congress. Well said.
THAT needs to be retold, and retold!!! ☺️
Dear James,
Please share your compelling words with all congress members an
Dr. DeSalvo- Blessings to you!
Nothing could be added or taken away from the comment James made. It says it all!
Best comment of the day goes to….James!!! Thank you!
Couldn’t have said it better James. I am a 48yr old mother of a 16yr old that has been through a lot. I have physical pain as well as depression and lethargy. I have been to a doctor and they have wanted to put me on pain meds and antidepressants, which I did take for a while when I had insurance and money. Once I didn’t, the system turned it’s back on me to suffer alone, I found Kratom and it saved me. I told all who suffers from pain about it and now I feel bad because friends and family have found relief and now it’s being taken away. I’m sure there will be suicides and people with mental health issues. I am a working, productive member of society and should be able to use a plant that has been used for thousands of years. (Do you see what artificial sweeteners do to a persons mind and body?)
Well said, James. I couldn’t agree more. It’s just another way to make law abiding people criminals for money. It all comes down to money.
Very well said. You make excellent points.
Wow James, excellent. Thank you and yes please send that on to members of congress.
James, Very well said. Do you have a local newspaper you could send this to as a letter to the editor? You are such a great example of how kratom helps people like us who suffer chronic pain and have found relief with kratom.
Well said James!
I cried when heard about the proposed ban. I have had fibromyalgia and migraines headaches for 20 years after a hit and run car accident. This year a new friend introduced me to kratom and it is the only thing that helps. I was addicted to OxyContin and I have ulcers with too much NSAIDs use. Kratom gets rid of the migraines if I catch them early, It also makes the fibromyalgia pain go away and the stomach pain. I have suffered for too long and I finally been blessed with this wonderful plant that God gave us! I am praying that the government puts the people first for once and not their pockets!
James. Can I borrow parts of this to prepare my letter to congress? I will absolutely site you..
+1
absolutely!! round of applause….I’m also a parent and teacher. I’ve been on dozens of medications for chronic back pain and depression in the last 20 of 40 years of life. I’ve endured multiple life or death health traumas involving myself and my son. I found Kratom when I became sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was just looking to try food and herbs as a natural way of becoming healthier. In the last few years because of Kratom, I have been able to keep up with my family and friends on a day out. I no longer feel like I may fall asleep at the wheel when I’ve been out for the day. I no longer have severe mood episodes triggered by pain flare ups. It helped me emotionally cope with my son’s open heart surgeries and spending long hours at the hospital. Suddenly, on an uneducated whim of the DEA, or carefully plotted conspiracy funded by Big Pharma, I will be considered a felon for that in about a week.
I’m so scared. I was bed ridden most of the time before I found kratom. On disability and now I am able to work. I am not a junkie, just a regular girl who is in so much pain I cannot take it. Kratom doesn’t cure my problem but it makes me be able to care for my child like I should. I didn’t choose this pain and I hope someone in the dea will have empathy for people who choose to be healthy instead of miserable. I almost took my life from this pain. Please someone listen to us.
enough is enough. Kratom is a God given plant to help people and the way the government makes it sound it’s worse then herion. Kratom has changed my life. It has reduced my pain and enlightened my mood and has helped me to become a better person. It is not some man made lab drug that is killing people. I would think with the opiod crisis and the chronic pain people suffer the government would be more interested in testing this plant and finding out it’s possibilities than rounding it up and making everyone a criminal that possesses it. There are parents in OD with their 4yr old child in the back seat in a car and they are taking these steps against a plant. It seems to me that their priorities are messed up. The government would be wise to step back and rethink what they are doing before it is to late. There’s still time to fix this. Don’t make a fools decision.
The DEA is not interested in public health and safety in regards to the ban on Kratom. Pharmaceutical Companies have begun to patent the main alkaloids found in Kratom and will be developing and marketing new drugs based on them. The ban is completely unnecessary and unacceptable. The pharmacology industry should be able to make a new drug based off of the alkaloids and prescribed them regardless. Since the drugs will be far more potent and should not be in competition with the plant. Furthermore there is not enough evidence of harm to justify a ban. Kratom is not an opioid or opiate. It is a member of the coffee family and does not cause the health issues that opiods create. There is no respiratory depression that is common in opiates. You can not consume enough of the plant matter to overdose. It does not cause any”high” or intoxication. The banning of Kratom will cause several hundred and possibly thousands of lives. Outside of death it will negatively impact the quality of life for millions of Americans and cause further strain on the economy and healthcare industry. Please use some common sense and keep Kratom legal for adults( 21yr+ ). Allow individual states their sovereignty to decide on the legality of Kratom.
I am sad to see the federal government moving in this direction. This plant has been a true life saver for me. I’m 69 years old and still working because of it! I have no dependency issues at all I just find pain relief for serious back problems and shoulder problems. Now I can easily afford it online it’s not covered by any insurance and so the out-of-pocket expenses are very manageable.
I am begging the DEA to leave this natural supplement alone and allow us who enjoy the benefits of it to continue as we have done!
#KatomUnited #BotanicalEducationAlliance #KratomTeaParty #RawLeafKratom #iamkratom #iamkratomunited #savekratom #kratomsavedmylife
I’m 43 years old and I was struck by a drunk driver in traffic in 1992. I suffered soft tissue neck damage and begin to live at chiropractors offices. Subsequently, I was a victim of a violent crime where my pelvis was crushed and I suffered frequent sciatica, and it became impossible for me to lift my leg without using my hand to move my leg. Due to all the injuries I have had, I developed complications and issues with fibromyalgia, fainting spells and narcolepsy. I used to work for FedEx and AGE. I was a package handler and an Insurance Issue Clerk for the military before, but I ended up in a wheelchair after multiple surgeries. I was never addicted to pain medicine given to me by the doctor, but no matter that they continued to give me it incapacitated me and made me incapable of daily duties and taking care of myself. No matter what the doctor gave me it did not effectively relieve me from the pain I suffer. I developed depression, anxiety and PTSD. One day, I heard about kratom on the internet. I ordered some and it saved my life, so I created and run Kratom United – an organization for others like me and those with other conditions who consume kratom on a daily basis in order to function in life. Before I found kratom I would sleep three to seven days in a row. I was tied to the couch or bed from lack of energy, chronic pain and debilitating depression. I have been on a variety of medications. It would take hours to list them all but here are the names of some of them; Viibryd, Prednisone, Fentanyl Patch, OxyContin, Norco, Percocet, Endocet, Opana, Trazodone, Amitriptyline and Carisoprodol. Over the past 20 years, I also tried various other forms of therapy in addition to medication; physical therapy, chiropractic care, exercise, therapeutic injection treatment and hydrotherapy but still I suffered! I became so incapacitated I could no longer work and three years ago I was granted Disability.
I am very upset that legislators are told false information. I want you to know the facts; it has no respiratory depression, not one death from kratom alone, it is not on the DEA’s list of banned substances. I am now off all 13 medications and I have a better quality life ; I actually have a life I can participate in now. Before kratom, I would pass out or have black outs from all the medications I was prescribed. Today I remember everything from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. I am a daughter again. I do chores around the house. I can go to family functions. Sadly, in the past I was asked not to attend because my medications made me an embarrassment to my family. If doctors and states ban kratom, I will be back on all the medication. Being a zombie because of prescription medications and still being in pain is no way to live, no quality of life. Please keep kratom legal. I have a group of over 2,500 kratom consumers terrified between chronic pain and recovering members of society the fear is death, quality of life and relapse. And I’d like to add 13th 12pm the #KratomMarch we are #KratomStrong and we will make a stand for out civil liberties! #KratomDCMarch
This is a slap in the face of those chronically ill and those in the military who have sacrificed for our right to help our selves. KRATOM does not hurt anyone its the synthetics people are replicating that are hurting people. Peanuts are more dangerous than kratom. The dea should be ashamed of his attack on the American people. Not to mention those who wil suffer in Indonesia. We the People are Kratom
Wife has been using kratom for 2 years in lieu of hydrocodone. She experienced no withdrawal from the doctor prescribed medicine and now she will have to go back onto it. I’m going to need help raising my kids since she will have to stop work and become a zombie again. No thought to how kratom can help people like her. I’m disgusted with the DEA and that’s coming from a retired police officer.
I really feel the same way, except I’m the wife.
Kratom, in its pure form, is not a drug, it is not an opiate and it needs further studies for its possible medicinal value, not banned. It’s my belief that the DEA is overstepping their boundaries here. They are an enforcement agency and as such, should not be writing policy. This ban needs to not happen and further tests need to be done on this plant. It could be a very valuable asset to our health care.
Well said, Nancy! On point!
We the people have a right to help our own bodies! !! While you dea are wasting time on innocent Kratom healers real drugs like meth are killing our streets. Kratom is nothing like meth, heroin, or any of those drugs . Do the research. We the people have tsken kratom our whole lives yiu csnt kie to us.
You cant lie to us
I was a victim of a serial rapist while I was 8 months pregnant with my youngest, and suffer from PTSD. The drugs they want to give me make me feel lethargic and unable to care for my children’s busy lives. Kratom helps me deal with the anxiety while being completely active and coherent in their lives. It doesn’t hurt that I have endometriosis and when my cycle roles around I can take Kratom instead of a narcotic and do not need to be impaired during that time anymore! I am a soccer mom with kids in private school, we are a cookie cutter family and I have been through some things, and I have carried on because I researched a botanical that might help and it did!
I have endometriosis! I have had 7 surgeries and a hysterectomy. I’m only 26 and I will never be able to carry my own baby. I suffer from chronic pain And was so dependent on narcotics. I can proudly say I am off all pain meds because of Kratom.
You said the reason why kratom is being banned. Instead of taking a narcotic you take kratom. This doesn’t profit anyone in our government so it must be rid of, until they figure out how to profit from it!
I’m 35, I have Fibro, Lupus, Costo, Chronic Migraines, I need surgery on my neck and back due to injuries from a 2013 car crash. Prescribed Norco and Fentanyl that did little for my pain. Though left drugged and bedridden, that was my life. That was to be my life forever. I was introduced to Kratom after an insurance change left me going cold turkey off my pain meds. I didn’t have high hopes for kratom. Though it made withdrawals easy, after when I took it for my pain I found that not only was my pain managed, I had energy, I felt better. The drugs I was on did more damage than I ever realized. After years and years being chained to prescription drugs I felt free for the first time ever. Getting to know my family again, we took a vacation. I have never said that before. My son can hug me now whenever he wants. No longer afraid he will hurt me. I am a mother again. I am a functioning member of society. Even better, I no longer feel I need disability. Well that is until this news came. If the ban happens, I need disability. If it happens my son doesn’t get those hugs. I don’t get to leave my bed anymore. This is not the America I thought I was a part of.
This ban is absolutely not in the best interest of the public…the reasons for it are a conglomeration of lies. The FDA & DEA are not even trying to hide their lack of concern for their own citizens anymore. Let’s not forget the lessons of history…the French monarchy took advantage of their citizens until they were overthrown and we know how that ended for those in power…
I’m so very frustrated that this is happening. In my few years of being in this community, I have seen kratom help thousands of people better their quality of life, and be productive members of society. it is a shame that freedom is being taken away from the people, and practically overnight with no regard to people’s feelings, opinions, comments, etc. We have a right to freedom of speech, and freedom to choose what we put in our bodies, and it seems DEA is stripping us completely of those. If this ban goes through, od and suicide numbers will skyrocket and it will be detrimental so many people. And that, in itself, is very upsetting.
I was told in 2009 that i had fibromyalgia. Not long after that i was bed ridden. I had no quality of life at all. All the doctors i had been to were giving me this pill and that pill. Nothing was helping me at all. When i could get up, i was not my self. I was foggy headed. Not only was i now told i had fibromyalgia, but my MRI showed i had degenerated disk disease. Plus my spinal cord had a cyst wrapped around it.
Then in January of 2016 a very good friend of mine told me about kratom. I done a whole lot of research. So i ordered me so kratom powder. Kratom was and still is the best pain relief i have ever had. I DO NOT get drugged off of kratom. I am very clear headed. No foggy feeling. I am not cured in any way. Yet I’m not bed ridden either. I now have a quality of life. I can go out to eat, wash my own dishes. Even clean my house.
It really makes me sad that our own government would worry about a natural leaf, than stuff that is killing people. Kratom has never killed anyone. Yet the DEA,FDA, and who knows who else is more worried about getting rid of kratom than worrying about the opoid epidemic that we have here in America.
I am a 23 year old high school teacher. I graduated from the University of South Carolina magna cum laude and with honors. I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2014. I have been on 3 separate SSRI’s and refuse to take benzodiazepine’s because of the negative effects. No pharmaceutical drug has been effective in treating my condition, and my ability to function normally has been impaired by this disease.
I was introduced to kratom as a way to combat my symptoms, and all I can say is that it has completely transformed my life. I am able to approach social situations with uncanny ease, I can calm myself when I am stuck in an anxiety loop, and, probably the most positive effect, is that I can finally get restful, good sleep. Before kratom, I rarely was able to get to sleep in less than an hour, and would wake up an average of 3 to 4 times a night. Kratom has almost completely eliminated these symptoms.
Without this herbal supplement, my professional life, my personal life, and my quality of life would dramatically decrease. The pharmaceutical alternatives are either innefectual or come with negative side effects too great to ignore. I urge the DEA to rethink this move to schedule the kratom plant, as the ramifications of it coming into effect would negatively affect my, and many others, lives.
My story is a little different. I was a nurse when I developed chronic pain. The doctors began giving me massive amounts of narcotics to treat my pain, but soon it was never enough. They never told me that I might become addicted to them, they never warned me of what addiction might do to my life. I never had a drug problem before taking hydrocodone. It soon became my everything. I thought of it night and day, it had locked my mind in a deep hole and I just couldn’t get out. I started taking more and more and eventually buying them off the streets. Of course, I got caught. I lost everything, my husband, my kids, my career. I went to jail for 97 days and came out to nothing. The nursing board never offered me treatment, they wanted to make an example out of me, atleast that what the DEA agents said when they came to my work to tell me they were issuing a warrant for my arrest.Everyone was treating me like some junkie off the streets, which I was not. I was a professional, a mother of 2, I worked critical care, I’d saved hundreds of lives! But here I was labeled and abandoned by my doctor’s who had turned me into this. I could no longer get pills prescribed so I had to turn to street drugs. Meth and heroine were best at relieving pain but I wouldn’t turn down anything I mean afterall I was now a no good druggie with a record, what did I have to loose? The next few years are a blur of drugs and struggle. When I found kratom I thought this sucks. It didn’t give me a high that I was used to. But it took care of the pain. And after a month of using it, I was finally seeing clearly again. No more drugs, no more pain. I have never looked back. Now I have my kids back, and added a new addition 3 years ago. I got married last year and even purchased a home this year. I volunteer at church and focus on the jail campus because I know what hopelessness is. I’ve helped numerous people beat all kinds of addictions and get their lives back using kratom. It’s in my blood to help people afterall I was a very excellent nurse. I cry for the ones I haven’t helped yet. I worry about what this means for me too? Will the pain put me back into a downward spiral. As a nurse we take an oath to do no harm. What oath do the DEA take? What exctly is your purpose? To protect the public from harm? Then why are tide pods still available, but your banning kratom? I’d like to think it’s just because you’re unaware of the good it is doing. I’d like to think that, but I fear your motives are different. I wish I’d found kratom sooner. I wish I’d never gone to that pain management clinic, but my biggest hope is that no one ever has to go through what I did, that’s why I recommend kratom to every single person I meet. You can ask for scientific research but nothing beats a thousand years of experience! Leave my kratom alone!!
Congratulations on your new addition and you are not a ‘junkie’. Drugs do not discriminate. I too became addicted to opiates. All my life. Pretty much lost everything. Arrested. The whole 9 yards. It wasn’t until kratom that I was able to get and stay clean. Congratulations on your sobriety.
We must keep kratom legal
Kratom is a plant unless unadulterated. Leaves are pick, air dried, and ground that’s it. No chemicals. No synthetic anything. There is NO HIGH, as it acts an opiate agonistt and antagonist. It’s self regulating, thus no overdoses. You just vomit. The only withdrawals I have ever experienced is slight anxiety, like when I give up caffeine or sugar, and a return of my severe chronic pain from an autoimmune disorder and several other incurable progressive issues.
I’m a 47 yr old high school teacher and mother of two. I’ve always been really active on my own and with my kids. As years went by my fatigue and widespread pain free until I barely got out of bed. I was diagnosed with osteo arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Fibromyalgia. All of this on top of the IBS, displaced cervical discs, degenerated discs, TMJ Disorder, and migraines that I had been being diagnosed with since the 8th grade. We tried the Cymbalta, Lyrica, and gabapentin (Norco for only the worst of days). With each, I got worse instead of better. Within six months I had packed on 60lbs and could barely function through the basic necessities of daily living. I seriously gave thought to removing myself from this planet. I ran across someone who told me about Kratom for pain and fatigue. I researched it and eventually gave it a try. I was amazed at the pain relief, energy boost, anxiety relief, and mood boost that it gave me. I used it to take myself off of one pharmaceutical at a time. It took months and the withdrawals from Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Gabapentin were horrid. The only pharmaceuticals that I still use are Enbrel injections, muscle relaxers, and the very rare Norco. Kratom has given me my life back. I’m a functioning interactive mom and high school teacher again. I gain no “euphoria” or “high” with Kratom. There’s no intellectual muddiness, like with opiates or the antidepressants previously prescribed. The only side effect, if I take too much, is nausea. I switch strains each dose to keep my tolerance low, at 3-6 grams. I take it only when I have to, in order to be able to move. I still feel pain 24/7 but it’s tolerable most days and I gladly smile again. We MUST keep Kratom legal so that I can keep my life.
Connie Fuller
http://news.olemiss.edu/new-hope-for-addicts/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_SMhCuwVcKjbEhKVTZHd1RBTTA/view
I am a 34 year old mother of three children under the age of 5. I have a Master’s Degree in education and undergrad in Finance. I fully support the use of Kratom because I believe it is a safe and very effective alternative to harmful medications. My father (who was a Vietnam Vet and Purple Heart recipient) passed away a year and a half ago. I blame myself for not researching alternative medicines for him, as I watched him suffer in the last few years of his life. Much of it was due to the illnesses he acquired while at war. He was 100% disabled. But what was even more difficult, was watching him deteriorate (especially mentally), because of the cocktail of prescription medications they kept pushing on him. If I had only researched more on the medicinal benefits of Kratom, I could have at least prolonged the quality of his life. The Kratom plant has been around for thousands of years in other countries, and there is not one solid reported death on Kratom ALONE. The 15 deaths that the DEA reports, have all been mixed with hard drugs or harmful prescription medications. Tylenol is essentially more dangerous than the Kratom plant. Here are some other facts that I hope you choose to read so that we can spread factual knowledge rather than speculation:
· Kratom is a tree native to Southeast Asia, whose leaves have been used as a natural medicine for thousands of years.
· In small doses it provides an energy boost – it’s a botanical cousin of coffee, but in higher doses have a sedative and analgesic (pain relieving) effect
· Its main use is as an effective natural pain reliever and anti-depressant
· Hundreds of testimonials have been written about kratom’s efficacy in treating:
chronic pain, diabetes, fatigue, depression, lack of energy, withdrawal symptoms of opiate and alcohol addiction
· Users report that it is “less addictive than coffee”, with those in middle-age being
the most frequent and enthusiastic proponents of kratom’s benefits.
This age-old medicine is being lumped in with dangerous, unknown synthetic substances, and is under threat of criminalization. If this criminalization occurs, countless sufferers of illness and pain could lose access to a vital natural remedy that they have been using safely for years. Like any plant or medicine, when one regularly ingests excessive amounts of a substance there is a potential for harm. This is true of countless products available for sale in pharmacies and liquor stores today, but few would argue that this means they should be outlawed. If kratom is abused – taken daily in very high doses – it can be mildly addictive, and can also cause “nervousness, sleeplessness, loss of libido, constipation and the darkening of skin complexion”. However, there have been no recorded deaths due to the use of kratom, which highlights its safety.
Public health should be not seen through a lens so narrow that it that disregards practically all alternatives to Western medicine and pharmaceutical drugs. We call upon citizens, policymakers, and politicians to support the reform of archaic drug policy for the benefit of society, and to respect people’s innate right to use all natural plants and herbs.
Thank you for your time and my prayer is that you help join the fight to regulate not prohibit the use of this natural herbal medicine.
Shea Anderson
(34 year old Mother of Three, Masters in Education and Finance)
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease almost 10 years ago. Had 18 inches of intestine and part of my colon removed. My bladder and intestines also fused together with fistula and I had to have that separated and repaired. I’ve been on and off of various pharmaceuticals that at best did nothing for me at all, at worst they made me feel awful. After six years of this I just gave up. Then about a year and a half ago a family member told me about Kratom. I gave it a try and it changed my world. The agonizing stomach pain I was in went away and I went from having a dozen+ bowel movements a day to having two to three. And for the last year and a half I’ve felt better than I have in the last 8 years prior to that.
Before Kratom I would be in so much pain that there were times that I thought I was loosing my mind. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, there were times when I couldn’t even leave my house because I was running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Since I’ve started drinking Kratom tea, I’ve gotten my life back. Or at least did, until the DEA decided to take it away from me. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. What kind of monster forces people into choosing to be a felon or living your life in pain and suffering? And as many people that are being effected by this, this is a crime against humanity as far as I’m concerned.
Kradom helps so many people my boyfriend suffers from chronic pain fatigue now that we found kradom he feels better it gives him energy helps him cope with his pain, this Natural plant is not a drug it’s classifieds as an Herb. We need this plant it’s important to us don’t take it away from us that’s not fair at all. Thank you
I’m so confused on how people with chronic pain or anxiety that otherwise would require a prescription for a narcotic which is now nearly impossible to get, is supposed to have any quality of life. I started taking Kratom to help my debilitating pain and anxiety when it was impossible to get a dr to prescribe any help to me in the form of pain meds because of all the regulations set on them, even though I have a legitimate diagnosis. Drs are scared to prescribe to those who are in need, and now the one thing that has saved us from these ailments in form of a non synthetic substance is going to be banned too. There will be an increase in suicdes, and drug overdoses.. The things that was supposedly being avoided by opiate regulation. But rather than research being done, the FDA is going to just take our God given plant away, and leave us all just in desperation. No quality of life, and finding any means possible to lessen our pain. So by making a coffee bean relative a felony to obtain, people will in the end go back to street drugs because they can’t get help from Drs. So a felony for a different felony. Who wins but big pharma and their pocketbook. They only regulated opiated by prescription to start the suboxone clinics and get methadone on the rise anyway. American people are not cared for by their government.. Money talks and that is all this seems to be about. #iamkratom
I am a fibromyalgia sufferer, Ive had this for over 16 years. In the beginning i tried every drug the drs through at me (at times feeling like a lab rat!), anti depressants, muscle relaxers, fibro specific medications. None of them helped me, but what did happen was i got a lot of the nasty side effects! I was on vicodin for awhile until it tore up my stomach and gave me gastritis. At that point I had to come off of those. Then i became bedridden! Im a mom of 4 and had a little one that needed me. Some days i didnt want to go on. Looking for support I went to a Fibromyalgia forum where another sufferer told me about kratom.
Well i looked up this herb and being fearful to take anything I knew nothing about I had my husband do research. I researched this herb for months. After researching I ordered some. There it sat for a few weeks. When I decided to take it I didnt realize my nightmare was over! I was able to get up and play with my child! I dont get nauseated on it, my mind is clear and im not impaired at all.
As a responsible ADULT I research what I put into my body, and I do not feel an agency can deny me a PLANT that has helped me get out of bed. When I read they were banning Kratom I cried. Not because its my drug, because it gave me my LIFE back.
PLEASE do not put my childs mother back in bed!
If the DEA bans the medicinal herb Kratom on Sept. 30th, 2016, lives will be destroyed and people will die. Many people say kratom has helped them with mental illness issues like anxiety and depression, while some have put their lives back together from nasty addictions to both pharmaceuticals and street drugs. The drug epidemic is only intensifying and drugs are getting deadlier. As you know, there is a bad heroin problem here in Massachusetts and many times the drugs are laced with a potent and deadly opiate called Fentanyl which almost certainly is a death sentence. People are literally dropping like flies.
Before I took kratom for my anxiety, I was on highly addictive and destructive Rx medications like Klonopin and Adderall. Then I turned to opiates. In treating my opiate dependency, they put me on Suboxone, which was just as debilitating and addictive with terrible withdrawals. Adderall put me into a psychosis. Klonopin took away my anxiety, but it killed my motivation and had a disastrous effect on my brain activity and I was plagued by memory problems, not to mention a heavy dependency on it. I ended up getting off them eventually but my anxiety problems persisted.
Before I opted to get back on them, I researched into an herb called kratom. When I bought this herb, I was not looking for a recreational high, and I don’t find it to be addictive and it does not make me incoherent. Quite the contrary. I don’t consider it anything like the addictive pharmaceuticals I was taking before. I do not have memory problems or feel “drunk” or “high” on kratom anymore than I would from coffee, but it put my life back together in ways no Rx medication could. I am back in school now to get my certificate in Graphic Design, I have a garden of exotic plants I love growing, I am making music and finishing up a first album. I write and own my own website for the plants I grow. I am motivated and doing so many productive things again when before I would isolate, have no desire to accomplish anything, or sleep too much from being on opiates and sedatives. Kratom is not a destructive drug of abuse because I have none of these problems while taking kratom. My cognition is full of clarity and sound judgement.
There are now swarms of us getting active on social media under the hashtag #IAmKratom with memes showing us as accomplishing, successful people. There are literally thousands of us, and we are sticking together and trying to support each other because many people have come so far and put their lives back together. They are afraid that when the ban goes into effect, their lives will destabilize and fall apart, some will turn to street drugs again, suicides will increase. So we have been very writing our senators and congressmen, calling the DEA and other agencies dealing with public health. We are supported by the American Kratom Association, the Botanical Education Alliance, among others. We have posted Youtube video testimonials under #IAmKratom telling of how much Kratom has helped us.
The ban they are placing on Kratom is through a law that was designed for dangerous synthetic designer drugs and they have falsely used this regulation to try and ban this medicinal herb. Please stand up for our rights as citizens to live a healthy and productive life, free from the terrible drug epidemic and burden of mental illness. Don’t let the federal government pass regulations under the guise of making our streets safer when it puts many people in danger and will destroy lives.
We will NOT sit idly by and let this CORRUPT Federal agency sell us out and destroy our right to a happy productive life to hand it off to Big Pharma!!! THIS IS CRIMINAL AND YOU SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!!!!!
Thank you for doing what you can to make this letter public. I’m very curious to see what the DEA said to the HHS to justify the ban as I’m aware of no deaths where kratom was the sole contributor and the science seems to point to kratom not affecting the respiratory system in a negative way like traditional opiates to cause an overdose.
There is no logical reason why the DEA would put a plant that has traditional use in it’s native region as a medicine on the list of schedule 1 substances. At the very least that’s where they overreacted. America has some of the highest rates of drug overdose (and incarceration) on the planet and here we are having a discussion about banning a plant that is known by many to not cause overdose and help them quit drugs that do. It’s almost as if the last 40+ years of the war on drugs weren’t about actually helping people and instead about throwing people in prison.
I am a 31 year old wife, mother and active member of my community. My oldest child has Autism. I am also a chronic pain patient who suffers from Degenerative Disc Disease, Lumbar Annual Tears, Bi-Lateral Femoral-Acetabular Impingement, Nail Patella Syndrome, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Chiari Malformation, Endometriosis and more. I have had over 10 surgeries to try to correct, treat or improve the causes of pain and symptoms. I suffered from severe insomnia, depression and anxiety for close to a decade due to my chronic illness and disability.
After 10 years of treatment which included injections, surgery, physical therapy, chiropractic care, behavioral therapy, counseling, massage therapy and being prescribed a litany of medications that included: opiates (Fentanyl and Opana among them), anti-depressants, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories and anti-epileptics, I was becoming more and more sick. I was suicidal, feeling that my life needed to end because I had become such a burden and was worthless.
19 months ago, I discovered Kratom during research for methods of naturally relieving pain. After researching for quite some time, and feeling like I had nothing to lose, I decided to try it.
A “normal” pain level had been a 7 for me…even with medications I never dropped below a 6, so I was not expecting much. Yet, 20 minutes after trying Kratom, my pain had dissipated, and I was at a 2.
Since that day, I have gone on to being completely off all medications. I can now work and be an active member of society. All while feeling completely clear headed and surprising doctors with my perfect blood work. While I still live in chronic daily pain, it is much more manageable. I have more energy and I am no longer depressed, anxious or suicidal.
The move to ban Kratom is one that frightens me. What will my life be forced to become? What about my children? My husband? These are things I do not want to think about, as the possible ramifications this ban could have is terrifying. Felon or Dead?
We are supposed to be the Land of the Free…but my freedom to live a happy, healthy life is in jeopardy.
I have fibro, severe back problems, with 3 surgeries. thyroid problems, copd anxiety and arthritis and have been taking kratom for over 2 years and it has been helping me more than any meds I was on before. I have reacted to so many different drugs because of all my allergies and don’t want to quit the kratom because it helps me so much.. I am too young to die because my family would miss me so much and I am not ready yet!!
In 2009 I fell from a 32′ high window and broke my back, crushed my spinal chord 75% of the way, broke my tailbone and slight fractures in my pelvic bone. I became paralyzed lying in the hospital bed for 2 months. Finally my toes started moving, then eventually I gain the ability to walk again. However, with that great privilege cam an emense amount of pain. My doctor knowingly prescribed me harsh opioids of which my body and mind became addicted. After going through withdrawals because of my desire to get off of these deadly drugs, I finally found relief. Kratom was that relief. It gave me the needed pain relief, sleep and escape from the terrible anxiety and depression that I developed. No longer dos I feel the desire or need to find opiates. Today I love with manageable pain due to Kratom. Kratom literally saved my life. If this ban goes into effect, I WILL need to get pain management treatment and likely with the use of pain killers. My life that I thought I had saved will be torn apart as I become physically and mentally addicted to the pills. Please do not let this ban happen. Please! Whoever is reading this that possibly can help fight this terrible law, please take mine and other’s stories into account. We are going to be addicts again and lose the best hope we had with Kratom. Thank you for reading my story.
Kratom is an awesome supplement that really helps with my chronic pain caused by spinal problems. I’ve been taking kratom for two years now with no adverse affects. It helps with both my pain and the depression caused by chronic pain. I’ve never gotten any type of high from kratom and I’ve never had any of the side effects that go along with opioid use such as dizziness, nausea, confusion or respiratory depression, as it isn’t an opioid. I would much rather use kratom to help my pain and depression than take lots of pills that affect your mood and ability to function. God gave us plants to help with the problems that arrive in life and I would be greatly disappointed if it was taken away. Many people use kratom to help with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, ptsd, etc. Not one death has ever been attributed to kratom alone and it isn’t a danger to anyone, even in high doses. It doesn’t cause dependency, side effects or any kind of altered state of mind. Please don’t take away this herb that is so helpful to so many. Thousands of people have successfully used kratom to permanently stop taking prescription opioids or using street drugs. I would say with today’s opioid and street drug abuse epidemic kratom would be very helpful in preventing further overdose when used to wean off of other drugs. It doesn’t treat or cure any illnesses but can certainly help with the symptoms of pain, depression or withdrawal. Please don’t take it away from us!
the d.e.a. has no justifiable reason for this kratom is not a drug
I just made a video, explaining why I need Kratom and how important it is to my life – it’s the difference between “living “and “existing, in agonizing pain.” I suffer from severe fibro pain, panic disorder, and ptsd. The doctors prescriptions do not help the pain and I’m now allergic to the meds I took for the panic disorder. Kratom helps with all of my health issues, without side effects, and I scared what life will be like without it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JeQMA1vGeE
The DEA says they are taking action on Kratom because of “dire circumstances”. The DEA are in existence to enforce, not to make law. That is Congress’s job to do. Kratom is a safe supplement to my way of life. I have researched and I have seen what it does for my health. I have read testimony after testimony how it has helped so many others also. I don’t have to take as much medication as I have to previously because of Kratom I am thinking with today’s opiod problem, Kratom would be embraced instead of ostracized and slandered. But where is money in the truth?
Another example of “the government” trying to contol the lives of Americans. We are forced to buy “their insurance, see their doctors & take their medication”. Time to stand up for the right to choose natural alternatives to manage our health, without fear of arrest!
Andrew Kruegel, a researcher at Columbia University, has been examining the chemistry of the active alkaloids in kratom, and earlier this year published his work.
Kruegel’s research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on May 18, 2016 — 12 days after the DEA reportedly notified the HHS of their intent to schedule those very same alkaloids.
Kruegel and his team found that (quoting from the medical news website “Stat”):
“When an opioid binds to a receptor, it can trigger a few different responses in a cell. One is thought to be responsible for causing pain relief. Another is thought to be responsible for the negative side effects, such as respiratory depression, which is responsible for many opioid deaths.
“Standard opioids, such as morphine, oxycodone, and fentanyl, set both of these protein cascades into motion.
“By using fluorescent molecules to watch the proteins in action, Kruegel’s team could see that the main components of kratom mostly stimulated the painkilling response, but didn’t have as much of an effect on the proteins that caused the side effects.”
Simply put, kratom’s alkaloids seem to have the unique ability to block pain receptors without also blocking the proteins that make you breathe. Kratom is an amazing plant.
I believe that any organization wishing to challenge the DEA’s proposed scheduling of kratom should seriously consider a discussion with Andrew Kruegel and his Columbia research team. They may have a difference of opinion with the DEA’s assertion that kratom is a dangerous drug with no medical use in the United States.
This is the abstract from Kruegel’s research. I recommend you read it.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.6b00360#/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.6b00360
Best of luck to you all. These stories are heartbreaking, but inspiring.
The DEA is trying to sneak this ban passed everyone, but I bet they had no idea how passionate the kratom community is about our beloved plant! #Iamkratom #SAVEKRATOM
Amen!
This doesn’t make any sense. A schedule 1 drug means there’s no medicinal benefit and it’s a danger to society. Kratom clearly has been an alternative to truly dangerous, addictive and debilitating pharmaceuticals. Kratom (mitragyna specioca) is in the coffee family. It has been used for millennia in Asia. Americans are becoming aware of it’s benefits such as aiding with chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. What the DEA is attempting is wrong. A decision like this should be up to science, the American people, and Congress. Public comment is always necessary. The natural tea leaf is no harm to society and could pose as only a positive alternative for many. The DEA is overstepping their boundaries one time too many and the public is clearly not tolerating it.
There is no backing by scientific research on Kratom. The deaths they are referring to are deaths from people who mixed drugs with a harmless plant and now they blame it on this natural plant . The DEA and the media have a misconception about Kratom that it is a legal high or spice , this is just not true. There is no high with Kratom. This plant benefits millions on Americans. I just hate that there is not proof or backing as to why they want to schedule Kratom as a drug ( even though it’s not a drug) this is just another example as to how powerful our agencies are. I would understand if there were deaths and dangers with Kratom but there are none . The DEA has more deadly substances on the market in their radar that are not banned , they should focus on the dangerous items and let Kratom be. Regulations on Kratom I can understand but not a complete ban.
Does the DEA even have a clue regarding the true-science behind Kratom? I thought these people were supposed to have a little bit of smarts. It never ceases to amaze me how people can twist reality for the purpose of furthering their immoral agenda. #Iamkratom
This would be devastating to me. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 26. I’m now 53, and over the course of these 25 , I’ve been prescribed every standard prescription that every other rheumatoid sufferer takes as well. To no avail. I had my first total knee replacement before I turned 40 and the second completed 5 years ago. I had to beg for something for pain, after enduring this very difficult knee replacements even while in the hospital. I was on a walker and really had no quality of life.Depression consummed me for years . I was an outdoors person that loved hiking , playing ball, boating and just walking. Chronic pain and disease crushes your spirit, the pain is barbaric to endure. I’ve been able have my legs back, even though the pain is still great. Now my job is to take care of my husband as he declines with multiple sclerosis. I must be his legs and my own and get twin teens off to college and their down life. I need to focus , I need to move, i need my clarity to help my family and myself. Kratom has given me back freedom to take care of myself . To put my life back the way it was is very scary to me. I will lose my own independence again, this would be devastating.
Without kratom, I’d have died a little over 2 years ago from suicide due to constant, agonizing chronic pain, severe depression, anxiety and the inability to get off of prescription narcotics. I almost drove into a tree the day before my doctor told me about kratom.
I use kratom to control my chronic pain from failed surgery on 3 levels of my spine, spinal stenosis, spinal arthritis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, herniated discs in all levels of my spine, permanent muscle and nerve damage, peripheral neuropathy, fatty tissue fibrosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, bursitis in my hips/ankles/wrists, costochondritis, pain and nerve issues related to a congenital chest wall defect called concave pectorus excavatum, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, Bipolar Disorder Type II rapid cycling, generalized anxiety and panic disorder. These are the conditions I am diagnosed with and I have worsening neurological symptoms.
I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a 30 year-old working American and having kratom taken away without any real evidence of danger to our population is asinine.
On Sept. 30, if the DEA has it’s way, there will be hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans instantly turned into either criminals or cripples if this miracle plant is suddenly transformed into a Schedule 1 drug. I feel like our nation’s leaders and agencies have a constitutional obligation to consult the people, especially before any major decision is made, that will effect such a large group of people. We are a democracy, are we not? There are over 28 different alkaloids in the kratom leaf that promote a HEALTHY lifestyle and have everyday uses, including: analgesic, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-mutagenic, anti-leukemic, anti inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-leukemic, just to name a few. Please take the time to read more about the science of this amazing plant on the provided link. Besides the fact that the DEA is trying to cause pained people an exponentially greater amount of pain, I believe it is totally wrong to ban a PLANT from responsible adults, who have finally found a way to enjoy life without the debilitating effects of pharmaceutical poisons.
http://ensobotanicals.com/kratom/#About_Kratom
Kratom has helped me live a more productive life. I have anxiety and depression from PMDD. I also have chronic back pain and Kratom helps to reduce the pain. When I take Kratom I feel little to no pain in my back and I am motivated throughout the day. To me Kratom is just like coffee but without the jitters. I live a happy life now but before finding Kratom my PMDD made me super depressed and I didn’t want to be alive. We cannot let the DEA take this amazing plant away from so many people that are benefitting from it.
I’m still in shock over the DEA’s decision to make an herbal remedy a Schedule 1 drug that carries a federal penalty just for possession. I just can not wrap my mind around it. I’m a 57 yo small business owner. I vote, I pay taxes and I use kratom. And now, because some men/women, who probably have never even tried it want to make me a felon for using it? If they had tried it they would know for certain that it does not get you high, it does not cause psychosis, it does not depress your respiratory system, and it does not kill you. If you take too much your body will reject it by causing you to throw it up and you will have a headache but you will not die. And you will probably never take too much again because it is not pleasant. I use it for pain relief. It works better than any prescription or over the counter pain relief I have tried. I use other herbals as well. Are they next?
This ban will make felons of so many law abiding tax paying citizens. It’s just ridiculous. People who are sick of the terrible side effects of prescriptions or just can’t find anything else that helps them. These are mothers, father’s, grandparents, veterans and all walks of life. This is such an overreach on the part of there DEA. I hope something can be done to stop the ban.
I am heartbroken at the thought or idea of this imminent ban of Kratom. I am a mom working two jobs to take care of my family and suffer from both RA and fibromyalgia. I was taking tramadol and oxy for years untily doctors became too scared to continue prescribing it due to the beyond strict regulations. I was forced to seek alternatives ways to alleviate my pain while staying productive through feeling so debilitated, depressed and at times bedridden.
my life has changed completely since discovering the natural pain relieving benefits of kratom. it eased my withdrawals when I was forced to stop pain medication cold, which was in an unsafe manner. I did a ton of research on my own before trying it and the testimonials and personal experiences I read (which were hundreds and there are thousands) were so positively staggering, I chose to give it a try.
it was the best decision I ever made for myself and my body. I was always told to exercise in addition to pain meds, but truly didn’t have the energy or stamina. with Kratom, I sleep well and wake up and exercise for the first time in my life before going to work.
I have been able to ween off of my anxiety meds as well, because I found and internal comfort and peace. I don’t live in pain. I am happy to to go to work. I can’t wait to come home and be a present mom and wife for my family. they need me.
please don’t make this wonderful and God-given plant a schedule 1 drug. it is a travesty and uneducated to even think about classifying this herb alongside the likes of heroin, cocaine, and LSD. please do your part and your research. this ban is WRONG, and as I stated above, truly heartbreaking. the thought of going back to addictive pain and anxiety medications is horrifying.
The DEA has NO grounds nor basis to place this as a schedule 1″drug”. It’s just that the pharmaceutical companies stand to lose a lot of money by not force-feeding their opioids on helpless thousands of people who are getting better with the use of this wonderful god-given plant.
The DEA is over reaching their authority by classifying kratom as “imminent danger” so they can make it a schedule one controlled substance. That would mean kratom has zero medicinal value. The problem with that, as of September 30, 2016, everyday people (mothers, veterans, lawyers, doctors, students, law enforcement, fathers.. ) that work hard, pay taxes, are productive members of society would then suddenly become felons by living their normal daily lives. It saddens me that the people who are supposed to have our best interest at heart would take away the one thing that gave these wonderful people (myself included) back the quality of life that otherwise they could have only dreamed of. Our choice to use this leaf to combat & help alleviate some of the discomfort over prescription drugs, should be just that- our choice! Every day thousands of people die from prescription drugs & NOT ONE death is because of kratom… doesn’t seem so “imminent”, huh? Don’t ban this plant! Please. The war on drugs isn’t working.
I am a college educated 34 year old mother of 3 children aged 4 and under. I suffer from stage IV Endometriosis. I get agonizing menstrual cramps every single day of the month. I also suffer from back pain, migraines, and anxiety. I have had 3 surgeries to attempt to make symptoms better, but endometriosis has no cure and in my case, only gets worse over time. I was taking large quantities of over the counter pain medication to try and ease the pain. It didn’t touch it. I will not take prescription pain killers because I watched them kill my father after a decades-long battle with addiction. I found kratom when searching for a natural pain reliever that wouldn’t be harmful to my body. I have had had more days that I can count that I used to be unable to move from pain, riddled with guilt for hurting too bad to properly take care of my own children. I’ve had to look my babies in the eyes more times than I care to think about and say, “not today, mommas hurting.”
Those days are few and far between now. Kratom makes my pain and other symptoms more manageable. It gives me energy too, which I’m thankful for as a stay at home mom. Taking kratom away would not only lessen my quality of life, but my kids lives too. I don’t want to hurt so bad that I can’t get out of bed. I want my natural, effective plant that helps me. Please don’t take our quality of life away. Prayers to all #iamkratom
We are facing an opiate/pharmaceutical abuse epidemic here in the United states, where we are the number one pharmaceutical consumers in the entire world. “In 2014 over 2 million people were said to have been abusing, or dependent upon their prescription medications” according to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/overdose.html . This number doesnt begin to address or take into account the number of people apart of the hidden population that abuse or are dependent upon non prescribed medication. The DEAs decision to criminalize a plant that has been used for thousandsof years by the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia is criminal – but what is to be expected in a society run by corporations such as the pharmaceutical giants who seem to posses more rights than the American people. This all natural plant has been used for 1000’s of years and suddenly in 2016 its an “emergency” situation and a threat to public health? Why is that? No one has died from using kratom- despite the media’s attempts to demonize this plant. Anyone who has any first hand experience knows how versatile its uses are and how benign any potential side effects may be. It is a tool to be respected.
I’m a US Army Veteran. I was injured in the line of duty. After going through a 12 year battle with pain pills from all the surgeries. I was able to get clean. I still lived in pain everyday. Then I found Kratom. Kratom has saved my life, made is possible for me to have a job and get back the things in life that I love doing. Taking kratom and making it a schedule 1 does not make any sense and it’s cruel. So many people will go back to using other forms of pain management. That’s not an option for me. I will have to live every day in pain and eventually become a burden to the state and people who love me. I don’t want that kind of life. I want to be able to do my own shopping, take walks go go my job and do a good job. Be there for my family. Please I’m asking to just do more research before you rip this God given plant from us.
There will be blood on the hands of these overzealous prohibitionists and those in the pharmaceutical industry who control them. Natural pure Kratom leaf has reduced my desire for prescribed opiate pain killers and allowed me to not become dependent on highly addictive and dangerous pills. I understand that 46 people die everyday in the current opiate epidemic. And the government wants to ban Kratom saying it has no recognized medical use! And the pharmaceutical industry has patents on making pills out of Kratom! Shame! Shame! Shame1
During the opium war’s when china’s government sold opium to its own people kratom was outlawed ONLY because of the money being lost. Money proved more important than health and safety as thousands became addicts and died in an epidemic virtually the same as the opiate epidemic currently in America. Kratom proved to be a safe cure for addicts amongst relieving a host of other ailments such as pain, depression, fatigue, anxiety ECT… Is 100 % natural and has no more potential for addiction than the cup of coffee practically everyone drinks in the morning. Nevermind the risks of legal drugs such as alcohol or laboratory made concoctions that doctors pedal. It also does not completely inebriate the user like most other drugs or alcohol. You will never hear about kratom overdosing on its own. No kratom blackout’s, nobody waking up with a kratom hangover and an a large period of time they can’t account for. And most importantly of all it has gotten many, many people off drugs that kill like heroin. And kept legal will undoubtedly continue to do so. All of this you would have to be blind or ignorant not to see. So many people are just going to go back to hard drugs, REAL drugs. A lot of them will die or hurt others. Why would anyone want to ban a cure for addiction.? THIS BAN IS GOING TO LITERALLY KILL MANY GOOD PEOPLE from every walk of life. I cannot put it more clearly. Back to my original point. I can see no rational reason to ban it other than because big pharma is loosing money and people are not needing their dangerous drugs anymore. This truly is a corrupt country.
Well said Shawn!! Alcohol is a million times worse! This feels like another prohibition! Japan has a patent on kratom…do you think some pharma company in America wants to invest in this patent?
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1083272/fight-erupts-over-kratom-patent
The DEA, HHS, FDA, CDC, lobbies like Big Pharma, substance abuse centers, correctional centers and a host of other unscrupulous entities know exactly what they’re doing. They are all in collusion to maximize profits no matter what the damage is to others. Besides being in the back pockets of lobbyists, getting greedier and richer, government agencies constantly need to justify their existence. Add to this the yellow journalism spewed forth from many media outlets and the politicians trying to make a name for themselves. This blatant corruption should get the attention of elected officials, yet these individuals might feel it is like committing political suicide to get involved…and most want to feather their nests and political futures as well. Federal prosecutors need to launch an in-depth probe into the flagrant corruption of these merciless, soulless conspirators. Why would government patents be granted on the alkaloids of Kratom (and marijuana) if there were no medical benefit? In the public courtroom the DEA, FDA, CDC, HHS and its lobbyists are all guilty of lies, deception, cowardice, conspiracy, fraud, and ultimately voluntary manslaughter. Someone has to have the guts to investigate, indict and prosecute these reprobates. The insurance lobby should stand up for Kratom, as they would save billions, even trillions of dollars in needless doctor visits, drug treatment centers, etc. and with pharmaceutical poisons such as anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, opioids and sleeping pills. I pray that honesty and common sense will prevail.
TRUTH! Very well stated. I too pray that honesty and common sense will prevail.
Loved this. Most Americans are aware that our government is a bunch of lying, rich, over privileged people who don’t give a rip about us.
Time People stop voting them in-time we rise up=march in protest! Call the newspapers and get their attention!
I am a 44 year old womanl with a desiccated, degenerative disc at L5-S1 and a FAI cam impingement in my right hip. To alleviate pain, I have tried three epidurals, physical therapy, chiropractic (to no avail) and have been prescribed addictive painkillers including norco and vicodin. Two years ago I found Kratom and that, combined with a consistent workout regimen with a qualified personal trainer, has kept my pain in check better than Big Pharma ever has. I have zero desire to ever go back to taking addictive pain medicine and highly resent the DEA (of all entities) forcing my hand in the matter. It is, quite frankly, a negligent, irresponsible and despicable abuse of their power to classify Kratom as Schedule 1 based on conjecture and sensationalism. It is unfortunate that the DEA does not appear to have the best interests of people like me in mind. Rather, they would prefer me to use addictive synthetic painkillers over an innocuous herb that allows me to be positive, productive and pain-free.
The fact that there has been scientifically studied medicinal potential from numerous sources, and Countries makes the move to Schedule I impossible. Also, lower toxicity than Coffee? Another exemption for scheduling. Thus is a leaf, pure. And simple. No recorded deaths in centuries! Keep this supplement available to the people. It only makes sense.
The DEA wants to control how we feel, how we think, and how we heal! Kratom has saved my life! I feel like a normal person when I take Kratom. When I don’t my mind is riddled in every direction. I can’t think straight which then triggers the anxiety! Owning a business when you suffer from anxiety and depression does not work well together! I’m in control of my thoughts and my feelings.That will be very hard to do if this STUPID ban takes place while I’m at work! I also suffer from a lot of pain, I’m a professional circus performer and boy oh boy circus takes a toll on the body! Bruises, burns, severe muscle soreness not to mention keeping your mind healthy.
The reason why I have massive depression and anxiety is because my pituitary gland does not work! My hormones are out of control as well as all of the different chemicals in the brain.
I tried everything to help with my symptoms, my doctor then told me about Kratom! NOT A PRESCRIPTION!
Within 30 minutes of trying Kratom for the first time my mind was clear, my pain was gone!
I have been taking Kratom for 6 years and it changed my life!
I honestly don’t even know where to begin to describe how violated I feel by the DEA trying to take away my right to a perfectly safe alternative to addictive, prescription drugs. It’s a slap in the face to the American people that the DEA is allowed to outright lie about kratom to make it illegal. Florida Department of Law Enforcement recently issued a report saying kratom “does not currently constitute a significant risk to the safety & welfare of Florida residents….no pervasive health issues have been attributed to the ingestion of kratom”.
As for the CDC’s numbers on calls regarding krarom; 660 calls were received between 2010-2015. Poison Control received 6,843 calls about children ingesting laundry pods….so total kratom calls equalled 0.004%.
I have been living a productive life since I started taking kratom, and am no longer a slave to addictive anxiety medicines. Making this plant illegal will seriously diminish my quality of life and it scares me to death. I urge you to please stop the DEA in it’s blatant overreach and listen to the American people Thank you for your time.
First the cdc makes new “guidelines” for opiates and it indicates they are no longer for chronic pain. These are then Made into law in some states. This gives the DEA More room to go after Some of the few DRS that are still willing to help pain patients. Then theSurgen General sends a massive letter campaign to 2.3 million DRS urging them to not use opiates so they can “turn the tide” on the opiate Epidemic. Now thousands of pain patients are undertreated or no longer treated at all.The addiction treatment centers now have a whole new group of people to push even more dangerous drugs on. Yes I say drugs because that is exactly what RX’sare.As all of this is going on you have a large group of Chronic Pain Patients who were abandoned and turned to Kratom that never would have looked before. People our Medical system abandoned Due to the CDC and fear of the DEA. I am one of those abandoned Patients. I am 30, was on Pain killers for the past 10 years,5 of which through a pain Management doctor then She decided after the CDC guidelines that I’M too young to be on opiates. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and other issues such as degenerative discs, constant hip and Rib dislocations, and chronic Myofasicial Pain. Cant even find a Specialist near me or any that have less than ayear wait to help treat EDS. My pain level with meds was a 5 to a 7. Without it was a 6 to a 9. So painful that at my Birthday dinner I laid on the Floor in a fetal position in tears Because the pain was that bad without medication.Shortly after I found kratom. Before my first Oder even came the DEA Filed its intent to Ban this PLANT.
I tried the herb when it came and I was SO surprised and happy I found relief. Finally relief from the unrelenting pain. I could do household chores again, I didn’t have to rely on my mother coming over to help me with my son on my high pain days, I wasn’t leaving work early and I was being more active and present in my 21 month olds life. My son is my universe and I finally felt like I was ablessed to be the mommy he deserved instead of being in tears from pain. Don’t get me wrong, I still hurt but that pain ranges from a 2 to a 4…. better pain relief than I ever got from pharmaceutical drugs. And instead of using a drug I was taking a natural herb, drinking a tea not taking a pill!
Knowing my life is about to be ripped away from me again (happened once when removed from pain pills for an opinion about my age and that disqualifing me even though 5 years earlier it wasn’t an issue) I am so Angry. Drs aren’t helping pain patients anymore, they are all too scared of the DEA. Good luck finding someone who understand EDS means pain even though chronic pain in one or more joints is a part of the diagnostic criteria for this rare genetic condition….. so what options are left for someone like me. I can’t live in unending pain. I may be alive but I won’t be living. I would lose my job because of missing too much time and I would become a burden on our failing system insread of remaining a productive member of society. Yes In Ohio Medical marijuana was just passed But wont be fully functional for 2 more years…. so PLEASE tell me what exactly am I to do when the DEA bans a plant, a tea, that is less dangerous than Ibuprofen, Tylenol, alcohol, tobacco, and opiates, yet more effective than any of these man made drugs at easing symptoms for me. It is my life that will be damaged along with hundreds of thousands of others because the DEA has a hard on for anything that takes money out of the rehab centers and pharmaceutical companies pockets.
Canada just legalized prescription grade herion to combat opiate addiction where methadone and suboxone failed at treatment. They are being more treatment centered in there drug policy and yet the United States of America, supposedly the greatest nArion on earth is adding ANOTHER name to the scheduled 1 substance list. Kratom is not a drug. It’s a plant. Kratom is safe, it is just as addicti e as coffee. Less addictive than cigarettes. Kratom doesn’t pose an immediate threat to anyone. The reason for the rise in people ingesting this herd is because of the amount of people abandoned by their drs due to other CDC and DEA fear mongering. Please place this ban on hold and do some real research and then decide but don’t destroy thousands of lives for the two to three years when you then learn how safe it is and how wrong you were.
I believe part of the DEA reasoning behind this ban was that a large increase in Kratom imports. This gave them reason to believe it is being abused. With all the testimonials from people that Kratom is helping, it should be easy to see that Kratom is not being abused. It is helping people, as they pass on the information, it helps others. Hence the demand. People including myself greatly benefit from using this herb. Prior to my finding Kratom to help ease the pain of my several herniated disks, degenerative disk disease, stenosis, arthritis and neuropathic pain. I had taken so much ibuprofen, severely bloody stool was almost an everyday thing. Then came Norco, tramadol, prednisone and neurontin. Epidural injections. Somehow these medications seemed to make things worse after a while. I went as far as I could with doctors, I felt as if I had hit a dead end. Life was miserable. Started looking into herbal medicine a natural alternative. Tried a few things with little success. Found Kratom, was skeptical, thought it was basically a placebo thing. It has helped me so much, my quality of life is much better. I still have pain, but it’s manageable. Mother nature has provided for us what modern medicine couldn’t. Those that try to keep natures gifts from helping people, as I’m sure it was intended to, will have to answer to your maker. Woe is you.
It absolutely makes no sense for the DEA to make kratom a schedule 1 “drug”. It’s completely harmless and in the same family as coffee. It has helped numerous people with PTSD, pain relief, opiate withdraw, anxiety, depression, etc. I’ve been taking for kratom for 3 years now and it has completely changed my life. I’ve been on addictive anxiety and depressant prescriptions that would just cause more harm than good. Kratom helped me cope with my anxiety and depression and has done so many wonders for me. So many hard working, good Americans will suffer so much if kratom gets banned, it would cause more harm than good. Theirs countless stories of how amazing kratom is and how it has impacted so many lives to every day Americans. Please stop the DEA from banning this wonderful plant!
Unlike heroin and prescription painkillers, kratom does not cause respiratory depression. It is a non-lethal alternative to opioids and preliminary research shows that kratom can help end dangerous addictions. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that an emergency order to make kratom Schedule I is necessary. Kratom is not an imminent threat to the public. Research from the University of Mississippi shows kratom can be a positive for public health: http://news.olemiss.edu/new-hope-for-addicts/
I am a mom, wife, and massage therapist. I have been doing massage for 22 years. In the last few years, I developed what is called ulnar compartmentalization syndrome in both of my arms. This is a condition in which the lateral borders of my forearms go numb, and the numbness turns to excruciating pain at night. This was happening every single night for a year. I thought my massage career was over and was terrified about how I could provide for my family, because no job I could find would replace the income I was earning doing massage. The cost of living where I live is astronomical, and I was just not sure what I was going to do. Surgery was not even an option because I could not be out of work that long. Then I came across Kratom. Kratom made my ulnar compartmentalization syndrome virtually disappear. I have not had a single episode of waking at night with numbness and pain. As an amazing side effect, my chronic depression and anxiety also vanished. It has been a godsend to me, because I could not take anti-depressants, as they gave me suicidal thoughts. I have not missed a day of work in 8 years, I am a volunteer at my child’s school, never missed a single event of my daughter’s in her 16 years of life, and am a responsible, productive, tax-paying member of society. I am raising a child that is a high-achieving, hard working, kind and moral person. To classify me as felonious because of this herb that has benefited my life is outrageous and absurd.
I am a 37 year old single mother of two beautiful young daughters . I’ve worked as a cosmotologist since 2002 . I was prescribed oxycodone from my primary doctor for back pain and sciatica . After being on oxycodone for a few years i realized the downward spiral my life was taking from the prescriptions pills . I found a natural plant in the same family as coffee called kratom . After researching information about kratom , I decided to give it a try . The pain pills I was taking really beat up my body , along with a number of other negative side effects . Kratom helps me ease my back pain while I stand on my feet upwards to 12 hours a day to briing home a paycheck so I can support my children who NEED their mother . My daughters need the best version of ME , not loaded on oxycodone . Kratom helps me , just like a good cup of coffee would help someone with energy . The DEA seems to be focusing their power in the wrong direction trying to emergency schedule 1 this Natural herb that has HELPED so many people . If this ban goes thru many American people WILL suffer .
It is obvious by the lack of cited evidence, the patents that the pharm companies have laying in wait, and the utter lack of response to thousands of American tax-paying citizen voices that the rumors are more than that–they are cold hard facts. Our government is obviously ready and willing to sacrifice each and every one of us to make a buck. Whether you enjoy a new quality of life absent of terrible, crippling pain because of this plant or you used it to escape addiction, or whatever reason brought you to find this precious healing herb, it is time to stand up and say no more! No more pain, addiction, overdose, or deaths, no more of Big Pharma feeding on the blood of the American people. Time to take back our rights!
This motion to classify the Kratom Alkaloids is a clear cut example of Federal over each. Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and other states have taken up legislation to ban Kratom, after researching and communicating with the community they found that there was no reason to do anything other than create an age limit on purchases. The DEA is showing us that the Federal Government does not care about what States or Citizens belive and that they can make the rules for everyone weather we like it or not.
With the complexities that each stage faces I would imagine that Democrats, Republicans, Libetarians, and all other parties would join together to stop the DEA and allow each state to decide what is best for its people. Colorado has legal weed, yet we’re about to allow the DEA to create a Law that stops anyone from having a cup of tea and treats anyone with that cup of tea like they have a cup full of Heroin? No! Let’s stop the DEA from dictating what the laws the states may have and allow our elected representatives handle any legislation that may need to be passed.
The DEA should not have the power to enact these laws that are only in place to protect the pharmaceutical company and to keep the monopoly they created throughout the industry, all the while having a great deal of influence on the legislation that surrounded the industry. Americans are well within their inalienable to choose what medicine they put in their bodies, and this includes natural alternatives such as cannabis, kratom, psilocybin mushrooms and many more . Not all pharmaceuticals are bad, however there is a lot of poison being prescribed hiding under the definition of medicine, and this is the real imminent danger to society. Drugs such as fentanyl and oxycodone are prescribed by physicians which ultimately lead the patient down the road to addiction or just end up killing the patient, slowly typically, but rapid deaths from accidental overdoses happen as well. Every year tens of thousands of people die from drugs that the DEA deems as safe, and yet are trying to ban a plant that has been used for thousands of years by the indigenous people where it is from, resulting in not a single death directly related to kratom. This is much like cannabis, which poses no threat to the public, but rather a threat to these cartel like drug companies whose mission it is to stop any competition in it’s tracks. They use the DEA as their muscle for the operation destroying peoples lives in the process. Also interesting to note is that the makers of fentanyl just donated 500k to OPPOSE the legalizing of cannabis in AZ. As Americans, we can not stand to let this non-representative bureaucratic agency dictate and control our lives any longer, especially in reference to how we choose to treat any ailments we may have. We are not on your drugs anymore, and because of that, we are awake and have the drive once again to be able to put an end to this.
I am a 34 year old father to a precocious and high energy 7 year old. He keeps me busy. But I also have scoliosis and extreme nerve pain that completely takes me down. I was on pharmaceuticals for a long time. But they had a negative affect on my physical and emotional health. I said no more because I knew there had to be something safer and more gentle on my system. Then I found Kratom. This plant helps me through the pain. It’s not a cure by any means. But it helps me. And it desn’t make me all spaced out and loopy like the lab made pills did. I receive no high. It’s not the kind of substance that the DEA is making it out to be. Not even close. Besides kratom’s benefits for me, I believe this botanical could help our society on the whole. Look at this opioid/heroin epidemic. It’s insane. Something needs to be done and Kratom can serve as a great tool to help stop this tragedyt that’s unfolding before us.
I am a mother of 3, a wife, and a student. My husband introduced me to kratom a few years ago. I was skeptical at first, but after dealing with withdrawals from hydrocodone and being in severe pain, I gave it a shot. Kratom helped ease my withdrawal symptoms from my LEGALLY prescribed drug, and helped aid in easing my sciatic nerve pain. There is absolutely no reason for this herb to even be considered on the same level as heroin. Hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl are the real drugs of concern here. There is data showing just how many deaths these legal addictive prescription drugs cause. Not only deaths, but how many families are ruined and how much crime is committed just to be able to obtain more. I know from experience, my mom has been on opiates for about ten years now. I’ve seen how she has changed, her whole life revolves around these so called legal drugs. It’s really a shame. I’ve never had a negative experience with kratom, nor do I fiend for it. I’ve turned much of my immediate family onto this wonderful plant, and it’s a beautiful thing watching people getting their lives back. It’s our body, our choice. This will be a major stepping stone to solving out epidemic in America. If kratom is outlawed, then the government is truly corrupt. If the people (and science)are ignored and not included in decisions made, then the government will find a lot more serious issues in their hands with people getting fed up.
Kratom has helped me cope with a herniated, ruptured, bulging lumbar disk at the L5-S1. The herniation causes back pain but more significantly: Sciatica pain in my right leg. Radiculopathy. It feels like burning and electrocution.The meds given to me do not work. And each has its own laundry list of negative “side effects” that make me want to abstain from them. The only drug that helped at all has been Lyrica/pregabalin, which has stopped working like it used to. I’m on a high dose. It has horrific withdrawl symptoms, so I’ll have to get off it slowly. Just getting to my pain management Doctor is difficult, and driving is daunting with such a foggy head from Lyrica.The Epidural Steroid Injection I received was a minor help however Epidural Steroid Injections ARE NOT FDA APPROVED. Look it up. But there’s no penalty for this NON-FDA APPROVED procedure being performed daily, multiple times on each patient. They actually prevent natural disk healing. Kratom helps so much more than anything else, with the only drawbacks being the taste-which I’m now used to-when I swallow plain leaf, and a little constipation and a little dry mouth if I don’t drink sufficient amounts of water. I never get intoxicated or euphoric from Kratom (10 years ago I was hooked on opiate painkillers and I’ve done them all, so I know the difference between Kratom’s mental effects and prescription opiates’ mental effects. I wish I had Kratom when I detoxed from those deadly pills.) Apparently opiate addicts are forced to choose between $uboxone/$ubutex and a harsh withdrawl, or stay hooked for life. If you can call opiate addiction a life. Kratom boosts my mood a little, nothing so profound that I’d call it a “high.” Kratom has been lumped in with bath salts and synthetic cannabinoids and other so called research chemicals due to a popularity spike of all of the above around the same time. Kratom stands alone as safe, effective, and not debilitating. I’m not robbing anyone or pawning jewelry for an ounce of Kratom. I only take plain leaf, I do not know what’s really in or missing from the “extracts.” I take Kratom as nature intended.I’ve been able to cut back on coffee, quit SSRI drugs, and I’m slowly getting myself off of other psychiatric meds (that keep me sick) with the aid of Kratom. I’ve tried over 10 vendors. Multiple strains from each. I settled on a consistent affordable one who I trust. I never had any adverse reaction to Kratom. Kratom doesn’t trigger me to go relapse back onto Opiates or any other drug. I don’t feel like I’m a drug user because I take Kratom. Anyone who wants a high from kratom will be let down. Maybe that’s why vendors resort to making extracts. To make an unappealing plant seem appealing to teens who want a legal high. If a law was passed to ban extracts, I wouldn’t care too much. And I have no issue with an age restriction. There was no age restriction when I was put on Clonazepam at age 16. Now I’m working on getting off of it. With that said, I never experienced drug-kratom interactions. I have had drug-drug interactions with meds I was prescribed by 1 Dr. Such as Serotonin Syndrome from getting trazodone and SSRIs like Citalopram and sertraline at the same time. Doctors would never take the very pills they prescribe. If Kratom is supposedly worthy of being banned, why not ban Phenibut, a legal anxiolytic drug that causes withdrawl symptoms on par with benzo detox plus psychosis. The DEA has never ever been concerned about Phenibut. How many poison control calls and E.R. visits have been caused by phenibut abuse? I’d bet a whole lot. Read the phenibut addiction horror stories online. Kratom withdrawl will give me an upset stomach and diarrhea at worst, which I’m willing to potentially deal with if it means I can alleviate the bulk of my sciatica pain. Doctors atlre terrified to prescribe opiates to anyone for any reason now thanks to this year’s CDC Report on Opiate Prescribing Guidelines. If you have end-stage cancer, you might be able to get opiates for pain. Otherwise don’t count on it. I don’t want to get dependent on opiates again anyway, but they are not an option for me. I will not do surgery. Not that I could afford surgery. Kratom gives me a mood lift to have a positive attitude in spite of any discomfort. It is not a threat to anyone anywhere. Kratom should be left alone and remain an option for anyone in pain, or suffering with a mental disorder. It isn’t “self-medicating” any more than buying a bottle of poisonous Tylenol is self-medicating. I am a Kratom user and I’m better off for having it. I can sleep at night now. If I want to sleep all day, I can take a Flexeril/cyclobenzaprine. No thanks. I don’t want anticholinergic effects. Too unpleasant. Let heroin addicts and opiate addicts have kratom so they can get clean and get their lives back together without resorting to Suboxone, which is another addiction unto itself. Again, I’ve tried all of these opioids at some point, and Kratom is not an opioid. Saying so is deliberately deceptive and confilusing. May Kratom remain legal. I’ll fight for this natural right tooth and nail. I’m going down fighting. And I KNOW I AM NOT ALONE. #IAMKRATOM
I am with you!
James P, thank you for your testimony, well stated. The DEA should read it.
I grew up playing football, baseball, soccer, motocross, surfing, skateboarding, downhill skiing, hunting, and fishing from the time I started to walk. I played hard. I went to Europe and toured twice, on two US soccer teams. I am now closing quickly in on 50 yrs old and I still play hard. I ride a mtn bike nearly 55,000 vertical feet a month. I ski nearly 100 days a season and I ski as hard as any 20yr old out there clocking over 80mph daily on the slopes. My son has been training to be an Olympic skier and I train with him. 8 years ago while training on the giant slalom course, I took a pretty good crash. Well, the next morning I could barely get out of bed and my wrist suffered a harsh blow to the point where I could barely move it. I reluctantly reached for the Advil bottle and realized the Costco sized bottle was empty as I used to eat ibuprofen for my daily aches and pains from playing hard. Unfortunately, the Advil had pretty much burned a hole in my guts but, I accepted that as it helped the pain, granted it felt like I had needles poking the inside of my guts when I did take it.. So, I am out of Advil and remembered a friend had sent me a natural pain killer called kratom that I was ready to try. 30 minutes after ingesting this herbal remedy, my pain was almost non existent, my stomach didn’t hurt, I had energy, and my brain functioned in a non- convoluted manner unlike how prescription pain pills make me stupid. I absolutely could not believe what was transpiring. Here I am 8 years later and it works just as well as it did on day one. I have had vicodin in my safe for the entire span of these last 8 years and I haven’t taken a single one of them as they hurt my stomach too. I own two successful business. My son is an amazing person who just turned 18. My wife is a family practitioner and owned a successful psychotropic Clinical trial business with a masters in pharmacology. My best friend sits on the national board of pharmacy.
They will both tell you there is a tremendous medicinal value to kratom as will I. This ban proves to me that we are living in very very very corrupt times. With nearly 20,000 new laws AGAINST businesses in the last 7 years and now Kratom being another, I am thoroughly disgusted and disappointed in our govt and the policies that have come forward in the last 7 years. For every new law passed or ban enacted, this govt turns law abiding, productive citizens into common criminals. I am FED up and I am not going to take this sitting down anymore. I will go on record to say State Senator Jared Peterson uses kratom and the pain clinic he goes to said he should because it works better than anything else for him, granted now he is in a clinical trail for what I believe to be synthesized kratom. How ironic that I found a Japanese company that applied for a patent for synthesized kratom about 4 years ago online and now, it has been wiped off the face of the internet. My head is steaming just thinking about this. I will stand on the congressional floor and swear on a bible to any of the above. Keep Kratom legal as it has improved my life and allows me to be as active as I was when I was 18.
What people who have never had chronic pain before don’t understand is that taking nothing is not an option. If this ban goes through I will have to choose between going back to dangerous pills, living my life in pain again, or keep taking kratom and be labeled a criminal. I am a successful business owner and a good person. Through no fault of my own, I suffered a bad accident and live with the pain every day. I found Kratom a year ago and it was like a curtain was lifted. Now just when I finally feel like my life is under control and I am happy again, the very people who are supposed to protect my rights are stripping them from me. I honestly don’t feel free anymore. Why was this decided with so little time for us to respond and comment? In fact, I believe Mr. Rosenberg said that we have no right to comment. The government and the DEA exist to serve us, not the other way around. All this ban will do is cause people who have suffered all their lives to suffer even more. It is inhumane and immoral, and it needs to be stopped. Please help us.
The science behind this is flawed. They call it an opioid which it is not. Kratom saves lives, has minimal potential for abuse (I’ve known about it for 15 years and only started using it when I developed an addiction to opioids, as a way out), and is safer than most pharmaceuticals and other herbal remedies.
This is a financial move to thicken the pockets of big pharm. I just lost another friend, through overdose, to addiction. Where did it all start? Her doctors office!
I love that we are uniting for a truly worthwhile and life changing cause. Together we can make a difference despite TPTB. The whole is more than the sum of it’s parts. We are of different party affiliations, genders, socio-economic statuses, religions (or lack of), level of education, sexual orientation, ages, cultures, and backgrounds. Yet, here we are, uniting, demanding and commanding change. We have and utilize our collective power, knowledge, passion and abilities however we can.
When (not if) we make this happen, this regaining of our right and freedom to utilize Kratom , let’s remember our power to unite for positive change in other areas.
Keep up the pressure, the letters, emails, tweets and Facebook posts, phonecalls,etc. We are relentless. #iamkratom #savekratom
They’re just a bunch of letters (DEA, etc). We are people. We are united. We are a powerful force.
Kratom is a natural tree that grows from the ground like other trees. It has saved my life and kept me sober from all drugs including alcohol for 2 years now. I’ve never been happier. But this ban on Kratom is wrong and blasphemy. We the people doesn’t exist in a corporate owned country. Kratom saves lives and the DEA is just going to ruin more lives. The DEA are evil murderers who spread nothing but propaganda and who work with big pharma and the Illuminati. No one should have to suffer for the DEA’s outrageous decisions. It’s ridiculous and outright unnecessary to ban any plant that is given to us from God. If you can Kratom you might as well ban coffee and green tea too. I know the DEA is not banning Kratom because they’re ignorant of it. They’re banning it because they are working for big pharma and the Illuminati for population control. This is all set up to get people to cause chaos so they can bring in the new world order and they’re also banning Kratom because they don’t want big pharma to lose a little bit of money on their opiates and they want more people arrested and in jail so they can make more money. This is not really the DEA’s decision this is big pharma paying them and the Illuminati bankers telling them to ban it. If it’s healthy and cures people and helps them with all of their problems then it’s a big threat. They don’t want people living healthy lives and living happy. All they care about is money, mind control and population control. That’s the reason why marijuana, a natural healing plant, is illegal because it cures cancer, stops seizures, cures anxiety and depression and autism and tons of other illnesses etc. Kratom should be available legally to anyone just how coffee and energy drinks are. Kratom is harmless and has never killed anyone just like marijuana. Medical marijuana is being prescribed to people yet marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 drug? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? It just shows the American people that you don’t care about them at all and that all you care about is money and power. The American government is corrupt and tyrannical! No one should have to be killed or go to jail for using harmless plants like Kratom and cannabis, that’s absurd! Big pharma will still make millions of dollars a year if Kratom and marijuana was legal regardless. It’s getting to the point where this is not about money and just greed but about having control and being able to tell us what we can and can’t do. Our freedoms are being stripped away from us everyday. Sooner or later the American people will all wake up and say they had enough and stand up to this corrupt system and shut it down completely! This ban on Kratom has been an eye opener to thousands and thousands of people and they’re starting to see that our government is corrupt and evil and they’re taking this way too far. We the people have a voice and we have a choice. It’s about us and what we decide not about what a couple of people come out and decide. There is more of us then there are of the government and DEA. Keep Kratom legal and and leave it alone. It’s the only thing besides marijuana keeping this country standing strong. If it gets banned this country will fall and thousands will die from big pharma’s dangerous drugs (poison).#IAMKRATOM #KRATOMSAVESLIVES
I feel helpless against the DEA, but if someone were to stand up in Congress and call out the BS, it could be done with a number – a statistic. Someone needs to estimate how many US Kratom consumers with pain and health issues will return to pharmaceutical pain killers and what is Big Pharma’s probable revenue gain. Compare this with the money Big Pharma has spent on lobbyists to ban it, and call out their ROI. The DEA also makes money by adding more “drugs” to police. The only reason they are doing this is for the money – they don’t care about human suffering. I’d like to see the Kratom community gather anecdotes of before and after the ban. I wish you well, but we know the s%!t is going to hit the fan. Perhaps the ban will create a greater emergency than the one the DEA claims that existed before. Keep writing and sharing your stories and make it easy for the media to reach the logical conclusion. Sorry for the anonymous post – I’m a single dad with sole custody of three kids and need to be very careful.
I am a hardworking, dedicated American citizen. I have never been arrested for a crime. I’ve never even been suspected of a crime. Barely even a speeding ticket in the past 20 years. I volunteer time every month toward charitable causes and organizations and kratom has kept me alive for the past 8 years.
That’s a fact, not my opinion. I suffered from atrial fibrillation for many years. At one point I was on 2 beta blockers, digoxin and a blood thinner. And part of having Afib is having to rush off to an emergency room at a moment’s notice whenever your heart goes out of sinus rhythm.
My life was hell. I was depressed, I was tethered to my bed out of fear of passing out or having a blood clot and being whisked off for cardioversion at any given time. The anxiety of having it created more problems for me personally and professionally. I missed a lot of work. One of the drugs I was taking (digoxin) can build up in your bloodstream and create a toxicity so I had to get my blood tested to check the active levels.
I was afraid to travel, I was afraid to drive. I also had a history of ulcers and bowel inflammation that complicated my health in other ways. I was a mess. And it wasn’t my fault but I knew I was responsible for my own life and to try to manage my illnesses as best as I could.
That’s when I found kratom after a few google searches back in 2007. I did my research on it based on what was available, got as much information as possible on the active alkaloids, realized that there are at least 2 natural betablockers in the plant and decided to give it a try.
In the past 8 years, I have produced more work than the previous 20 years, without doubt. I HAVE BEEN IN SINUS RHYTHM FOR THESE PAST 8 YEARS (that means I haven’t had a single episode of atrial fibrillation that has been recorded or noted). I have not had an ulcer. My flare-ups of bowel inflammation are gone. My doctor has even noted that I am rarely even in to see him anymore.
I’m not suggesting that kratom is a panacea. I am, however, stating beyond any shadow of a doubt that this natural botanical SAVED MY LIFE. It has allowed me to continue being productive. I own my own successful business that I built from the ground up. I travel regularly (Dear DEA, please note: After 8 years of taking kratom daily, I haven’t been in a SINGLE auto accident, not even a small fender-bender) and my success has allowed me to help others in many, many ways.
And now the DEA has recklessly relegated me to what will amount as a felon next month? I’ve gone from hardworking entrepreneur, taxpayer, volunteer without any criminal record and for simply taking a natural plant to manage my illnesses, I’m nothing more than a street criminal to these folks?
Absolutely ZERO compassion. Absolutely zero logic and reasoning involved in this ridiculous, reckless decision. There are no grounds to support their claims but I DO have claims to support mine and decades of medical records to back it up. But they don’t want to hear it…they would rather treat me like a heroin addict or a meth junkie. Me…a guy who works 12 hours per day, who has tried to help his community, his state and his nation a better place by helping those who cannot help themselves. And as of the beginning of October, I’ll just be seen in the eyes of the government as a simple junkie using a schedule 1 “drug.”
Going back to how my life was before kratom isn’t an option, no matter how badly they would like to see me suffer from issues I’ve struggled to manage. And like so many other DEA decisions, this one will be looked back upon years from now and it WILL produce a body count from those who who, like me, are desperate to maintain a healthy, normal lifestyle and simply cannot do that without the use of kratom.
Shopes wrote a well researched article debunking the DEA’s primary claims justifying their proposed ban. For example, the DEA’s claim regarding a cluster of 9 deaths in Sweden referenced in their “Background Information and Evaluation of ‘Three Factor Analysis’ for Temporary Scheduling” document; a 2011 study of those fatalities concluded that an adulterant, O-desmethyltramadol, found in ‘Krypton’ was the primary cause of these fatalities.
“We believe that the addition of the potent mu-receptor agonist O-desmethyltramadol to powdered leaves from Kratom contributed to the unintentional death of the nine cases presented”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21513619
The remaining fatalities in the DEA’s data primarily involve co-administration of dangerous cocktails such as fentanyl, benzodiazepines, and / or anti-psychotics. It is telling that the DEA’s data does not make a convincing argument for Kratom being dangerous in its own right. An argument, I might add, that can be made for legal drugs such as alcohol which CDC studies suggest kill 2,200 people in the US per year due to overdose. If the data available on the dangers of alcohol is insufficient for DEA scheduling then it is hard to explain how the dubious studies the DEA provides merit scheduling for Kratom.
http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/alcohol-poisoning-deaths/index.html
While Kratom may be relatively new in Western cultures that does not mean there is no history worthy of review. Like coffee and tea, Kratom has a long history of human consumption to speak to its safety. The DEA’s data does little to refute this fact. In the words of Pascal Tanguay, director of a Washington D.C. based drug harm reduction organization:
“There’s never been a single death associated with kratom. People have been chewing this for thousands of years with no cases of overdose, psychosis, murder, violent crime. Never in all of recorded history.”
https://www.minnpost.com/global-post/2013/09/thailand-s-cure-meth-addiction-leafy-jungle-stimulant
The remainder of the DEA’s claims seem to rely heavily on poison control calls, a misleading statistic when provided without context as the DEA has done.
“An average of 110 cases a year may sound like a lot, but it’s not. It represents about 0.004 percent of the 3 million or so calls received by poison control centers each year. By comparison, exposures involving analgesics accounted for nearly 300,000 calls in 2014, while cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning solutions, antidepressants, and antihistamines each accounted for more than 100,000. The DEA not only fails to put the number of kratom-related calls in perspective; it does not mention that two-thirds of the cases were deemed “minor” or “moderate,” while only 7 percent (eight per year) were described as “life-threatening.” The CDC noted a single death in six years, “reported in a person who was exposed to the medications paroxetine (an antidepressant) and lamotrigine (an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer) in addition to kratom.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2016/09/01/the-deas-crazy-kratom-ban-dresses-pharmacological-phobias-in-scientific-garb/
I feel that it is clear that, regarding the information which the DEA has made publicly available, it is hard to argue there is much quality to their data at all. They have intentionally ignored facts which did not fit their narrative of Kratom as a dangerous substance requiring scheduling (let alone emergency scheduling). While I do believe there is an argument to be made here for regulation (proper labeling of product contents, age restrictions, warning labels regarding co-administration with prescription medications, etc…) I do not feel the DEA’s data makes a compelling case for federal scheduling.
I would implore anyone interested to review the Snopes article in its entirety.
http://www.snopes.com/kratom-banned-by-the-dea/
I take kratom for severe nerve pain and it’s what gets me through my day which would otherwise be torture without it. It isn’t a dangerous plant and it is helping so many normal people with their issues. Banning it isn’t saving people, it’s killing them. We’re normal people, not druggies.
I was prescribed zoloft for depression which turned me into a zombie ,I acquired very bad very bad migraines as a side effect of Zoloft, I heard about KRATOM 5 years ago and my migraines ceased and I started exercising daily and got into the best shape I have ever been. I ceased using Zoloft and continu4ed with the Kratom. I went back to college and finished my degree. Kratom does not impair me, intoxicate me or do anything to me that would make me unfit to function normally. I have a friend that was addicted to cocaine who was able to ween off of it thanx to KRATOM. I was devastated when I read the NEWS about the DEA banning KRATOM even though the DEA is not a legislative body. This ban by the DEA has Special interest’s hands all over it. THE DEA has violated the public trust with this action and I do hope to see THE DEA offiical responsible for the BAN held accountable.
Kratom helps my back pain. I refuse to take opiates when a plant helps me with fewer side effects and fewer risks. This war on nature has to end. It has no moral, religious,scientific, or statistical evidence on it’s side. Im just a normal person that wants the so-called freedom everyone talks about throughout your whole life when you’re growing up. Right now it feels like a lie. How can anyone support a policy like this that leads to death and suffering?
This would be a great disservice to our country not to mention the war on drugs. It is a tea leaf that helps me w severe back pain, anxiety & depression much better than I’d ever dreamed and with nearly zero side effects. It doesn’t cure me but it helps me be more a productive member of society. The Rx’s were destroying what quality of life I have left. The infuriating thing is the DEA is in bed with BigPharma and money trumps life. This plant couid be a great tool in the war on drugs & addiction/overdose and they know this! There are patents for the two alkaloids mentioned already. Ole Miss Pharmacology School has studied it with great results, here’s the link: http://news.olemiss.edu/new-hope-for-addicts/ Another study is being done and while it’s still in progress, they have great results thus far http://m.bangkokpost.com/vdo/vdo_detail?id=743668&refer=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F. Kratom needs to remain available to us in unadulterated leaf form and with an age restriction, that’s it.
I am a middle school principal. I have an 11yr old daughter. A beautiful wife. I’ve been taking Kratom every day for three years to treat my anxiety. Because of Kratom, I’ve never been better.
Shocked that the dea can make me a ‘criminal’ and take me away from my family because I take Kratom. So sad. Please listen to the people who use it to better their lives and make the right decision.
I am writing to you to express my extreme dismay and concern over the possibility that the
natural plant Kratom is being considered by the DEA for banning, as a dangerous drug of
addiction. As a mother of three, I am willing to offer my personal testimony to kratom, and how it has improved my life. Let me explain some of the actions and known effects of Kratom (Mitragyna
Speciosa):
· Kratom is a tree native to Southeast Asia, whose leaves have been used as a
natural medicine for thousands of years.
· In small doses it provides an energy boost – it’s a botanical cousin of coffee, but in
higher doses have a sedative and analgesic (pain relieving) effect
· Its main use is as an effective natural pain reliever and anti-depressant
· Hundreds of testimonials have been written about kratom’s efficacy in treating:
-chronic pain, diabetes, fatigue, depression, lack of energy, withdrawal symptoms of opiate and alcohol addiction
· Kratom is non-addictive, and has few side effects
· Users report that it is “less addictive than coffee”, with those in middle-age being
the most frequent and enthusiastic proponents of kratom’s benefits.
Despite all these wonderful effects, this plant is in danger of being banned in the US by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Ironically their reason for banning this wonderfully safe medicine is that it poses a ‘health risk’. Kratom is used recreationally by some people, and recent scares surrounding the synthetic drug ‘bath-salts’ have led to increased scrutiny on a number of legal substances and plants. This age-old medicine is being lumped in with dangerous, unknown synthetic substances, and is under threat of criminalization. If this criminalization occurs, countless sufferers of illness and pain could lose access to a vital natural remedy that they have been using safely for years. Like any plant or medicine, when one regularly ingests excessive amounts of a substance there is a potential for harm. This is true of countless products available for sale in pharmacies and liquor stores today, but few would argue that this means they should be outlawed. If kratom is abused – taken daily in very high doses – it can be mildly addictive, and can also cause “nervousness, sleeplessness, loss of libido, constipation and the darkening of skin complexion”. However, there have been no recorded deaths due to the use of kratom, which highlights its safety.
A case can certainly be made for the restriction of sale of kratom to minors, and responsible vendors have called for self-policing and an industry code of conduct. Senator A.G. Crowe recently withdrew a proposal to outlaw the sale of kratom in Louisiana after hundreds of people signed a petition against the plan, however he plans to put forward legislation to instate a minimum age of 18 for anybody purchasing the leaf – a move that is presumably not opposed by the majority of those who responsibly use kratom. We have seen time and time again that prohibition simply worsens the social impact of drug use, causing further health risks for users and providing criminal gangs with money that could instead be directed towards tax coffers.
Public health should be not seen through a lens so narrow that it that disregards practically all alternatives to Western medicine and pharmaceutical drugs. We call upon citizens, policymakers, and politicians to support the reform of archaic drug policy for the benefit of society, and to respect people’s innate right to use all natural plants and herbs.
Thank you for your time and my prayer is that you help join the fight to regulate not prohibit the use of this natural herbal medicine.
Anonymous
(34 year old Mother of Three, Masters in Education and Finance)
I have treatment resistant depression and agoraphobia. Several different doctors with drug cocktails were unable to find the right balance of uppers and downers and in-betweeners to keep me going. My children grew up with “Mommy’s sick”. 4 years ago a friend brought me Kratom. Swore it was all natural, herbal, no chemicals, no side effects. It was tea, just try it. No different than St. Johns Wort which has been in use dating back to ancient Greece, Kratom had a similar, though not quite as long, use in history without side effects or issues. Fast forward 4 years and thanks to Kratom I am a productive member of society. I own a successful business, I rollerblade, bike, cook, bake, laugh and love. At 50 I’ve been given a new lease on life. I’ve never been in trouble with the law. I’ve never taken a real drug. I’ve never been high a day in my life. I’ve never been violent. Every year my physical comes out perfect including my blood work. Kratom is a natural supplement that does no harm. There has not been 1 death attributed to Kratom alone. Not a single overdose. No acts of violence. There are hundreds of thousands who use this supplement every day and society has not seen any intrusion. If you take Kratom away from me, turn me into a criminal because I’d like a cup of tea in the morning you are doing ALL Americans a huge disservice. I appreciate the efforts of the DEA and FDA to keep me safe. I do not need to be kept safe from Kratom. It’s crushed up leaves. But when you turn me into a criminal and force me to stop taking Kratom all I’ve built in the last 4 years will slowly fade away as the crippling depression returns. I will lose the life I’ve built. My business will shutter, I’ll hang up my roller blades. My bike tires will go flat. And my grandson will hear these words for the first time, “Grandma’s sick”. #Iamkratom
You KNOW there is medicinal benefit in this plant. That is why there are several patents on it. We KNOW this reeks of big pharma/big govt collusion. Big Pharma wants to profit off our pain and suffering and they dont want us having access to this safe natural plant that has been used for thousands of years.
It’s not a medicine, treatment or cure. it is only a helpful herb with some positive benefits for many people,
Really more of an herb like coffee or chocolate with pain relieving effects
Because of kratom, i no longer take opioids for pain, benzos for anxiety, and much fewer SSRIs for depression. It is literally a life saver, because my life didn’t feel much like it was worth living. I was SO HAPPY to find a safe solution to my problems (and it’s absolutely safe).
If this plant is scheduled without even an option of a doctor’s prescription, I don’t know what I’ll do. Please don’t do this.
I am a 41-year-old woman with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), failed back surgery syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, and neuropathy. My doctors cannot remove the metal rods in my thoracic and lumbar spine because of my brittle bone disease. I am in severe chronic pain. I spent years on prescription pain meds. I was a useless person, a zombie. Kratom helps my pain, and I don’t take prescription pain meds anymore because of it. I take one large dose of kratom a day. It doesn’t completely take my pain away, but it helps enough (and without all the side effects of prescription pain meds) that I prefer it to prescription pain meds. Please don’t ban kratom. Please don’t make me go back on prescription pain meds.
I’ve been taking kratom on and off for 2 yrs now and I have never had any type of bad experience with kratom. I deal with fibromyalgia chronic fatigue and a few other things that keep me almost bed ridden if im on pain pills. Kratom has helped me get off those pain pills and I don’t need them as much as I thought i did. Even when I was pregnant I took kratom once in a whIle and she never had any problems when born. She was healthy and still is 9 months later, she’s super smart actually. Kratom should be our human right to take if we please! It’s a natural thing and for the government to take away our rights to natural medicine is bs! I have seen so many lives saved bc kratom helped so many get off drugs and are able to live normal lives like we are untitled to! Why make a life changing life saving plant become legal! I am one of the thousands out there that is grateful for kratom and for you people to take that away is not even humane! Let us be and let us be free like this country claims! #iamkratom
I am a 62 year old wife, mother and grandmother and a retired government employee. I suffer from degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and Psoriatic Arthritis. I’ve had multiple level cervical fusion with hardware. I live with chronic pain every moment of my life, and have been taking opiod pain medication for many years. The medication eventually stopped working as effectively. I went from an active, productive lifestyle to becoming homebound. I missed family gatherings, I was unable to work, and I could no longer do the things I enjoyed.
I heard about kratom in a couple of chronic pain groups. After months of research, I decided to try it. One year later, I am able to attend my grandchildrens’ birthday parties, take care of my house and even get out and socialize with my friends from time to time – simply by taking less than a teaspoon of kratom a couple of times a day. My blood pressure is the lowest it’s been in years, and my pain is better managed.
I have never been in trouble with the law. I am not a criminal, yet the FDA will make me a felon for choosing to consume the leaf from a tree. Kratom absolutely has medicinal value as evidenced by my experience as well as the hundreds of thousands of people who choose to take it.
Kratom does not get me high. It simply reduces my pain and helps with focus, energy and mental clarity. No respiratory depression, no constipation, and not addictive. I can go without taking it with no side effects except the increase in my pain. I have not had to increase my daily dose in over a year. It’s safe, effective and has been instrumental in vastly improving my quality of life and my ability to function.
Please #savekratom. Thank you.
It’s not really medicinal. If it were it would need to be approved by the FDA and that can take many years and dollars. Most of us consider it a dietary supplement with positive benefits like coffee or chocolate
Kratom saved my live, I was really depressed and anxious and no antidepressants I’ve got pescribed could help me. I’m using Kratom since 3 years and I never had any health problems. I use it daily and even go to work with it. Nobody notices it, because it doesn’t get you “high”. It just makes me feel better and reduces my pain.
If Kratom would get banned I would have a huge problem. I don’t want to deal with my depression that is destroying my life.
I am an Herbalist and have used the botanical kratom for the past 12 years with only positive results. It is not a drug and produces no high, just a slight mood boost (much like coffee as the plants are related ) and helps ease pain . Used in conjunction with a healthy diet and lifestyle it acts as an adapotgen balancing the body and mind.
I have recommended kratom to many clients and friends for 12 years now and have had not a single issue, complaint or problem associated with responsible use.
Perhaps all the news about it being a “drug” is causing kids to experiment with it , some unscrupulous suppliers to mix it with other things to produce a high ? Which can happen with any substance, chemical or plant, however the pure plant botanical form of kratom is a gentle plant & only helps . It absolutely should remain legal for responsible adults .
There is absolutely no reason this supplement should be scheduled by the DEA. Gross government overreach. The DEA clearly made this decision based on media sensationalism and did not do any actual research. Kratom is not a “drug” and does not get you “high.” It has a history of hundreds of years of safe use in its home culture, is legal in most of the First World, and is used safely and responsibly by thousands of Americans.
The 15 deaths resulting from kratom use that the DEA keeps citing ALL involve other substances; out of the TOTAL 50 deaths worldwide EVER involving kratom, NO deaths can be attributed to kratom alone, they ALL involve alcohol or drugs in combination.
To put that into context, around 25,000 PEOPLE died of prescription drug overdoses in the United States in 2014 ALONE, the highest number ever recorded. https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
On the same site, you’ll see, if you search for tobacco, that “Between 1964 and 2004, more than 12 million Americans died prematurely from smoking, and another 25 MILLION U.S. smokers alive today will most likely die of a smoking-related illness.”
On the same site, you’ll see, if you search for kratom, that kratom by itself is associated with ZERO DEATHS.
2015 Florida Drug Report concludes:
“A review of available law enforcement and laboratory sources in Florida demonstrates that Kratom does not currently constitute a significant risk to the safety and welfare of Florida Residents. According to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), no pervasive health issues have been attributed to the ingestion of Kratom products in Florida.”
http://krakenkratom.com/save-kratom/florida-report
Middle aged male, chronic migraine sufferer. Kratom works wonders with zero side effects. Have been in daily migraine meds, many triptans and trigger shot injections on the nerves in the back of the head. That alone causes it’s own pain as you can imagine.
NOT a junkie…. not someone searching for a high. I am a registered nurse through no fault of my own can disabled when a patient attacked me I have spent the last 12 years of my life disabled, in pain, surgery after surgery after surgery. No life to speak of friends are becoming sparse because they can’t be bothered all I want to do is have a life I’m 64 years old I’ve never done drugs I’ve never been in trouble for anything I’m a law-abiding tax-paying citizen who just wants to live my ears out pain free
If they were interested in public health they would ban the addictive drugs handed out by doctors and pharmacists. If they were really interested in public health they would partner with atf to ban alcohol. Which had been more destructive to the one using and to the general public. There is something more nefarious or sinister going on hear and a blind man could see through this ….
This is a serious matter. The DEA has overstepped their authority by banning a substance they know is not lethal on its own, and for what? To deny opoiod addicts a way out? More people die each each from cigarettes and alcohol, yet these are free to buy if you’re the right age.
Look at how Prohibition worked, look at how the War on Drugs has failed. Look at the conflict of interest between the head of the DEA and Big Pharma. The whole deal stinks of corruption and short sightedness. This is a huge detriment to American society where the DEA is not doing their jobs.
The DEA is supposed to protect us when in fact they are serving their own needs and the needs of special interests. Every opiod addict will have to go back to whatever they were using before like oxyxontin which kills far more than Kratom, and this immediately makes hundreds of thousands of Americans criminals overnight for trying to help themselves.
I was raised and lived in the Belmont/Laconia area of NH from 1972 until 2012. I knew in 2005-2006 that prescription drug abuse was rampant among the students at the local High School. My children and their friends would openly talk about it. They weren’t hard to come by they just took them from mom and dad’s medicine cabinets. That is how it starts, right under your nose.
That’s how it started for my son 7 years ago. He was working at a local pizza shop in Gilford, NH. He and his friends would work 12 hour shifts. It started out as just a way to get a little pep in your step for the long night ahead; you know a little “buzz”. The first time he snorted a ½ of Percocet he immediately vomited. But boys will be boys and they egged each other on. The second time, it hit the “Sweet Spot”. Work was fun, noting bothered him and he never had a “bad day”. He was emotionally numb and that felt pretty good to an adolescent. But what he didn’t realize was it was then, at that movement, he also lost himself and I lost my son. His girlfriend and soon to be mother of his children lost the love of her life. Soon, his only focus was finding a way not to get “sick”. He couldn’t keep a job because he was always taking time off or being late because he had to find a fix so he could feel “normal”. Do you understand that? He had to now snort Percocet’s to feel normal. At that time it would cost around $30.00 for a ½ of a “blue”. I can’t tell you how many things have been stolen, pawned, borrowed, and lost unexpectedly. The lies and deceit, the hurt and pain for those of us who love an addict is palpable. The relationships that have been ruined, the time in jail, and the costs associated with trying to fix them; I lost count of. If you are a single parent with no real resources you are own your own. Rehab is expensive, the Nathan Brody program in Laconia is a tool but not anywhere near the commitment needed to actually get them to stop. I’m his mom and even for me, he couldn’t stop. It is so easy for people to point fingers and say things like they choose to use, and what losers they are but I can tell you that most addicts were real, good and loving people before they started using and they still are but they and their brains have been hijacked. He was lost. He welcomed his first born into this world HIGH. He spent all of their money and they lost several apartments because of his addiction. I moved them in with me and that is where I saw firsthand what Opiate sickness/withdrawals will do to someone. They lived with me for several months and as always he would appear to be getting better. A month or two would go by and you could finally start to breathe again and then there would be $20.00 missing from your purse or his sisters. Or people would come by the house looking for him because he “borrowed” their PlayStation and I would know he was using again. That was my life for five and a half years.
I was at a loss. I had hit rock bottom and had lost any hope of helping my first born and chose to leave Nh behind. My own health, both mentally and physically were in jeopardy. I actually moved all the way to Oklahoma just trying to save what was left of my mind. I felt helpless and hopeless. I hoped that by my removing myself and my “help” would force him to hit bottom and he could start to reclaim his life. But when I left I also understood that it could be the last time I saw him breathing. I won’t say alive because at that point he wasn’t really alive. My son who was smart, funny, caring and sweet was gone. What was there was someone I didn’t even like. Try living with that.
He did manage to sober up and stayed sober for almost a year. But of course when an addict is using they often make decision that rightfully come home to roost. He was arrested for “Theft by Unauthorized Taking”. By the time this happened I was living in PA. Because of all his past run in with the police and court system he was looking at a lengthy sentence. He and his Lawyer got the Judge to agree to not put him in prison if he moved to PA with me for a year, did counseling and get, and kept a job. But that also meant he had to leave his family behind in NH for a year, he now had two children. He stayed clean, I think for about a month. You see that’s the “thing” about Opiates, if you take them you don’t feel any pain. He wanted to be numb. So, there we were again. Only this time I knew to keep my purse next to my bed and not to have anything that could be pawned so he was able to hide his use for a little while. But the same patterns quickly emerged but by this time he was snorting heroine. Heroine as you have all now figured out is available and cheap.
These days, a half of a “blue” Percocet will cost you $45.00 from a dealer while heroin cost only $5.00/bag a dose. If an addict needs to take 4 pills a day in order not to get “sick” it will cost $320.00 a day to feel normal. It is easy to see why they are switching to heroin. It is economics. I can tell you, it was the longest year of my life. He ended up admitting himself to a seven day detox in Pa. When he got out I told him I was moving back to Oklahoma and I couldn’t do anything else for him. He needed to want to be clean.
The problem was he was newly sober and was heading right back into the Lion’s Den, Laconia, NH. He did fine for a few months until a major emotional trauma. That was in July 2015. By November 2015 he called to tell me if I couldn’t get him out of there he was going to end up dead just like the other dozen or so of his friends who had overdosed. I flew him to Oklahoma the week before Thanksgiving. I held him while he convulsed, wiped his tears as he mourned the loss of his children again, forgave him while he cursed me because I wouldn’t give him the keys to my car so he could go ‘buy smokes”. I knew better.
I also knew that he needed something to help with the sickness so I started doing research into holistic withdrawal treatments. That’s when I stumbled upon Kratom. I read everything I could find about it. I joined a Facebook page dedicated to its use. I got myself educated. I was hesitant because I did fear we might be replacing one crutch with another but I am a firm believer that we as humans have been given all the medicine we need, here on earth, to fix what ails us and we have let Corporations alter what God intended into a Franken Pharmacology.
He was now 4 days into withdrawals. I ordered 4 ounces of Red Vein Kratom and gave him his first dose, about a tablespoon mixed with water. He gagged and almost threw up but he managed to keep it down and within 20 minute his legs were finally still. The color returned to his face and the strained look of withdrawal was lessening its grip. He looked at me and started crying. He didn’t have to say anything, I knew it was working. If you could see the efforts in swallowing Kratom you would know that most people would rather not! He is now 287 days clean, has a full-time job as an HVAC Journeyman, has paid off the $800.00 plane ticket that got him here and is paying his child support weekly. We can talk about his addiction now, where before it was an untouchable subject. He tells me that he no longer even thinks about heroin and that Kratom doesn’t get him high, it evens him out. He also has ADD and he is able to focus. He is back at the gym 4 days a week and starting to put weight back on. He has told me that he knows without Kratom he would have gone back to street drugs.
Drugabuse.gov states “The number of prescriptions for opioids (like hydrocodone and oxycodone products) have escalated from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013, with the United States their biggest consumer globally, accounting for almost 100 percent of the world total for hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin) and 81 percent for oxycodone (e.g., Percocet).[5] . In 2012, over five percent of the U.S. population aged 12 years or older used opioid pain relievers non-medically.”
There was that ‘one” time for so many. There are many things in our society that are addictive but the difference is that those things don’t typically rewire the brain and unlike alcohol that takes years to have crippling effects on the person’s mind and body, heroin, and opiates in general, take a person over very quickly.
Having said all of that I find it sad that people think that an organic leaf that is helping Millions of people get off and stay off Opiate should be banned. Kratom is not the monster, Opiate addiction is.
Sincerely,
Leslie E. McCarthy
Broken Arrow, OK
GOD BLESS YOU & YOUR SON!
This had me in tears because I can relate.
Hi my name is Jeff , I’m a 35-year-old farmer from central Illinois. I’m writing this letter in response to the dea’s scheduling that’s going to make kratom illegal nationwide. I’m pleading with you, please help us keep this lifesaving plant legal!!! It has helped me in so many ways. THANKFULLY I don’t have any stories about how I was addicted to heroin or any other prescription painkillers. BUT 10 years ago I was diagnosed as being a type 2 bipolar. Three months later when I was locked up in the psych ward I was diagnosed as having hyper anxiety on top of the type 2 bipolar. I’m not too sure the bipolar meds didn’t bring on the anxiety. I say that because for years I was on $1200 a month in “head” medicine. They had me on every single pill out there and for years they tried every combo of pills they could think of and with no avail. I was on four different medications at all times even the times I was locked up in the psych ward. I had a doctor tell me “some people just have to live with it”. And let’s not forget how I had to get my liver tested every other month due to the large volume of pills. When I asked the doctor he said “yes they was tearing my liver up but once again, it was something I was going to have to live with”. My life literally made me want to kill myself… Then I received a text from a friend saying nothing but “Google Kratom”. I did it right then and there and I liked what I read (back then everything online about kratom was positive before big pharm got into everybody’s pocketbook). Long story short I got some kratom two days later off the Internet. I immediately tried some and 15 minutes later every “head” problem I ever had vanished!!!!!!! The anxiety was gone, sadness disappeared and the overall feeling of a pending doom was gone as well. It was unbelievable!!! It’s been seven years since that day and I’ve never had any relapses, not even once. It’s crazy, the night and day difference in my whole lifestyle going from all the pills to a plant related to coffee. You’ll be happy to know that since then my blood pressure has dropped back down to normal and my liver test finally dropped back down to normal as well. And the best part? I turned into a happy, productive person which is something my parents and my kids haven’t seen in years. I believe Kratom’s positivity has not only been felt by me, but by them as well. So I’m pleading with you to please keep this plant legal because the only thing worse than what I’ve been through is going back to that mindset after being “happy” for so long…. please help us all!!!
I have chronic pain that makes very difficult to sit for loner than ten minutes at a time. As a result, I’ve tried just about every conventional and unconventional method of alleviating my pain so that I can be an active, engaged father to my 1 year old daughter. There are only two things I’ve found that help the pain, opiates and Kratom. I don’t want the opiate prescription I have. I don’t like being high around my daughter, the ever increasing dosage due to tolerance, or driving while on opiates (I am my daughters primary care giver). With Kratom I don’t have to worry about those things. If you take that away from me, you are forcing me into an opiate addiction and I won’t be able to be a functioning father for my daughter. Please show some compassion.
I work in the addictions industry – I am aware first-hand not only of the devastation of heroin and opioid addiction, but of how utterly difficult, if not impossible, it is to get clean in many cases – and I would say that this reeks of mere incompetence and abuse of discretion on the part of the DEA. Even if one assumes arguendo that it’s possible for some kratom to be contaminated, the number of negative events is so small as to be negligible. There have been no deaths except those in which a person had consumed lethal quantities of psychotropic drugs (legal or illegal) in addition to kratom. And even those are very few and far between. And innumerable people HAVE managed to get off of heroin and/or opioids. This is no small feat.
When this ban goes into effect, individuals are going to return to active addiction or be forced to use powerful prescription painkillers to cope. People are going to slip back into depression that makes life unlivable. People are going to die from this, and it will certainly be many more people than have suffered adverse events to date.
I would also add that this smacks of the DEA making an attempt to stay relevent. At a time when more people are realizing every day how devastating and disastrous the drug war has been, it’s important to the DEA to maintain its image as some kind of righteous defender of the people. But quite obviously in this case, the DEA is merely going to wreak more havoc on the lives of responsible people merely trying to manage their pain and illnesses responsibly. It’s very shameful
DEA, please reverse this ruling on Kratom. There are better ways of dealing with any problems in the distribution of this plant. It has helped so many people. We are adults and citizens of this wonderful country and should not be treated as criminals. Kratom has personally helped me with overcoming an addiction to pain medication which I was taking for legitimate health problems. Your organization finally made tramadol a schedule 1 drug because it eas handed out like candy and we were told it was not addictive. That was a lie. Kratom helped me ivrtcome this addiction and takes care of my pain. I don’t have to take it. The pain meds take away your choice. We have to go through terrible withdrawals to stop your legal pills. I never want to go through that again. Please leave kratom legal!
This is utterly ridiculous. Knew it would come at some point though. The DEA and government have to stick their noses into everything. You are not looking out for us.
I’m a 45 yr old pharmacist that graduated a the top of my class. I agree with all of the comments here.
I’ve been using kratom for about 12 years now. Suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and the like. Went through years of SSRIs, benzodiazapines, and sleep meds. Also drank heavily to fight the anxiety and insomnia.
Found kratom and have been off all of these meds and alcohol ever since. Side effects to getting off all of that crap were ridiculous. Stopping kratom is nothing in comparison.
I’ve really had a good life since then. I was miserable before.
Can’t believe this is even happening. Can’t go back on all those meds and chance reverting to alcohol.
Please leave us alone. So many benefit from this. You are ruining lives.
This is unacceptable. Help us fight! https://webchat.anonops.com/ Channel name #opkratom
Kratom should not be scheduled. How much pain will be caused by the DEA’s action? Law abiding citizens will become felons. Some subset of them will be thrown in prison. Many people who use kratom for pain will be forced to live in pain or use the powerful opioids they are trying to avoid. This action will potentially ruin my life and the lives of many others.
I am writing in reference to the DEA’s intent to ban kratom. I am not a drug user and I do not have a criminal record. I am also college educated and work hard for my family. I ruptured my spjne in early 2000 and was not able to take normal pain meds due to a heart condition and severe allergy to traditional, prescribed opiates. I have since had surgery that ended my chronic pain, but kratom was a life saver for me prior to my surgery. It allowed me to continue working for my family and finish grad school. It was effective at eliminating my pain without the typical opiate type effects that would make normal everyday life nearly impossible. I have never had withdrawal symptoms or any problem stopping my use of kratom. This is a miracle plant and although I do not take it everyday, it is the only thing that I can use for pain and anxiety because of my heart condition. I was given hydrocodone at a standard presribed dose when I originally had my injury and almost died. I had a near fatal heart event. I am convinced that if I did not have the option of using the leaf from the kratom plant unaltered chemically for pain, I would have died. As stated, I do not need katom daily for pain now, but I do use it as needed for my severe social anxiety and occasional depression. Please do not make kratom illegal. You will definitely kill people with this ban.
A plant that has been used for hundreds of years is going to be made illegal. a plant that has allowed me to live without having to take overpowering and expensive pain pills that leave in a zombie state. A plant that saved my friend, suffering from addiction to those same prescription drugs and allow him to live free from taking any drug. He stopped taking kratom shortly after getting clean from opiates. Why is the dea doing this? Its not a widely used botanical. There is not much money in it when a kilo cost $75.The amount of people who have died from kratom alone is 0 and the number of people recorded who have ever died with kratom in there systems is less than half the number of deaths from peanuts in a any single year(less than 20 people have ever died with kratom in their system). But if there is no big money in kratom and its not a public health scare then why is it becoming illegal? Fun fact: Kratom was made illegal in Thai Land 80 years ago because it was interfering with their opium sales. Now, because of the dea’s decision I’m a criminal, even when I stop kratom when the ban takes effect, I’ll still have been lumped together with the likes of heroin and crack addicts, and be seen that way in the eyes of my peers as I advocate for kratom. There will be an increase in deaths because of this decision, and for everyone else that lives, their lives will be changed for the worse.
December 2015, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement published an in-depth report examining Kratom and its effects on consumer health and the state of Florida. The report concluded:
“a review of information currently available through identified law enforcement and laboratory sources in Florida indicates that Kratom does not constitute a significant risk to the safety or welfare of Florida residents. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) reports no pervasive health issues attributed to the ingestion of Kratom products in Florida.”
– See more at: https://www.botanical-education.org/florida-law-enforcement-recognizes-kratoms-positive-safety-profile/#sthash.iXFyxMvm.dpuf
this. this. this. this. this.
RESPOND TO THIS DEA
Not in the best interest of the American people. I should know. I am the American people! Looks like another government official in the pockets of Big Pharma! I’m getting really fed up with not having our best interest at heart! Just more money for Big Pharma and more pain and suffering for the American people! I’ve already lost my precious daughter, Jewel, because of Big Pharma’s irresponsibility! Not much more too lose!
The DEA “argues that public comment is unnecessary”
Even in the face of all of this — including, again, federally-funded research recommending further study — the DEA has had the audacity to declare that the conversation around kratom is over and that users should expect to be subject to arrest.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2016/08/31/dea-argues-that-public-comment-is-unnecessary-before-kratom-ban/#6469babf388b
Anxiety…take a pill
Depession…take a pill
Feel like shit take a pill
Pain take a pill
Let me live my life. Kratom has replaced multiple prescription drugs for me.
Leave me alone or make me a criminal. You won’t get taxes from me if you do that. You’ll just make the rest of the hard working taxpayers keep me in prison. That’s what you do best
I am a former teacher, now principal. I have 2 Masters degrees and am working on my doctorate. I have 3 children and a wife of 15 years. I am also a daily benefactor of kratom, and I use it instead of formerly prescribed pain and anxiety medications. I came upon kratom when I became fed up with the non stop cycle of steadily increasing tolerance to the prescriptions, and the steadily increasing fog of which I was living in. I was a drone, and my doctor wanted to prescribe additional meds. I’d had it, and a friend showed me kratom. I have kept the same dosage for the past 4 years. My wife attests I am “me” again, and it allows me to not feel totally owned by a substance, as I can go on vacation and not be frantic that I don’t have enough pills to last me. It has given me the courage and confidence to use other routes of coping, such as meditation and exercise. This was never the conversation with my doctor. Do I feel this is the voice of all doctors? No, certainly not, but the ability to be a self advocate and to seek self preservation….isn’t this a primary right of being an American? I know that these are certainly characteristics that I aim to instill in my children and students. The plan for a ban on kratom has left me with a pile of confusion and fear as to what function my government truly has for Me and my fellow Americans. Is it one of advocacy, or is it one of control? Do they care for me as an individual, or is the focus truly on the corporate level? I am not one to dwell on conspiracy theories and government/corporate bed-fellows, but this move would debilitate my faith in American government, and at a time when our people really need a sign that we are not being ignored. Making this decision – without the reliance on Science and diverse testimony – is not the America that I celebrate, and it is not the America that is going to allow future generations to believe in the founding principles that have encouraged their mothers and fathers to dedicate their lives to this society.
Drinking Kratom Tea and extract for 10 years! This absurd scheduling of Kratom is outrageous. The most enfuriating part is that this action is based on total absolute lies. DEA gets to say all by themselves that this is “going” to be a problem, we don’t like it and then snap their fingers and make you a felon overnight for it. This is soft tyrannical government. Something stinks to high heaven. Chuck Rosenberg step down!
#DEFUNDTHEDEA.
I think Kratom is harmless from subjective experience. The plant helps with pain from arthritis. It helps my wife’s menstrual cramps and sciatic nerve pain. I haven’t had any negative experiences from Kratom aside from taking too much once and feeling nausea. Lesson learned. Before accepting this should be scheduled, or the government intervening at all, I would like to see qualitative and quantitative evidence that it it a threat to public health. I don’t think it is. If scheduled as a level 1 then research is left at a standstill dye to bureaucratic procedures; e.g. the research on cannabis has been held up because of the DEA’s unwillingness to grant researchers access to legal material. If the DEA schedules this will we one day be left with only alcohol, tobacco, coffee and pills?
I use many supplements to help lead a normal life. Kratom has by far been the most effective. I too would like to see and hear more evidence to support the DEA’s position. I have never experienced any negative effects in the 3 years I have been taking the supplement.
I am a 39 year old mother of 2 girls. I suffer from DDD, stenosis, scoliosis, fibro and RA. I was on prescription pain meds for 5 years, that were heavily prescribed by a crooked Doctor. I finally discontinued use in Jan of 2015 cold turkey, but the pain, depression and anxiety that would follow was crippling. I was in so much pain physically and mentally that even leaving my house was impossible. My daughters were suffering because of this. My older daughter also became depressed as she was watching me. I felt doomed, that this was the beginning to the end. This was how I was going to live the rest of my life. In September of 2015 (almost exactly a year ago) I was introduced to Kratom. I was finally able to
live again. I was able to get off the couch, do things with my girls, I could smile and socialize. Not only did it tackle my pain, it helped my mood and energy levels. I was finally able to be the mother my girls needed. Now here I am a year later off all pharmaceuticals and I now work helping others. I have no idea what my real pain level is, as I’ve been on Kratom for a whole year. The impending ban scares me. How will I survive with the pain, anxiety and depression again? What kind of mother will I be to my girls. I pray that the DEA hears our plea, there will be many lives affected severely. This herb, tree, in the COFFEE family has saved my life. It has saved others too. Thank you for hearing our stories.
This is a blatant misuse of position to pander to the big pharma companies – who undoubtabley have deep pockets when it comes to lobbying against anything that could threaten profits! The public is very quickly losing trust in govt agencies and DO NOT believe that they are doing for the greater good. Their evidence of this plant is scant if even there. Mislabeling the plant and plugging it out to their media “friends” to create mass hysteria is just all part of the plot. The evidence is quite clear that this plant made as a tea does NOT provide a high, makes a terrible recreational drug, but instead does help with peoples debilitating pain and illnesses – of all walks of life. Including myself.
My anxiety was so bad that some days I couldn’t leave the house. I sat in the corner shaking and crying. I was afraid of everything, living in a constant state of dread. I was pushing my friends away and failing at my job. I was on an SSRI and Klonopin. Nothing really helped. Once I found Kratom, everything changed. I am able to go out with friends and actually enjoy it. I am able to do my job supporting people with developmental disabilities. When I use Kratom, I don’t feel high. I just feel okay. That’s all I want. Please don’t make me choose between being a felon and having a life. That’s just cruel.
I am writing to express my complete dismay with my United States Government. I want to tell my story and I am asking for some help.
This plant has been a miracle to me and I am going to try to make my story short and sweet the very best I can.
Quickly, let me tell you, I am 53 years old and a productive member of society. I am a fraud investigator for a health insurance company and have high standing among my peers. I make a good salary and pay taxes like a good US citizen should. I have two grown children and two grandchildren who I am regularly with and enjoy incredible relationships with.
One gigantic problem I have is an extreme disability due to panic attacks. When I was younger I was not a productive member of society because I was constantly living in fear and could not enjoy my life. I did the best I could but it was a constant struggle to wake up day to day and face the world. I was always scared. Scared of everything. Scared that my children were dying, scared that I was dying, I even thought the world could end any day. These thoughts went through my head continually making it very difficult to concentrate on work and raising my children. I went to multiple doctors and tried multiple pills that only made me sleepy and make things even worse. I tried anxiety pills, depression pills, you name it – all of them. None of them worked for me!
As luck would have it (or not) I was given a diagnosis of Endometriosis and was given pain pills such as Vicodin and Norco to fight the pain. I noticed that when I took these not only did they help the pain but somehow they helped the panic as well. However, somehow as time went on I needed more than my doctor was willing to prescribe. I then began to seriously consider breaking the law by Doctor shopping.
It was my Dr at the time who refused to give me more pain medicine that suggested I look into Kratom. Lo and behold it worked! I am completely free of painkillers as I am older now and do not experience the pain that I did due to the onset of menopause, but the panic unfortunately did not go away until I began a Kratom regimen. However, let me add even though my story does not involve pain at this point there are many people who use Kratom for that very reason.
Now, I am being told in less than 30 days that if I possess any I will be a felon and will go to jail. I can’t even imagine the panic I will feel in jail. I am so scared and I would like to know if my United States government is really going to take this away from me/us what will they do to replace it? How will they help us who have never found a pharmaceutical that truly cured/alleviated these problems? How will they help us who have stayed inside the law all these years and don’t want to start breaking it now?
I am begging you not to ban this plant or to provide to me a safe alternative before you turn me into a felon. I don’t want to lose my job , I don’t want to lose my livelihood.& job, and I really don’t want to lose my life . I am begging you please please help me. Help all of us. Do the right thing. At least, at the very least delay the ban until a safe alternative is made available. An alternative that will not turn me into a felon.
Also. to all:
Please read this article
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57d1ad7ce4b03d2d45993e0e
I use kratom daily to help me with PTSD which I got from being abused and locked in a room for many months at a time growing up. I didn’t know what was wrong for a long time and was addicted to alcohol and other drugs to try and deal with the anxiety, depression, having nightmares, being startled all the time, and other mental issues that come along with PTSD. kratom doesn’t make me high like other drugs or alcohol do, it just makes my stress a little easier to deal with because with a mental problem like this it is exacerbated by stress. There are a lot of ways it helps, and I think that saying it has no medical use at all is due to faulty research. It doesn’t get me high and I can forget to take it if I have other things to do and not go into bad withdrawals.
People with arthritis are not felons. People with depression and anxiety are not felons. People with back and knee pain are not felons. How long until you see riots at the doorstep of the DEA for this meaningless and expensive war on drugs? How many times can a federal agency overstep its reach before the chaos shows up on their front lawn? Please stop this nonsense.
I wonder if the DEA has confused some head shop/gas station products labeled as “kratom” with the real thing. Yes, those “shots” can contain pretty much anything along with a kratom extract, are marketed to appeal to youth, and these can definitely be problematic. These things are not what most of us are talking about here. People who take the plain leaf kratom responsibly should not have to pay for the greed of companies that have attempted to turn this simple, helpful plant into a “legal high.” Focus on the extracts and marketing to teens. Classic example of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Kratom has saved my life. I was addicted to opiates, have sever sciatica, Bipolar, Depression, and Anxiety. All this Ban is going to accomplish is making good people criminals. If it was addicting, why was I able to stop using it when I found out I was pregnant with 0 withdrawls… I had my baby on the 16th of July… yet I have only used kratom a handful of times when my bipolar and anxiety are high. This seems to me like a power grab. Like they want us to use prescription medication. Ridiculous!
I am a 45 year old business executive who wears a suit and tie everyday. I have a wife and 3 teenage children who I love dearly. I coach their sports teams and attend as many of their games as possible. This wasn’t the case 2 years ago, as I contracted a terrible case of Lyme disease which almost killed me. I was out of work for over 18 months, barely able to get out of bed during this time. I had an IV port in my chest and suffered from debilitating nerve pain. I was put on a cocktail of Neurontin, Trileptal, and Tramadol which would help only a little in the pain department, but made me groggy and tired. I then read something in Facebook about Kratom, and I was so desperate, I thought I would give it a try. The results have been life changing. I have been back to work for two years now performing at a very high-level. I’m very involved in my children’s lives. Kratom makes my severe chronic pain manageable. We need to motivate Congress to not allow this aggressive overreach to go through.m
I am a 36 year old single mom of two young boys ( one of whom has autism.. I have medical issues that are debilitating (hidrenitis supporativa stage 3 D.D.D. with spinal stenosis, severe carpal tunnel In both hands,panic disorder, migraine headaches and Fibromyalgia to name a few) and struggle every day to make it through and take care of my children and home alone.. I have been on so many different medications that I could not possibly name them all . The medications would cause side effects that makes me feel worse than before and I honestly had given up hope of finding anything to make life manageable until I found Kratom.. I have gotten back to feeling well again and have been able to play with my children and garden and going out in public with out panic attacks.. I had hope again and then this.. They are taking away people’s hope they are taking away our ability to choose a natural form managing our ailments.Our quality of life!!! Please don’t let this happen
Kratom has changed my life. As a personal experiment, I once ate 35 grams and all I did was vomit. After further research, I found that not one person has died solely due to unadulterated kratom. This plant is harmless and helpful to an extraordinary amount of people. With that, I believe that this substance should only be sold to people 18+ years of age. Please don’t take this gift from God away from us tax paying, hard-working, American citizens.
What the DEA is trying to do should be illegal. Kratom is perfectly safe, and kratom users are harming no one. We should not be beholden to the pharmaceutical industry if there are other available options. It’s my body, I should be the one to decide what to use to treat my chronic pain – NOT the government. I am terrified of what my life will look like without kratom; but I do know it will be full of pain and anguish, and I’m angry that I’m punished for no reason. I didn’t ask for this broken body. I can’t help how much pain I’m in (I’ve tried everything). I should be allowed to treat my pain as I see fit, especially with something as safe and effective as kratom, and especially since it’s not hurting anyone – it’s helping people.
How can they ban a PLANT? GOD gave us this plant for a reason and the reason was NOT for the money grubbing government to steal it from those that are suffering and need this plant to live as normal lives as possible. GOD is watching and HE will make sure that those responsible for these most selfish, unsympathetic, callous DEA actions will someday be reminded of their actions…
Kratom prevented my suicide. I have never used narcotics in my life. I was getting my PhD in chemissary at UCSD when my girlfriend was killed in a motorcycle accident that 3,000 miles away. I had nothing and antidepressantsee weren’t enough. Inpatient treatment? Insurance wasn’t enough. Kratom made it possible for me to go to work and actually function. After it had served it’s purpose, I was easily able to stop taking it.
Ban kratom? Absolutely insane. Absurd.
Im a 37 mom of two. At age 30 I herniated 2 discs in my back. An MRI also revealed spinal stenosis. Everything changed. I went from being a metal worker and teacher to being on my back and in pain all day everyday. The doctors could only give me opioids and steriods. My marriage ended as shoveled pain killers into my body just to be well enough to care for my beautiful children.
After 3 years of Vicoden and Norco everyday I had enough. I hated the depressed and moody person it made me. My family was suffering. I dedicated myself to looking for alternative treatments to the daily nerve pain and constant battle against inflammation. I found curcumin (found in tumeric) as a natural anti inflammatory. MSM and glucosamine to help with the Osteoarthritis. And Kratom instead of those horrible Norcos.
I was able to get off the perscription pain killers after 3 miserable years. I got my life back. My doctor was amazed and constantly asked if I needed more pain meds. Ive been on a small daily does of Kratom for 3 years. I started a business and joined the world again.
If Kratom is banned I face a choice: Become a criminal in order to continue existing or go back to the opioids that were ruining my life. I don’t know what I’ll do.
I am a chronic pain sufferer for over ten years , I’ve been on all kinds of medication to help the pain, the prescriptions had countless side effects, such as drowsiness, dizziness etc… I got frustrated and decided to research alternative ways to help the pain and came across kratom. I can finally feel as close to normal as possible, I can be the Mom and wife my family deserves. Thank you for letting me tell my story
Please do not ban this sacred plant. I suffer from everyday Chronic Pain from a Spinal Cord Injury back in 2012 and have used Kratom exclusively for my pain. I don’t want the government to tell me what I should use for this crippling disease in MY BODY. I am a responsible ADULT who uses this plant SAFELY not bothering a soul. If this ban goes into effect, I will not be the only one who will suffer from its absurd unjust taking of our rights to self medicate ourselves. SAVE KRATOM, it is my only hope, and the only hope for many more HUMAN BEING LIVES.
I am a 39 year old mother and computer science student. This wonderful leaf has helped me greatly. I sometimes have small amounts in my coffee and it really helps with my treatment-resistant depression and anxiety as well as pain. My depression is literally physically painful. It feels like someone hollowed out my chest and punched me in the gut. I’ve tried many pharmaceuticals since I was a teen, and I developed a terrible alcohol problem just trying to get some relief!
Kratom has never caused me any issues, and I have not formed an addiction in the year I’ve been using it. My dose has stayed steady as well. I am an honor student and a good mom, and I am very proud to say I have been alcohol-free for over a year, for the first time in 20 years! But I need this supplement. I am not a bad person, I am just in pain.
This plant has saved lives. It has never taken one when used alone. With the war on drugs I cant stress enough how this is the worst time for the DEA to try to make this a schedule 1. It helps for so many things. It has changed my life. I feel better then I have in years. I am a mother, a wife, and I work in the medical field in a very higj position. Ive never been an addict. Never been an alcoholic. Just a regular person looking for natural anxiety relief and i found it.
Kratom is essential to the health and well being of thousands of people. It is a natural plant that has saved many lives. Putting Kratom on the schedule 1 list will have devastating effects for many years. Please help us keep this plant legal. Sign the petition, write your Congressmen, spread awareness, donate to non-profit Kratom organizations. There is a March on Washington DC September 13, and I am hosting a Kratom awareness event in Savannah, Georgia on September 13 12pm at Planet 3.
I have suffered from debilitating chronic anxiety since I was about 11 years old. Everything I do, everywhere I go, from the moment I wake up till the moment I try to settle down at night to attempt to get what mostly turns out to be a few hours of poor quality sleep I am completely overshadowed by this anxiety. It controls my thoughts, all my actions, severely hinders how well I can function on a day to day basis. I find myself constantly avoiding situations because even if they seem non threatening normal everyday activities they somehow still throw my anxiety levels off the charts. I freeze up like a deer in headlights, stuck in high adrenaline fight or flight mode. And I feel like this almost constantly
I would do anything for relief from this living nightmare, this never ending hell of existance. Most days I want to crawl out of my own skin, I feel a prisoner to my own body. I can’t do ANYTHING to escape this anxiousness that constantly envelopes my mind and body . Believe me, I have tried EVERYTHING. From therapy on numerous occasions, including CBT , endless different prescription drugs at the cost of my personality, and endless illegal substances at the cost of my soul. And my health. None of it did anything to actually improve the quality of my life
That is, until I found kratom. This plant is so amazing, it has really changed my whole perspective on life. By now I have accepted that I will never be fully rid of my anxiety and it will be a life long affliction. But how happy I was to find something that truely alleviates the worst of my symptoms! Life has been good these last couple of years. I have done and accomplished things I NEVER thought were possible for me. For instance, I enrolled in school and am about to graduate this month and I am on my way to living a life I’ve always wanted
If kratom is no longer an option, my existance will be quite bleak indeed. They will have effectively snuffed out the brightest light in this poster’s otherwise gray and miserable life. They aren’t just taking away a plant. No, they are taking away HOPE for people like me. And for WHAT? Someone please give me a reason that’s good enough to explain this unjust action? This will destroy many lives I fear
This is overreach at its most nefarious. It absolutely SMACKS of pharmaceutical company lobbying and greased palms. No one has been able to prove that anyone has died from Kratom alone, but mark my words, people WILL die as the go back to their opiod drugs of choice. And the DEA with have blood on their hands…not that they care I’m sure. This is criminal.
I am a 67-year-old semi-retired woman with a history of anxiety and depression. I suffered two broken wrists in separate accidents six and then eight years ago. One was caused by a slip on the ice and the other by a very large dog pulling me down the stairs of a porch where I was watching him. I had to have surgery on both. I had already been taking Tylenol with codeine for some arthritis. By the time both wrists healed I realized I was addicted to narcotic pain pills, any kind I could get. They helped with the pain but after the wrists healed I kept taking them. I was used to how they made me feel and due to my judgement being off due to taking so many (I had to keep taking more) I got into some trouble because I forged a prescription to get them. This was completely out of character for me to do this. I went on probation, was forced to attend NA meetings, community service, jail time and mandatory counseling. I overcame my addiction, also completely stopped three other pharmaceutical meds (Paxil, Ativan and Lipitor) that were counterproductive and unhealthy. But was still depressed and anxious. I needed to pull myself back up. I discovered kratom and the energy and motivation it provided while also taking my arthritis pain away. I now work 4 part-time jobs and am happy and quite productive. I am an artist and a writer, the mother of two grown children and grandmother to one little boy. I am enjoying my retirement now, have a large group of friends that I participate in fulfilling activities with and look forward to each day. I attribute a lot of my life changes to discovering this herbal supplement. I have never been healthier, both mentally and physically. Even my liver function has improved according to tests I’ve had.
I don’t understand why kratom is being scheduled like this. It’s not harmful at all. I’ve done some research and discovered that these reports of deaths associated with kratom were due to people taking drugs along with kratom. I don’t get high on it at all. I also discovered that the tree it comes from is closely related to the coffee plant. I hear so much on the news these days about people addicted and in many cases overdosing on opiate pain pills and often turning to heroin that I am mystified as to why kratom isn’t recommended to these people as a way to get off of these dangerous drugs. I’ve also heard that many alcoholics lose their desire to drink after beginning to take kratom. It’s a natural substance. Why oh why would that be grouped with things such as LSD and heroin when there is no similarity to those drugs. I am so sad that this herbal remedy I discovered that has turned my life around is going to be made illegal and impossible to get. It makes no sense.
I’m 55 years old. I’m gainfully employed, a homeowner, a grandmother, a National Merit Scholar (way back in my school days). I’m the farthest thing from a drug addict, but prescription painkillers nearly made me one. I had an accident a few years ago and was very slow to heal. Before I realized it, I’d been taking the Vicodin my doctor prescribed for 4 months and I’d become entirely too fond of it.
I started researching for a way to give up the painkillers but still manage the pain. I opted to try kratom and it did just what I needed it to. It got me off the pain pills and back to a healthy and productive work & social life. Kratom is now my go-to when I need pain treatment, because I don’t ever want to tempt fate with prescription painkillers again.
I also have a family member who prefers kratom to the Prozac that he’d been taking for 20+ years. Kratom provides him with anti-anxiety benefits without the unpleasant side-effects of the pills. I would hate to see a safe and natural alternative to dangerous opiates and chemical mood enhancers taken away by this ill-advised scheduling
I am 27 years old and currently live with PTSD and conversion disorder. When I was 17 and again when I was 18, I nearly died from a tension pneumothorax and had to have life saving surgeries. The aesthetics were ineffective and I was completely aware the entire time. After years in therapy and having tried every medical treatment available for my psychiatric symptoms, nothing helped. I was completely non-functional and couldn’t work or enjoy life.
Eventually I heard about kratom from a friend and decided to give it a shot. The result was like night and day. I am happy to report that for the past eight years, I have been functional again. I run my own business, donate my time to multiple non profits, and am working on two Master’s degrees.
I am so, so afraid of what this coming ban means for me. In the past eight years, I have tried some of the newer treatments that have become available, in place of kratom. There is still nothing else that helps. When this ban goes into effect, I may lose my business, my ability to complete my education, and the rest of my quality of life. Disability services in this country are inadequate, and I do not know how I am going to continue going on.
What’s more, I’m very frustrated and angry. The DEA has decided that it would be “contrary to the public interest” to allow a period of public comment before the ban. They are not elected officials, so the fact that they can ban a medicinal herb that has saved my life, and then waive the public comment requirement, is outrageous. I feel so powerless having no say over this, and having my autonomy taken away from me. Why are my only choices to either become a felon or to go back to being disabled?
Since having started on kratom, I have had the very good fortune of meeting some amazing people who use this herb for other conditions. Two of them used it to help quit heroin and have a number of years of clean time in, using kratom as a maintenance option. They cannot afford suboxone, and one has a heart condition that makes methadone usage dangerous. Both, from their histories, are likely to relapse on heroin after the ban kicks in.
I understand that the DEA does an important job keeping chemicals like cocaine and methamphetamine off the streets, but this ban is a major overreach and a harmful mistake. It will adversely affect tens of thousands of people who benefit from kratom, and the justifications given in their notice of intent are poorly reasoned and even, in some cases, based on incorrect data. In this case, they are not fulfilling their role as protectors: quite the opposite. Kratom has been in use for hundreds of years and there have been no documented cases of it causing death on its own. The calls to Poison Control mentioned in their notice pale in comparison to calls about any other perfectly legal item, such as over the counter medications.
I beg anyone reading this with the power to take action, please do not let the DEA ruin lives by making this plant illegal.
Hello ,I was born with a very large tumor attached to my hip area it was to do with parents blood type Rh neg and Rh positive My medical records call it a terra toma tumor which is possible to be a Siamese twin that didn’t develope.Well they said I would never walk I had a productive childhood then things really took a turn for the worst when I started having children .I lost the first two and had a emergency csection with my son and spent 23 days in the hospital he was huge for me 10lb 6oz .That is when my obgyn asked for my baby records and said please don’t have any more children so I got pregnant didn’t listen well and had my daughter 14 months later which the whole pregnancy was monitored.Fast forward pain started getting real bad the last few yrs and I’m 58 and was approved for disability 2 yrs ago in 3 months.so I did the pain management and I felt like they were setting me up for end of life wanted me to wear Fentyl patch I said no way.So doing research I found Kratom a year ago this past April and at first it was a hit and miss and I do still take pain meds as sometimes it is easier in a busy day.Poor excuse ,it’s just I haven’t gotten organized with mixing my dosage to keep up a busy schedule.A tsp with my oJ is my way of dosing ,I have a much clearer mind on Kratom ,better attitude and it takes away my severe pain in my legs and pelvis area as that was all rebuilt at birth.Please do not ban this I’m trying to get my daughter off her meds which she is a walking Pharmacy and she didn’t advocate for herself well and is on Benzos ,pain meds ,Anti depressants, her personality has changed ,her parenting,her job performance if she still has a job after 14 yrs at Costco .She has Lupus and tons of other illness.I have numerous health issue also my last Dr appt my Dr said I could stop taking my blood pressure meds as my last 3 visits have been great.I owe that to Kratom .My Dr is not knowledgeable about Kratom but said she was going to research as she said for me to keep it up.
I only just heard about kratom for the first time a few days ago. First, I’m shocked that I’d never heard of it. Second. I’m a prime candidate for a person who would or could reap significant benefits from this plant. I’m so disgusted that the dea is basically sneaking this herb onto the books as schedule 1.um sorry for the thousands already getting help from it and sad for myself that I won’t be able to try it. I’m a chronically ill person. Lupus, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, fybromyalgia, chostochindits, ptsd, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety.. I’ve been on opiates for the pain for many years and this plant sounds like a dream for me! I’m writing in the response section, in support of kratom, it’s supporters and users and also just to add another voice in the stream of comments, because it’s clear that if enough people comment, the issue will more likely be addressed. I am not kratom… But I should be! If it stays legal, I will be!!
This ban is actually EXTREMELY dangerous and counterproductive. There is an opiate epidemic going on in this country. This herb cannot be overdosed on by itself. Two ounces of powdered leaf at one ingestion would cause severe vomiting. It’s use and dosage are self-limiting. The higher the dosage, the more the side effects. It has given many people a way out of painkiller and heroin addiction, and had outstanding benefits treating pain, anxiety, and treatment resistant depression, with fewer side effects than the other drugs usually used to treat these conditions. It is much cheaper than suboxone or methadone and was freely available. It was very AFFORDABLE. It is a much safer alternative to opiates.
It improves function more than it degrades. People are not nodding out in a corner, they are going to work and being productive members of society. It is used by those in all walks of life from laborers to doctors, lawyers, and police officers. More people will turn to heroin, which has flooded the market, due in a large part to the crackdown on prescribing painkillers.
No matter the pain condition, unless you have cancer, you cannot get prescribed any sort of opiate, because doctors are afraid the DEA will kick their door in. EVERYBODY is made to suffer because of a few bad apples. Addicts will become desperate, and extremely dangerous synthetic opiates and possibly even krokodil will make an appearance on the black market. I am afraid there will be a large number of suicides from all demographics. The imminent public health threat would actually be CREATED by removing kratom from the open market.
The costs to society by turning millions of Americans into criminals overnight will be astronomical. I have been using it myself for ten years ( mid 2006) to treat chronic treatment resistant depression, which I have had since I was 15. I am 33 years old now. This has been one of the ONLY things which has given me some relief. I have been on approximately the same dosage for seven years. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter. May God bless America.
I’d like to voice my opposition to the DEA’s Intent to Schedule the alkaloids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which would make Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a schedule 1 controlled substance with no medicinal value. This would put kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.
My name is Laura and I am a 35 year old female living in Oregon. I come from a law enforcement background (my father worked for the police) and I currently work for the Department of Human Services-Child Welfare. I am also a born again Christian and I genuinely love my country.
Please listen to my story and see how this will negatively affect my life.
I have struggled with Restless Legs Syndrome for almost as long as I can remember. In 2008 I discovered an herb that can help treat my condition on a Restless Legs Syndrome forum. It is called Kratom, or Mitragyna Speciosa. It is a deciduous tree in the coffee family. It is not synthetic or made in a lab, it is just a leaf that grows on a tree. I have used it since 2008 and it has helped my life immensely.
It works better than any prescription medication I have ever taken, and I have never experienced any side effects or interactions with the other medications that I take. The only thing I experience after taking kratom is relief from my debilitating condition. I have tried Requip, Levodopa/Carbadopa, Mirapex, Benzodiazepenes, and prescription opiates to try to treat my condition. All unsuccessfully.
My Restless Legs Syndrome is so severe it cripples me when left untreated. My skin feels like it is crawling and it’s often very painful. I can’t focus on anything else when I’m having a flare up. I actually found that Requip and Mirapex made my symptoms worse (called “augmentation”), and the opiates and benzodiazepenes interfered with my judgment and made me lethargic. They are also incredibly addicting. I experience no addiction from kratom at all.
As I have taken kratom since 2008, that makes 8 years of regular use with no negative incidents at all. I take Kratom at only the lowest dose that effectively controls my symptoms, and I do not experience any psychoactive effects from it at all. All I get is relief from my condition. It does not affect my judgment or memory, or behavior. It doesn’t change my personality like opiates and benzodiazepenes do. That is why I love it. Making this substance a schedule I drug makes no sense at all.
I found out today from the American Kratom Association, that the DEA has made an emergency scheduling ruling which would make my medicine a Schedule I substance as of September 30, 2016. Unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors out to make a quick buck have mis-marketed kratom as a “legal high”, and compared it to opiates. As someone who has taken opiates, I can tell you kratom is nothing like opiates, as in I can stop taking it all of a sudden and feel no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. The only result that happens from me stopping taking it is that my Restless Legs Syndrome stops being treated effectively.
Just because some irresponsible people have abused this wonderful God-created plant, does not mean that the majority of us who use it condone that kind of abuse. One can abuse anything but the majority of people who take this plant do so for medicine, and do so responsibly, like I do.
The main people who take Kratom are like I am: hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding, respectable citizens who love our country. Please don’t turn me into a criminal just because I want relief from Restless Legs Syndrome. I do not want the DEA to take my medicine away from me. I am all for regulation, let the government regulate it, including making an age restriction to only over age 18, or over age 21. But blanket scheduling out of nowhere is not productive.
I would not be able to function at such a high level (full time employment) or have such a high quality of life without this plant. Please reconsider this law and keep it legal for the majority of users who use it as a legitimate medicine.
Please share!!! We are the faces of Kratom, we are not bad people, not addicts & were not criminals !! We’re moms , dads, Teachers, military, grand -parents, doctors & law abiding citizens who find relief in a medicinal all natural Plant that is safer than dangerous pharmaceuticals.
https://youtu.be/iSvtJbG22p0
@Nina Ajdin is the face of Kratom they need to see!!
https://youtu.be/u3DJrcDzo5s
This is so wrong without this plant my daughter would still be doing oxy and addicted .She goes off and on as needed and at NO time has she ever had any ill effects,it has literally saved her life it helps with her chronic pain and depression due to chronic Lyme disease, which none of prescribed crap has ever helped not to mention the side effects of all those other drugs.Please I ask you to reconsider and investigate it seems pretty suspicious that this plant is being banned at the same time a new pain med is being announced and it works the same as Kratom EXCEPT its Man Made !!
This really is a shame that the DEA may get away with making Kratom a schedule I drug, and even disrespecting it, and having it in the same class as something like Meth. Kratom is in the same family as the coffee tree, and has helped thousands. Last time I checked, the definition of a schedule I drug, is one that has no medicinal value. This is simply false, as there are plenty of studies proven otherwise. People use it for pain relief, anxiety, depression, and more. It also has aided thousands with overcoming an opiate addiction, as well as alcohol.
Not everyone wants to go on big pharma’s poison pills. Some like to take a more natural approach. So, with all of this said, what is going on? Is the DEA concerned with our drug epidemic, or more concerned with pleasing their friends over at big pharma, and filling their pockets? Because I can almost guarantee banning this will make the drug epidemic much, much worse. Making Kratom a schedule I drug is unethical and plain out ridiculous. The more and more I read about it, the more it seems that the DEA is just more interested in banning Kratom, so that big pharma can get people to continue taking their poison suboxone. Suboxone is a very nasty drug, with a ridiculous half life, and will leave people emotionless, and takes months to get through withdrawals, because of the long half life and build up of the drug.
So what’s really going on here? Do we (the people) no longer have rights? Are we forced to take pills with horrible side effects, vs taking something more natural, and that has been proven to improve the overall quality of life in thousands? Please stop the agenda, postpone this nonsense, and research more, otherwise the drug epidemic is going to get worse.
I am a mother who, until a couple years ago, could not even get out of bed some days due to my fibromayalgia pain. I was on the verge of applying for disability and I thought my life was over.
When I heard about kratom, I was skeptical but I tried it. I was willing to try anything!
I have been amazed at the way it has helped me. I have never had any side-effects or addiction to it. And it has never made me feel “high”, though it does lift my mood and make life a little brighter on the tough days.
I am devastated that this is happening. My life will not be the same without kratom. I don’t want to go back to lying in bed while my family goes out to the movies or while my son is having a football game. I don’t want to spend another weekend lying there wishing I could have a normal life.
Kratom is more of an herbal supplement than a drug. It is closely analogous to kava kava, which can be found in every vitamin aisle in the united states. I GUARANTEE you will not find people dead because of kratom by itself. Irresponsible users and marketing have put all the users of this leaf in danger, with profiteers marketing it as a legal opiate,”herbal heroin”, and selling it alongside of bath salts,K2/Spice, and similar synthetic compounds.
Making Kratom a schedule one substance is an incredibly harmful mistake. If the intentions of this scheduling were good, then the government must put the scheduling on hold and do further research in what the effects of prohibition would likely be. Common sense says that the people who use this relatively harmless plant to stave off cravings for substances such as heroin and fentanyl will relapse by the thousands. We will see even more overdoses within the next year than we have ever seen before. Furthermore the people who are successfully using this plant to treat other ailments such as pain, depression and anxiety after having little or no success with prescription drugs will again begin suffering from the illnesses that they once had the ability to control. If the DEA simply sits down and makes a list of the pros and cons of Kratom prohibition it will be obvious that banning Kratom would be greatly outweighed by regulation and research. Not to mention the hurt that American voters will feel from their country harming them and removing their freedom.
I am a disabled veteran, and I am very worried about the DEA’s decision to make Kratom a Schedule I substance. I was in the infantry for many years and went on many combat tours. After those years of service, I was diagnosed with chronic PTSD and also severe and chronic pain. The VA put me on a cocktail of different drugs to combat the PTSD symptoms, and also put me on opiate painkillers to treat my chronic pain. Those drugs didn’t really help me. They made it impossible for me to concentrate, which made it impossible for me to work. I had lots of trouble leaving the house, let alone finding and keeping a job. At that time, I was at the lowest point I’ve ever been in my life. My anxiety and depression and chronic pain were making it impossible for me to live anything like a normal life. And my medications weren’t helping very much, and came with their own set of problems. After some time, I heard about Kratom, a plant from Indonesia in the same family as the coffee tree. I decided that it was worth a shot and ordered some. My life began to turn around almost immediately. I took my first bit of Kratom and within a couple of hours, my pain subsided like it never had before. After the first couple of weeks of using Kratom, I noticed that my depression and anxiety were also beginning to fade away. I have now been using Kratom daily for about five years to help with my depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I started my own business. I provide for my family. I am pretty much a fully functioning and productive member of society, and it’s all thanks to Kratom. When I take Kratom, I pay my taxes. If the Kratom ban goes through, I really am afraid of what my life will be like. I don’t want to see myself returning to opiate painkillers, but I will likely have no other choice, because of the pain. It may very well be that I am unable to hold my regular job, or keep my business going. In fact, that seems most likely, considering my past experience with the pharmaceuticals used to treat those conditions. Without Kratom available to me to help with the depression and anxiety of PTSD and with chronic pain, my life will be a living hell.
Editorial
I’d like to voice my opposition to the DEA’s Intent to Schedule the alkaloids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which would make Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a schedule 1 controlled substance with no medicinal value. This would put kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.
Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important medicinal uses and has changed my life. I fear this action by the DEA will only lead to more tragic deaths of victims of the opiate epidemic, maybe even my own (if you think this may lead to a replace and illicit drug use). I know that my own quality of life as a productive member of society will not be the same without kratom.
With regard to this issue, I am soliciting my concern that this DEA schedule I doesn’t take place. I suffer from chronic thoracic spine pain, sciatica, and spinal stenosis and have been able to discontinue taking 3 of my medications because I use this herb. People I love also need this herb for various reasons. If this happens, I, among many others will be in a lot of trouble, the quality of our lives will be removed out from under us. Heroin addicts who no longer have the use of this herb will go back out and die.
I’m doing my best to support this cause, written to my state representatives and contacted the Justice Department signed the petition.
Thank you very much for listening.
Heidi Heath
I’m an English professor at a midwest university. Kratom was instrumental in my ability to kick an addiction to “legal” synthetic opioids. Kratom is far safer than those prescription alternatives: it is far less addictive, does not cause respiratory depression, and has a natural upper-limit on the amount one can digest at any given time. I have gone from taking 3-4 pills a day to using kratom a couple times a week. This plant (a member of the COFFEE FAMILY) made it possible for me to complete my graduate degrees and to find meaningful employment as a tenure-track professor.
Now the DEA wants to make me a criminal? Now the DEA wants to categorize that this plant as worse than crystal meth and as harmful as heroin?
At worst, they are in collusion with Big Pharma. At best, they are in clear violation of the Data Quality Act. As a professor, research is my forte. If anyone is interested, they can google my name and contact me via email or social media for a complete list of peer-reviewed research on kratom’s safety and efficacy.
Could you post that list here Seth? Peer-reviewed research will be what convinces enough politicians/officials that this ban is rash and unfounded in facts. Also, send it to the American Kratom Association? They are leading this fight on several fronts.
Kratom in short has been the sole reason why I was able to overcome suboxone addiction. This gentle herb somehow helped ease me off of suboxone. Coming off that horrible prescription was harder to do then stopping oxy or heroin. Banning Kratom will leave to options for me, suboxone and methadone. I don’t understand how these two deadly prescriptions are seen as the go to treatment. I’m a chemical and pesticide and non gmo eater with food, I now take care of myself and prefer all natural medicinal treatments for common ailments and health issues including addiction. Banning Kratom strips me of MY RIGHT TO CHOOSE!
This ban will turn hundreds of thousands of productive members of American society and turn us into felons overnight.
Please don’t take this miraculous plant away. One because it helps so many people especially ones who prefer natural treatments.
One last thing. The waiting lists for suboxone treatment and maximum patient regulations will make this an intolerable situation, as many who have managed their addiction using this plant, which is muss less addictive than the other options, will be left in the cold with nowhere to turn, except to the streets and their old way of life. In many places it is next to impossible to get into treatment, with waiting lists as long as a year. People will go from being gainfully employed contributing members of society into situations of desperation.
I use Kratom to manage chronic pain and fatigue I’ve never has an adverse reaction to Kratom nor will I you cannot get high have hallucinations nor convulsions like the media states it’s ridiculous to classify an actual herb when we have a much larger problem to conquer such as the heroin epidemic Kratom is harmless and yet has several medicinal properties according to the many pharmaceutical research papers and the patents
Kratom has helped me drastically improve my life, from day one after I found it. For many years I had a large issue with alcoholism, not that I would have called it at the time. I damaged my relationships with family and friends. I damaged my standing in the community, and I caused harm to my health, but I kept at it anyway, because I was addicted. Then, through a friend, I learned of kratom. He said “try it” and I did.
Within the month, my desire to drink almost entirely disappeared. That’s not to say that I didn’t suffer physical and mental discomfort (I did), but even though those negative feeling were present, I stopped feeling the need to drink. It’s been 5 years now with that monkey off of my back, and since then I’ve founded a small business, gotten married, and went back to school. I could have never done these things while I was drinking, and I never could have quit drinking without finding kratom.
What I ask is that when any regulatory body considers kratom, that they consider it’s harm reduction benefits along with any possible issues it may cause. I have yet to suffer from any adverse side affects since I began using kratom, but I am not so ignorant to assume that no one has ever had any issues. All I’m saying is that the harm reduction potential is much greater than this plants ability to cause harm, and I hope that will be taken into account when discussions are had about the scheduling of it’s active alkaloids.
It is so unethical to ban Kratom. It has helped in so many ways with my anxiety, ADD and alcohol abuse. It saves lives!
I have used kratom for about a year to deal with chronic pain throughout my body. This plant has done more to give me my life back than the mind-dulling opioids I was prescribed on several occasions and hated. I cannot abide the thought of this plant becoming illegal. With kratom, I can get out of bed and live a productive life; without it I would be in bed, either unmedicated and lying around in agony, or nodding off and risking respiratory depression in a haze of hydrocodone or worse.
Kratom has become a vital tool in keeping me active and capable of being a productive software developer. Keeping kratom available to those who need an alternative is the compassionate and sensible outcome.
15 years ago, after many years of truck driving and manual labor, I was diagnosed with bulging spinal disks, degenerative disk disease and diverticulitis. I was prescribed Vicodin, and other pharmaceuticals, as well as surgery and physical therapy, by my physician.
The pharmacuetucals stopped working very quickly, and nonetheless I was very dependant on them, and would suffer severe withdrawals whenever I stopped taking them. My back pain, and stomach pains became worse. No amount of pharmaceuticals would help to alleviate my pain.
I received conflicting information from Doctors regarding whether surgery could help, and the risks associated with surgery coupled with the low likelyhood that they would work, discouraged me from having surgery.
I found Kratom over 10 years ago. It allowed me to stop taking prescription opioids within a matter of weeks. Then as time went on, in a matter of months, taking Kratom daily, seemed to be helping my back pain. As the months turned to years, I began to realize that I was no longer suffering flare ups of diverticulitis.
As the years went on, I reduced my alcohol intake considerably, stopped smoking cigarettes and slowly tapered and finally quit taking anti depressant medicine. ( Zoloft).
10 years after finding Kratom, and taking it as needed, my life is so much better than it used to be. I am gainfully employed, happily married, a good father to two smart kids, and can’t believe how far my life has come.
Prescription medications practically ruined my life and nearly physically killed me. The prescription opiod epidemic in this country and around the world is the fault of greedy pharmaceutical companies, and their power over our governments. The DEA should not be allowed to outlaw a plant in its natural state, without scientific or public input. The DEA are puppets of the pharmaceutical industry as well as the private prison industry. The DEA are corrupted and should be investigated and limited in their ability to pass laws and prohibitions, for the purpose of furthering their budget and relevance.
Prohibition has been proven to do nothing more than create black markets, corruption and criminals. It does not solve our countries drug problems.
I am very concerned that the DEA is planning a ban while research to make Kratom alkaloids into a medication is taking place…they are determined to get a piece of Kratom and charge outrageous prices like they do for the opiates we use this plant to avoid! Blatant slaps in our faces! I got a normal life back again after suffering for 9 years with fibromyalgia, fatigue and degenerative arthritis… I quit taking 5 medications when I found natural Kratom!! They lost $ so they planned this attack by banning it! Help us stay healthy, alert and pain free and stop this ban!
These are such amazing stories I am proud to be part of the Kratom community. I am a mother, a wife, a sister and many other things. I am not a junky I have never broken a law and frankly I am resentful that at the end of the month taking a helpful and benign plant could make me a felon. I suffer from fibromyalgia and an autoimmune disorder as well as crippling anxiety. Kratom helps me manage my symptoms, it doesn’t cure it, it isn’t a magic bullet but it helps. It takes me from a 7-8 in pain to 3-4. I have a little more energy to take care of my son.We aren’t kids looking for a high we are adult Americans we have the right to choose to take a plant.
I was diagnosed with DDD, arthritis, depression and PTSD by the time I was 30. I was on pharmaceuticals and they completely ruined my life. I couldn’t hold down a job or be a mother to my children. At least not the mother I wanted to be. Then about a year and a half ago my cousin told me about kratom. IT SAVED MY LIFE. I have held down a job, my kids have their mom back, I have an apartment and just bought a car. Because I am pain free and my mind is at ease. If the DEA makes this natural plant that has saved so many people and families a scheduled 1. They are really going to see a I mp in suicide, over doses and of course big pharma gets their money back from the people who will have to go back to meds. Which is exactly what they want. So for me… I refuse… I will not go back to medication. Never.
I am housebound and mostly bedbound due to illness. I am immunocompromised and battling 12 systemic infections and have CFS. Kratom gives me a quality of life.
I found Kratom while desperately seeking pain control in 2014. At the time I could not walk, I was 95lbs, and had no insurance. I began taking Kratom for pain that later had me in the hospital for 6 days. Once I got into a doctor, I was prescribed hydrocodone, tramadol, flexeril, oxycodone, dicyclomine, and buspar for pain and anxiety. I took these drugs for several months but the side effects were intense. I began to have rebound pain from the opiates and had to wean off. I used kratom to get through the physical withdrawal and then dropped those other medications as well. I have been using Kratom to control my pain ever since.
What this ban means to me is the end of life as I know it. I am afraid of how much I will regress without the herb that has carried me through my darkest days. I am afraid to go back on prescription medications and experience side effects that render me completely disabled and zombie-like. I am praying that this ban does not take place. I deserve a quality of life. I am not hurting anyone with my use of Kratom, least of all myself. I will fight until my last breath for this harmless, medicinal herb.
I am 39 year old breast cancer survivor. For 4 years in was given treatment for the cancer, and then the after treatment, all came with side effects that required other medicines. For 2 years oxycodone was prescribed at the maximum amount allowed. Then the DEA got on the Dr’s about over prescribing, which made all good Dr’s scared to properly treat their patients, and even though nothing changed with my treatment in was left to deal with the painful side effects. After a lot of research I discovered Kratom, tried it and started living a life again without pain. Funny how something so natural is up for a ban, yet alcohol and tobacco and prescription pain medication is approved. It won’t be because it is a dangerous substance, it is however about money! Sadly a lot of people will suffer because of this horrible selfish decision, if it because illegal. At that point you can have my life, because it won’t be worth a damn.
2 months ago I was in bed on morphine with tears running down my cheeks from the pain of Fibromyalgia. For the last 4 years I haven’t been able to work more than 30 minutes at a time without having to rest for 2 to 3 hours afterwards. After discovering kratom last month I am able not only to control the pain without the floating foggy feeling that codeine and morphine give me, I am able to work an entire 8 to 10 hour day with focus and joy. Now that I can actually move and work all day my body is getting stronger. Atrophied muscles are beginning to come back. Before if I did physical things, whatever muscles used would hurt for days. I was bed ridden 75% of every day. Nothing else has even come close to affecting the quality of my life than kratom. Over 30 years I’ve tried everything, Lyrica, beta blockers, every narcotic that exists, legal or not, all the natural and alternative options. Kratom is the only thing that really works. It’s like turning a light switch on and off. Nothing else is even similar. I don’t look forward to my choice to be between going back to morphine and tears or becoming a felon. Why would the DEA want to ban this?
We the citizens do not appreciate the false propaganda being put out by the DEA about Kratom. We do not need to criminalize another harmless herb and peaceful citizens. Adults should be able to make informed choices on what we consume. Legalize nature! If nature is illegal, freedom does not exist. #EndTheWarOnDrugs #KeepKratomLegal #KratomSavesLives #IAmKratom
I am a fifty-four year old male with a beautiful wife and three children. I suffer from PTSD and have had daily chronic migraine headaches and chronic pain for the last thirty-three years. I was addicted to opiate painkillers for about twenty-five years until I found a natural remedy for pain and the symptoms of PTSD.
For the last six years I have enjoyed being opiate-free because of Kratom. My quality of life is so much better now. While my doctor says she can’t recommend kratom, she told me that my bloodwork and present health shows that I am benefitting from this herb and encourages me to continue in that course.
Most of the people who use Kratom are just like me. We want to control pain without the dangers of overdose. I lost my sister and my niece to legal prescription medication overdoses. They both left behind small children. Before I found Kratom I had endured several close calls with opiates prescribed to me by my doctor for migraine headaches and I don’t want to go down that path again. Kratom has been instrumental in helping many addicts recover from opioid use. If Kratom is made illegal, I believe the drug war will get much worse.
It greatly saddens me knowing that in just a few weeks, my Kratom consumption could have me fined and jailed. I have never even had a speeding ticket or any trouble with the law ever. I have been a hard-working taxpayer and a good provider all my life. I think the DEA is trying to remain relevant so it is picking winnable battles against the weak and sick citizens. Please help us survive.
Thank you,
Larry Angell
Why would u take away something so harmless & helpful. I have many illnesses. I’d given up. At 42, I was nothing but a ball of pain and depression. Kratom saved my life, gave my life back, gave me quality off life & saved my marriage of 24 years. If kratom is taken from all of the people who use it everyday just to live, I will lose faith in our country… Because to me we r no longer free. We have to do what the doctors say & they have to do what the government says. The thought of going back on all those meds makes me want to just give up. I wasn’t able to live so what’s the point. Thank you
I understand that the DEAveants to make Kratom a schedule 1 based on a number of deaths possibly due to people mixing it with other drugs. If they use this reasoning, then Tylenol should be a schedule 1; there have been far more deaths due to Tylenol overdoses c/w Kratom. I have found the drug beneficial for pain and have not abused it or developed a tolerance.
I am all about keeping this plant legal for the hundreds of thousands of people who use it to help them get through a day filled with excruciating pain.
I am a 100% disabled Veteran. while in the army I was exposed to some very unsanitary conditions and had to eat food that was contaminated with disease as a result I became very sick with a disease that is close to salmonella and clolera. I had Ulcerative colitis and Chrones like intestions. As a result to keep from having my intentions removed and forced to poop in a bag attached to my stomach o had to take high dosages of steroids for 20 years. The steroids degenerated my bones rapidly. When I was about 30 my bone density was the equivalent to if i was a women at 115 years of age. As a direct result of the steroids my bones degenerated to where I have osteoporosis, degenerative bone and disc disease, arthritis, and my back collapsed and I lost 4 1/2 in height. plus i have ulverative colitis and chrones. I was put on high dosages of pain medication.I was put on Phentynol (the same medication as prince) I was on almost 3 times the dosage they give a dying patient. I was also on methadone ( the number 1 prescription drug responsible for more deaths then any other medication) at high dosages. I have had some close calls with death even though I took my medications as directed. I had some friends die taking prescription drugs and I was going to do what O could to get off the drugs. For 6 month I tapered down off the drugs. For 6 months I had nausea and vomited and diarrhea and lost 1/3 my weight. I was in pain but I tapered to a low dose. I tried to get off the last bit of methadone but the withdrawals were too much. Several people told me about kratom. I looked into it. It is a herb that is related to coffee. It helps people get off drugs with minimal withdrawal and helps with pain. Its supposed t help with other things as well. I bought some and it arrived in the mail. I was scared to get off my last bit of opiates so I planned to do it on the weekend when my kids were at there moms house. I decided I wanted to try it just to see if it might work. I took 1 tablespoon and I started feeling better. My stomach felt better, I wasn’t in so much pain and I had no desire for opiates. I felt like me. As the days went on The pain lessened to where it is manageable. I have no need for pain meds and I gained all my weight back. AS a bonus my intestines are in a complete remision and my box that i had full of pharmaceuticals have been traded for one natural safe herb that i will not die from. My boys have there Dad back. Please dont take this amazing herb away from us. Peoples lives depend on it. By the way I heard that the 2 alkaloids in Kratom have been synthetically duplicated , and ready to sell.. The pharmaceutical companies want to market there synthetic drug and as long as the herb kratom is available it wont be marketable. Also the dangers have been tainted because people are switching from there dangerous pharmaceutical drugs to a safe herb Kratom. By banning this the pharmacy will both make money and stop loosing money.
Please review my testamoney as part of the pettition to keep the safe herb available. Peoples lives depend on it.
I’m a mother of 2, wife of a veteran, accountant, hold a bachelor’s degree, 4 credits away from sitting for the CPA exam, and i suffer from anxiety. I have seen multiple doctors and have been prescribed multiple medications, none of which have worked. Until i found kratom i thought i would have to spend the rest of my life either suffering panic attacks on a daily basis or on some horrible prescription medication that makes me feel not like myself. If you have never had a panic attack before, then you are lucky. A warm sensation starts in your feet which spreads all they way to your head. Then you start sweating. Your hands shake uncontrollably. Your heart beats so hard and fast you can hear it and see it through your shirt. Your peripheral vision starts to darken and you feel very much like you are not in control of your own body anymore. And then you wait, for what feels like an eternity, and just hope what feels like a heart attack will end soon. And usually, this is occurring while you are driving down the interstate with your children in the car. Or in the middle of an important meeting at your CPA firm. Or standing in the middle of a grocery store while your children stare at you, scared. And now the DEA wants to flex it’s unchecked muscles and take away something that has enabled me to start living a normal, healthy life. I don’t have panic attacks anymore, and I’m not out of it on prescription medication anymore. I’m terrified of September 30th, and I’m terrified of what else the government will choose to subject us to in the future.
I am a mother of 5, and small business owner. I suffer from levoscoliosos, bulging discs, and spinal arthritis. I discovered Kratom 7 years ago, while searching for a natural alternative to the pain pills (Vicoden, oxycodone) that were beginning to ruin my life. I never seemed to have enough. My energy was lacking, I felt like crap all the time, and I could hardly care for my kids. Then when I found Kratom, it all changed. It gave me my life back. It gave me the mental clarity I needed to care for my children and give them a good life, while dulling my back pain. I was able tof play with them again, and sit down with them to help with school work, take them to the park, and go for walks. All of this with NO side effects. My liver enzymes were through the roof on the Vicoden. After just one month on Kratom, they lowered drastically. After a year, I had a healthy high functioning liver again. Kratom gave me my life back! If it is taken away, not only will I suffer, my children, and my business (a residential construction company) will too.
As a sufferer of DSPD (Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder), while kratom does not help to regularize my sleeping schedule, it does help immensely with the anxiety associated with not being able to sleep when I want or need to. Kratom also helps me with chronic lumbar pain (two of my lower vertebrae are slightly worn out) and even with easily irritable bowels, kratom helped me become “regular” again. Finally, kratom stopped my binge drinking on its’ tracks. In at least four different ways, this wonderful leaf has dramatically increased my quality of life with little to no discernible side effects.
A year and a half after discovering kratom and taking it on a regular basis, I had blood and urine tests done and the results came back well within a perfectly normal, healthy range on all counts.
Yet now here comes the DEA, with a puzzling attitude at best (when you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail) and a fishy one at worst (acting like an arm of the pharmaceutical industry), amplified by a surprise, hurried emergency scheduling with no open dialogue, bad information in its’ arguments for doing so, and after the DEA offices were flooded with phone and email protests from across the country, a rude and ambiguous Tweeter retort from Melvin Patterson, showcasing a holier-than-thou lack of empathy:
Quote: “Shame on everyone who wasn’t researching it before. Now you start hearing the stories about how it’s benefiting someone suffering from arthritis, if someone can find a medical use by it, by all means, we’re in favor of it.”
No, Mr Patterson, shame on you for not inviting the public to a transparent dialogue before you sprung this dismaying surprise on the people, for jumping the gun while never openly asking for research and even also cherry-picking alarmist sound bites coupled with bad information to arrive at your decision. Even the FDA dropped kratom from its’ list of substances of interest earlier this year.
We are kratom users with empirical evidence and testimony, not researchers, and now we are in anguish, feeling powerless and caught in a crossfire, particularly opiate addicts (of both the illegal and the pharmaceutical kind) who use or have used kratom to curb their overpowering appetite for these other, much more dangerous substances. If just one struggling addict cannot count on the much safer option of kratom and ends up dying of a heroin or Oxycontin overdose, if just one recovering alcoholic ends up drinking again because he/she cannot use kratom anymore and is involved in a traffic accident with fatalities, there will be unforgivable blood on the hands of Mr Patterson.
For the love of God, please do not allow the DEA to act like a monolith and unilaterally take this special, beneficial plant away from us.
I’m so disappointed to see the DEA trying to ban a plant that has helped improve so many people’s lives. Kratom helps with my anxiety, depression, and back pain. I am a wife, mother, college student, and local government employee. We are not junkies! Please do not take away this natural plant. I would rather use a plant than a prescription drug. I am in recovery.
Thank you for reading.
I was an IV drug abuser for 3 years, after my doctor over prescribed me lortab and percocets for my shoulder and I became addicted. A near fatal overdose and rehab later – I never felt right. Antidepressants and suboxone was going to be in plans for the rest of my life – but I didn’t want to replace one addiction with another. I’m so forever grateful for my dear friend that suggested Kratom. As soon as I took my first dose, I didn’t feel high, or sedated, I just felt “right”
Balanced. For the first time in a long long time.
I have a good job and I support my family. I have not missed a day of work in a long time. I take Kratom every morning. I’ve had no cravings for opioids, heroin or alcohol. This plant has given me back my life. Please help us. Don’t let the DEA ban this plant.
I am a veteran, 32 years old. I have a been living with back pain for over 10 years now. It all started on my first tour in Iraq back in 2005 going through multiple IED’s. The pain then was significant but manageable. I also acquired migraines from the same tour due to the blasts I was exposed to. I was 19 years old then, and invincible. When I returned home from tour, I was informed that my Brigade’s medical unit had lost all of my paper work that they had documented with regards to my treatment on tour. Documentation hadn’t been electronically filed at this point during the war, at least not for the 29th Brigade medical unit (Hawaii) that was based out of Balad Airbase. I had received no instruction from my direct chain of command that my loss of paperwork was serious a serious matter, and since I was in the Army less than one year prior to deploying, I myself was ignorant. I never heard the term “Line of duty” until many, many years later. In 2009 my Brigade was called on again to return to Iraq. The pain in my back had increased since ‘05 but it was still manageable, and in no way was I going to let something like “pain” keep me from performing my duty to serve.
Immediately after this ten month tour, there was a call sent out asking for volunteers to deploy elsewhere for another 6 months. Many of my brothers that I had just spent time serving with in Iraq were going, which meant so was I. Everyone knows that when you spend enough time with a group of people, they become your family. With combat units especially, the feeling of family is exponentiated for obvious reasons. Mid way through the tour my back pain had gotten so severe that I had a difficulties sleeping. I was prescribed Ultram, also known as Tramadol. I was on this opioid for many months. Returning home, my status shifted back to the status of a National Guardsman, as it did with my previous tours. I no longer had access to the medical services the Army provided me with when I was full-time, and so I withdrew from Tramadol. This was the first time I had ever experienced a withdraw. Words cannot describe how atrocious this experience was for me. I was not only mad at myself for allowing this to happen, but I couldn’t understand why I was given the drug in the first place without any kind of warning and a plan to remove my dependency. It was with this experience did I finally understand, to an extent, what the pharmaceutical epidemic was. I’ve heard about it all over the place, but I just never could relate. My heart broke for all those suffering who have become dependent on drugs by a means of trust. I am not “anti-medicine” or anything of the sort. I have the utmost respect for medical science and everyone in the medical field. I am specifically addressing the problem of addiction and what I experienced personally.
My pain came back naturally. I couldn’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Walking hurt, standing hurt, sitting would eventually hurt. I constantly needed to shift my back into various positions to relieve the pressure…. A good friend of mine from the Army, not too long after my withdraw, introduced me to Kratom. He suffers from chronic back pain as well, but he could now function in ways he wasn’t physically able to before. My pain subsided and I could finally sleep a full night without interruption. Four years later, I have not experienced a single side effect from taking it. I take half a teaspoon four times a day. I also willingly took myself off of Kratom a few times just to ensure that I wasn’t replacing one harmful drug for another. I am enormously grateful for what Kratom has done for me. I am fully functional, happy to be alive, and also graduating this year with a B.S. in Computer Science. Apparently there are thousands of other people who’ve experienced similar rehabilitation, which is why I feel that this ban needs to be addressed with the utmost respect humanity deserves and nothing less. When I got wind of the ban, I honestly couldn’t believe it. I personally feel that anyone who is impartial to the drug itself, who truly wants to seek out what the detrimental effects of Kratom are on an individual or society, will find the DEA’s intent to classify it along side Heroin as absurdly inappropriate and without merit. I am going to help in anyway I can, including spreading my story around to who ever will listen. Thank you everyone who is supporting this cause, words cannot express just how much this means to me, to a veteran.
Because I mentioned the 29th Brigade, I would like clarify that I only mentioned them for specificity purposes. I am grateful for my time spent with the 29th and consider it an honor to have been a part of the Hawaii Army National Guard.
There are SO many people that may be affected by this. Far more people use kratom to manage depression, anxiety, pain, and opiate withdrawal in the US than have currently signed the white house petition. Many are afraid to say anything in support since it has been so demonized by the people with power and agenda. Some I have talked to are afraid for their jobs, since they work for the government.
Myself, my mother, and my sister ALL got free of opiate addiction with kratom. I have taken it for nearly four years with absolutely zero “dangerous” side effects. When I was getting off my doctor-prescribed-and-supported addiction, I took quite a bit of kratom and the withdrawal symptoms were negligible compared to kicking it sans assistance (I tried to kick it on my own three times). I haven’t filled a prescription for pain killers since…and that is probably what this entire ban is about, eh? Seriously though, how rich do these pharma companies need to be? And more importantly – how can the DEA say kratom has no possible medical use? I know, I know…the whole “it isn’t FDA approved” b.s. Neither are nearly all of the supplements you’d find at any health food store, since it costs a billion dollars to get them “approved”. This all makes about as much sense as the fact that the American Heart Association’s stamp of approval is on boxes of Fruit Loops.
Since I kicked my dependence on opiates using kratom, I take kratom here and there, and have also stopped taking it completely at times. I prefer taking a half teaspoon in the morning with breakfast, as it just lifts my mood a little bit, and is like a great cup of coffee. The DEA is claiming it is terribly addictive and a “health risk”… It can be addictive if you take more than 15 grams a day for months and months on end – you may develop a physical dependency. BUT even then – only about as much as caffeine, and I’ve reduced intake and stopped taking it in three or four days before – in fact, less time than when i kicked coffee. The discomfort is virtually non-existant compared to getting off opiates.
As far as addictive, uh…cigarettes? Alcohol? Prescription opiate drugs? How many people have to die, seriously. I nearly lost my sister to this garbage before kratom. They will legally give Oxycontin prescriptions to an 11 year old now, but in two weeks I will not be allowed to make tea out of a leaf from Asia – that has never caused one documented death (yes I know about the claims, but there were always other substances involved).
What I find even more hilarious is – I live in Seattle, and there are marijuana stores literally lining the streets here – all legally, and I personally have no interest in marijuana in any way. I can legally walk down the street and buy and use a MORE psychoactive plant in my city – however, I will soon not be able to consume this plant kratom that does nothing but attribute to my well-being and deliver nothing I would call a “high”. I don’t want to be high anyway; I want to manage my pain/anxiety in a natural way. I want to *not* have to depend on the permission of a doctor and put synthetic, expensive, side-effect causing pills into my body. Is that really too much to ask of a country I live in, follow the laws in, and pay taxes to? The DEA might need help with the answer to that one, so here it is: NO.
If ANY compassionate lawmakers/overseers of the DEA reads this page – please consider that real people wrote these comments and have a heart – take a risk. Pick up the phone. Do something decent with your power. Please REGULATE kratom, don’t ban it. So many people will suffer from this, including my 77 year old mother who takes it daily for her fibromyalgia pain in lieu of a crippling opiate addiction, again introduced by a doctor. Show some logic and compassion here. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the chest beating and proclamation that America is the “greatest nation in the world” by some official on television – please demonstrate that and actually listen to and care for your citizens. Thanks.
As some of you know.. I suffered a very bad spinal injury a year and a half ago and also deal with bad pain from autoimmune immune issues. The doctors had me on high amounts of morphine and oxycodone. I was tranquilized like a horse due to the pain I was in.
I knew I didn’t want to live my life on pills so I found a plant called Kratom. It’s a relative to the coffee family and helps with pain, depression, anxiety and the list goes on. I didn’t know if it would help me but I gave it a shot. Sure enough it did and it has changed my very existence. I was able to get off all man made medications and say GOODBYE to all pharmaceuticals. I’ve never felt better. I’m healthier,happier, and most of all I can live my life working, being a wife & mom, a friend and a volunteer in my community. Without Kratom my health and life will surely go down hill quickly.
Kratom is a plant that the government is making illegal so they can take it and turn it into a pill to sell. This is so wrong. They will profit from this as well as make a pill that has 100 side effects for all we know. I just want to be free, take my plant and be safe,happy and healthy. Please fight with me.
I don’t get the whole DEA ban on kratom. It just sounds irrational that a professional agency that is supposed to help the public, is actually doing more harm to the public based on disinformation about kratom. Don’t they have the resources and common sense to find out the truth about kratom?
If they would just listen to the people that use it, they would see the benefits of kratom and that there is no imminent health threat. You simply can’t die on kratom alone. You take kratom away, then people will turn to harder drugs and possibly die. Kratom has been used for thousands of years. If it was a threat to mankind, it would be known by now. The government has already backed up the alkaloids in kratom via a patent in 2010.
As citizens of the U.S.A. we have rights to heal ourselves from our grievous sicknesses through natural or by other means. The DEA has no right to take kratom from away from the American people who suffer daily pain to mental disorders. It seems the DEA is not playing fair with the public and making tyrannical decisions without a hearing of the people they serve. We have a voice. Millions strong in support of kratom and its benefits we have found in our lives. Please stop, show empathy, understanding, respect and research before you ruin the lives of millions of Americans and create more drug problems instead of solving.
Should a Doctor, Teacher, an upstanding citizens be made criminals suddenly because they are trying to get well and survive without causing harm to society? Please save kratom. When God made kratom, he made it for the benefit of mankind, not to ruin us.
Thank you for reading.
After an accident left my back needing surgery, I was put on strong oxycodone along with muscle relaxers. A couple years later when my back had recovered enough ,I wanted to end these pills that had helped in the beginning but was now slowly killing me. I was told Suboxone was a miracle drug that would cure me of my addiction. The Suboxone was impossible for me to quit, i would ween down to a low dose but could not completely stop. I had to see a Dr every month (no refills) and my insurance wouldn’t cover anything. The Suboxone drained me of money, but more importantly it drained me of my personality, motivation, and the ability to have real feelings towards anything.
When I discovered Kratom I was sceptical to say the least. Wow was I wrong. The Kratom turned me around in almost every part of my life and well being. It has helped me with lingering pain , sleep, clear thoughts and feelings. I have no clue what I’m going to do now, I’ve come way to far to go backwards. But the road in my life just ended, and backwards is the only way I see.
And you don’t abuse Kratom, it just doesn’t work like that. If someone has the urge to get High, they certainly will not choose Kratom, because it won’t work.
I am a 57 year old grandmother, mother, wife, business owner & tax payer and have used kratom in its natural botanical form as a tea for over a decade without harm to myself or others.
Kratom in it’s natural form, doesn’t produce a high, does not cause intoxication or slurred speech, driving skills and balance are not impaired and it doesn’t cause hostility, blackouts , coma or death.
The botanical kratom used responsibly simply and subtly takes the edge off my severe pain, upliftis mood similar to coffee without being jittery , and produces a balanced sense of focus. It has improved my quality of life significantly allowing me to raise my family, finish my education , start a small business and become a more productive member of society.
I am not a criminal and have never been one and I am outraged that the dea is trying to turn me into a felon in the eyes of my family and peers without hearing any of the testimonies of the American Public, whom they are supposed to serve.
Their is obviously some confusion between the natural form of kratom found in health & botanical shops and the synthetic extracts that “head shops” and gas stations carry which are marketed to the “legal high ” crowd and being MIS_labeled as kratom. A fact the FDA is well aware of .
Instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water in a rush to ban yet another botanical with potential to help people lead happier, healthier lives, I urge you to take a look at the other side of this issue and hear us out regarding the natural tea leaf we are trying to protect the right to enjoy .
The natural form has been proven safe as far as I’m concerned. I am healthy & well after over a decade of regular responsible use , as are several thousand others in the kratom community and also the millions of people in SE Asia who have been using kratom for centuries without a single death or illness caused by kratom alone .
I am harming no one by using the kratom leaf, please allow me to live my life in quiet enjoyment of my herbal tea in peace . As an adult , I feel very strongly that I should have the right to choose my own wellness options
There are plenty of people who will continue to choose conventional RX drugs , so be it . Hopefully they will come up with a drug or pill , or cure based on this plants alkaloids , please allow that research to continue by keeping the natural form of kratom legal to adults , perhaps restrict the extracts , I would not oppose that as I have not used extracts or synthetic blends called kratom .
If allowed to proceed, a ban on the kratom leaf will harm a great many people who will likely turn back to harmful substances and who may resort to buying kratom on the new black market where it would no doubt be turned into the “herbal heroin” it is being called by the media with drug dealers adding addictive substances to the plant to keep customers coming back .
That is unfortunately how it happens , you would think we’d have learned by now the “war on drugs ” is not working and we are all losing if we lose the natural form of this helpful leaf.
Kratom is literally the ONLY thing that stops nueropathy pain and allows me to sleep, work and take care of myself…not receiving state assistance. Pills don’t work on my Fibromyalgia, arthritis and nerve pain, besides you can’t drive on pain pills anyway and that’s what I do. Kratom is the only thing on the planet that helps me live a normal life. I don’t want to apply for disability but without kratom I’ll have no choice because I can’t even get out of bed without it, even waking up at night with pain I’ll take a Lil and get back to sleep, it works miracles and I’d rather die, literally, than live in that pain! Please let us keep it, its saved my life, my business, my family… My health!
Thank you and kind regards,
Jennifer Johnson xcaliburjen@gmail.com. Jen Johnson/facebook
Before I began taking kratom I attempted to end my life because of the pain I was in. My mom found me and saved my life but I was intending to make it happen. Living with terrible pain is indescribable. It can ruin a person. Now I have hope. I am still in horrible pain but it is manageable. I don’t intend to keep living my life like I was before kratom. The medicine the doctors gave me only made my situation worse. If this goes through, I am almost certain my life will be me laying in bed with agonizing pain. I don’t know if I can go back to that place. Itshe like being trapped inside of your own personal hell.
Hello,
I’m a Wife, Mother, Mother of an Angel (my Mikey, age 11 1/2, to CF in 2000), Grandmother, and an Advocate for the Missing, primarily children.
I am not an Alcoholic, an Addict or a Drug Abuser. I cannot use Prescription or over the counter pain medications, not even aspirin. To do so will land me in the hospital, extremely ill.
I suffer from genetically related Chronic Pancreatitis, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Migraine – I suffer 15 – 18 migraines each month and have very recently been diagnosed with MS as well. .
I have attempted to combat the intense pain which always accompanies each of these illnesses on a daily basis by closely following physicians orders, which included my taking prescribed medications which have caused me to retain water, with legs like tree trunks, caused abnormal liver function test results, to lose half my hair in a months time, caused irreparable bone loss in my jaw, resulting in a loss of 14 teeth via oral surgery, after which, I could not take pain medication for. Agony. I’ve endured painful injections of poisonous Botox into my temples, forehead and neck, 16 injections in a session, attempted chiropractic, acupuncture, cut out all food additives, to no avail. The pain was relentless. And so, because I had no other choice, I dealt with it, my life spent in bed or laying on the couch, day after day. To move around, made everything hurt. My life ground to a standstill. My blood pressure was climbing past dangerous levels and I required 2 medications which still did not normalize it.
And then, one day, during a tearful discussion with my physician soon after she also diagnosed me with depression and anxiety on top of everything else, and in the midst of discussing alternative remedies, she mentioned Kratom, stating that it relieved pain for some people. To be honest, after all the other side effects I’d experienced previously, including one episode of heart block and not wanting to be hospitalized again, I was hesitant to try it, and it was only after a 4 day long migraine during which 90% of my time was spent in a dark room attempting to sleep through the pain, that I decided, what the heck – couldn’t get much worse, I did try it…starting with a small amount as recommended….
And…..after years of enduring relentless pain, unable to move……I realized that I hadn’t had an idea as to how much pain I was in day in and day out…..until 80% of it was gone less than 15 minutes later. No pain, and I found that I could move about more easily. Even better, I did NOT feel “medicated”, get a “buzz”, feel “hyper”, feel nauseated, and it did not trigger a migraine as many pain meds do. The only things I felt were “relief” that I was feeling like myself – in fact, I also did not remember who “myself” was, until that moment and almost no pain, which was miraculous. It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve felt this way.
I took more later that afternoon, and my pain level remained much lower than it had been for years all that day. Went to bed at my normal bedtime and slept the deepest, most relaxed sleep I had in years. Again. Not euphoric, but instead, relaxed and relieved that the pain was mostly gone…. I wind up in the ER with a severe 3 day long extremely nauseous migraine if I take any prescribed pain killer, or OTC medications (including Tylenol and aspirin) – my system processes alcohol in the exact same way – simply acts as if I have been poisoned and rejects all these meds, but here is a plant, that when ingested, works! And – I suffer no side effects. That should say something about the purity of this naturally ocurring miracle… I have not a clue as to what to do if Kratom is banned…..it’s inconceivable to me that I may have to return to my before-Kratom, pain wracked life. .
During the following days, and continuing up until today, the results have remained the same. A majority of my pain is eased, and because of this, I have resumed my life, enjoying it, taking up things that interest me, in addition to advocating for the missing. I am very slowly discovering what life is supposed to be, and it’s all because of Kratom. I thank God for the gift of this plant!
Am I addicted? No – I only use it on days when my pain is at a particular level. Am I taking more and more each time? No – I remain on the same very low dose that I began with on day one. I have never ever had any side effects from Kratom, my blood and liver tests are normal, and – my extremely high blood pressure has gone down to normal levels, meaning I no longer need those medications. I also been able to stop taking 3 other prescribed medications (Xanax, Celebrex and Flexeril) since I began taking Kratom.
Kratom is NOT a synthetic drug. It is a plant, whose leaves are dried. It does not produce a “high”, and in addition to treating pain, anxiety and depression, I know that it has also helped tens of thousands of folks who were addicted to heroin and opiates beat their addictions, and also immensely assisted those who have also become addicted to the traditionally overused medications which treat addiction, such as methadone and suboxone. .
To use Kratom should not be deemed illegal, criminal, or immoral. To ban such a valuable resource for so many…..would be criminal. One may as well ban coffee, caffiene, cigarettes, chocolate, alchohol or popcorn – all addictive and all with side effects worse than Kratom. One cannot overdose on Kratom, if one takes too much, the worst that happens is nausea.
Rather than ban the use of Kratom, why not alternatively recommend and age 18 or 21 requirement for sale? And – I do agree that drinks, shots etc., which contain a small amount of Kratom as well as a large amount of other unknown chemicals and are touted as a legal high in smoke shops and convenience stores should be banned. Kratom in no way is a legal high – it’s not a high, period….
Thank you for listening, for what you do, and for your consideration.
I dealt with depression, anxiety, & regular panic attacks for years. I hated how any of the medication made me feel. I felt like a zombie when I took it. So I just quit trying to take it. Eventually I was in a crippling depression. I cried when I had to get out of bed. I cried if I had to do anything. I curled up on the couch most days & prayed I’d die. I was miserable. I’d read about kratom for quite a long time, & even ordered some. But I was worried about the potential withdraw I’d read about. I never tried what I had ordered. One day my husband came home from work & insisted I give it a shot, so I tried it.
It made me feel like a new person. Kratom has made me feel like a normal, functional, real person again. I don’t mind leaving the house. I feel love & happiness deeply again. I missed that so much! I’m doing things I love again. Things matter to me again. I am never high. Never intoxicated. I’ve stayed on the same dose for 3 years & have never had any issues with withdraw or any other health related problems. I’m healthier & happier than I’d been in a long time thanks to kratom. Not to mention kratom is wonderful for menstrual cramps, if you have a cold or flu it’ll help make you feel a little better, & it completely takes away seasonal allergies. It has so many amazing uses. It would be a shame for it to never get properly researched. It has amazing potential.
This ban will kill people. Thousands will suffer. That is the only thing it will accomplish. It’s completely unnecessary & unfounded. NOBODY has died from kratom alone. As with marijuana, it is absurd to put kratom on schedule I. They will be turning parents, grandparents, teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, normal hardworking Americans, into felons & condemning them to suffer. Alcohol & cigarettes seem to be just fine & dandy, & how many do those kill every year? Kratom is not dangerous. I just pray somebody in the DEA is human enough to realize they’re very very wrong here.
I started learning about Kratom from a dear friend of mine who took this. It changed her life for the better. She’s in constant pain and taking this helped her get her life back. She was no longer bed ridden she was able to become a mom again to her 3 beautiful children 2 of them who are special needs. I would have loved to have found out about this sooner for my mother. She is in constant pain everyday and cannot afford dr visits and prescription pills. She hates taking them because they make her feel dizzy and sick. This herbal plant would be a godsend to her and so many others. Its ashame that the dea and government want to take this away from the people. What happened to being the greatest country who loved and cared about their people? This isn’t it at all. This is nothing but greed. Shame on y’all. Shame on all the government and I hope y’all ask for forgiveness because God doesn’t like ugly or greed. Y’all do not realize how many people y’all are hurting with the greed.
I am a 56 year old Ironworker from Chicago with severe arthritis in my hands. Two years ago while I was researching disability someone told me about kratom. My fingers are twisted and deformed but kratom takes care of most of the pain and allows me to continue working a dangerous job with a clear mind. The FDA approves arthritis medicines that have cancer and lymphoma as side effects but they want to tell me that a leaf from a tree that people have been taking for hundreds of years isn’t safe? Kratom is a safe affordable alternative that people are buying with their own money, this saves the insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid and the VA money and that saves taxpayers money. So what is the DEA’s goal here? Do they want to put the sick and chronically ill in prison for treating their illness? I think I would ask for a jury trial.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please don’t let the DEA make Kratom a Schedule 1 drug.
Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
This is not true for Kratom, it has been shown numerous times in reports from users to help, treat pain, combat depression and anxiety, recovering Opiate addicts and much more.
Deaths that involve Kratom being a persons’ system have always been from the result of mixing Kratom with other drugs, rather than Kratom alone. In states that banned Kratom, Alabama specifically, opiate usage and deaths went up after Kratom was banned in the state. Please stop the DEA from scheduling Kratom as Schedule I, there are many people who will suffer from this.
Yes there has been an increase in Kratom usage; however the users are typically mature adults using the leaf for pain management, and other medicinal uses. I am 50 years old and use it to ease the pain and fatigue associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Before Kratom I could barely get through my work week and I would just sleep through the weekends. Since I have been using Kratom I am thriving at work, still have energy after work, exercise and enjoy activities on the weekends.
Sources:
http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2094342
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3670991/
Sincerely,
Bonni Cutler
Bonnicutler@yahoo.com
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please don’t let the DEA make Kratom a Schedule 1 drug.
Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
This is not true for Kratom, it has been shown numerous times in reports from users to help, treat pain, combat depression and anxiety, recovering Opiate addicts and much more.
Deaths that involve Kratom being a persons’ system have always been from the result of mixing Kratom with other drugs, rather than Kratom alone. In states that banned Kratom, Alabama specifically, opiate usage and deaths went up after Kratom was banned in the state. Please stop the DEA from scheduling Kratom as Schedule I, there are many people who will suffer from this.
Yes there has been an increase in Kratom usage; however the users are typically mature adults using the leaf for pain management, and other medicinal uses. I am 50 years old and use it to ease the pain and fatigue associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Before Kratom I could barely get through my work week and I would just sleep through the weekends. Since I have been using Kratom I am thriving at work, still have energy after work, exercise and enjoy activities on the weekends.
Sources:
http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2094342
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3670991/
Sincerely,
Bonni Cutler
Bonnicutler@yahoo.com
619-723-0085
Life will be very sad in a world where Kratom is criminal. Don’t let DEA become the Kratom nazi!
Kratom is a safe alternative to dangerous narcotics like Xanax for my anxiety. I am able to take it as an antidepressant as well, opposed to a SSRI that really takes the living out of life for me.
Please don’t ban kratom. We need responsible legislation like a minimum age to purchase, not a draconian ban.
So what, now people like me get to go back to a life of crippling pain? And I do literally mean crippling. I was born with rheumatoid arthritis, and it is in the advanced stages. My body is slowly killing itself, and now I have to go back to a life where I can hardly move. I didn’t use to be able to brush my hair. I had to quit my job as a certified child care giver. My hands, feet, and shoulder have permanent damage in them. My doctor was wanting me to start methotrexate, which is a form of chemotherapy. My body was systematically destroying itself, and the only thing I was given for the pain was a strong medication that made my head feel fuzzy. With my doctors guidance and permission, I researched kratom and tried it. I was skeptical, but it worked much better than I had thought it would and didn’t make my head feel so fuzzy. After a couple days I noticed less over all pain. After a few weeks I noticed that I wasn’t having flare ups anymore, and I was sleeping better at night. I felt healthier. After a few months, my doctor said that methotrexate was no longer needed. Turns out, the better I feel, the more I am able to exercise, which makes me feel even better, and it creates a positive cycle. Suddenly I could cook dinner, play with my animals, and have even been looking for work again. I had hope for the first time in my life. I could actually live like a normal healthy person – something I’d never once experienced before. Until now. Now I just have a broken heart and tears in my eyes and find myself begging for some to please help stop this ban. I don’t know if I can handle going back to the miserable excuse of a life I had before I found this wonderful plant.
Kratom has helped me curb alcohol and drug abuse. To schedule this plant without even a discussion will potentially put many people at risk of opioid relapse and much worse. The science behind Kratom has shown it to be a valuable medicine against addiction.
And what about my friend who uses kratom in soap form to help with her skin condition? She experienced horrendous pain, blistering, and wounds similar to third degree burns. Kratom used topically is the only thing she’s found that actually helps her, and when she uses it regularly she has little to no skin trouble. After this potential ban, she will be a felon if she gets caught with her soap. a felon. For soap.
There is absolutely no real scientific backing for scheduling kratom. People who take kratom are healthy, productive members of society. Scheduling kratom is akin to scheduling coffee. It’s absolutely insane and betrays the spirit of a free nation.
Making kratom illegal is a travesty. Jobs will be lost, businesses will go under, and lives will be lost. Have some compassion, lives will be ruined.
I have been on Lexapro and Wellbutrin for the past 7 years. I found Kratom about 6 months ago, and have already weened myself off of the Wellbutrin. As for the Lexapro, I have cut my dosage to half of what it was at the beginning of the year. I give the credit to myself, therapy, exercise, and KRATOM. Honestly don’t know what I would have done without this supplement to enhance all the methods I have been using to work towards self wellness. The thought that this “drug”, which is less dangerous than coffee, is to be placed as equals with heroin and LSD as a schedule I drug is preposterous! Some say that Kratom is addictive. Yes, in a reasonable of the term. Kratom is habit forming in much of the same way caffeine and sleeping pills are. If an individual has an affinity to feel/think a certain way and finds a substance that allows them to obtain that feeling, the substance tends to be slightly habit forming. There is nothing wrong with that notion (IMO) if the substance being used is not harmful in reasonably high amounts. It is nearly impossible to overdose on Kratom because it tastes very bitter, causing nausea. I am deeply saddened that the federal government is moving forward with this ban even when the public outcry is so profound.
Please do not schedule this drug. We know the facts about the calls to poison control centers over a two year period of time. The number of calls regarding Kratom is less than the number of calls from people swallowing laundry detergent pods… These lame and pointless excuses for the emergency scheduling of Kratom should make the people of this nation disgusted that the government would go to these lengths to ban something so harmless (again, when used in moderation.
I am a 61-year-old mental health professional. Please do not schedule this plant. It has helped me increase my sense of well-being and manage my chronic pain. I have suggested it to others for various issues, none of which imply any type of recreational use, just a plant that will help them address certain issues. Making possession of this herb a felony, given the little evidence for doing so, makes me wonder if the next thing that the DEA might come after is my lavender garden, because lavender oil is effective in reducing anxiety, or my mint, because it helps with stomach ailments. Where does the DEA draw the line and based on what data?
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It’s ironic because that’s the motto in a lot of recovery rooms… And yet- the DEA is doing exactly that. They keep banning stuff left and right and in fact WE ARE GETTING WORSE AS A NATION. The opiate overdose epidemic is worse than ever before. I think it’s like 60 people A DAY who are dying of opiate overdose. And yet, Kratom, which has killed NO ONE is being taken away from us. Insanity. This harmless plant actually helps people get off opiates and live a somewhat normal life. It helps me cope with chronic pain from different illnesses. It helps some cope with their depression and anxiety. It helps some calm their restless legs. Is that a bad thing?? Why take this away? WHY??
I am a 52 year old software developer who has used all kinds of herbals since 1986. People have used alternatives to ailments since the beginning of time. Kratom is no different and relatively gentle. It is odd to wake up and find that the government wants to outlaw a group of people, good tax paying people who are looking for alternative treatments. There are plenty of real harmful drugs on the streets, there was no need to go into people’s herbal kits to find them. They are not there. Some herbals can be very strong but most of us know that. I can see the need to study kratom, but please don’t make these good people criminals. Having been reading a lot on kratom it is apparent many of these people can make it work and in turn pay taxes because they feel a little better from an herbal treatment. That should count for something. Thanks for listening.
so many people will be affected by this. A friend as an example has an autoimmune disorder a spinal injury and so on and she has been taking kratom and is now off morphine for the pain. This is not a drug its a herb that people use to feel better not abuse.
I can now go with out pain in my life. I don’t have to take synecthic drugs anymore, nor my kids have to see what I’m doing on constant basis for my pain needs, I just can’t believe what I’m seeing right now. What is this world coming to???we have rights, Kratom has never killed anyone period. Natural plant that doesn’t anyone,is taking away. When can we enjoy our life, and take a herbal plant that helps all the people. This is very sad, if the ban goes thru. I’m fighting to the end, and we need all the peoloe to come together and prevent this from happeing.
… truly a terrible idea … this plant has been beneficial to so many people suffering chronic pain. The DEA will happily feed us to big Pharma and all the opioid horrors they can manufacture. I’ve always been a productive, supportive citizen during my 65 years … supportive of this nation and it’s laws … but this is making me seriously question my government and its role in our lives.
Better ban chocolate and coffee also, as these hit the opioid receptors too…
I have suffered tremendously for 5+ years from a lumbar disc that has herniated 3 times, resulting in numerous epidural steroid shots, chiropractic treatments, acupuncture treatments, physical therapy, 2 failed back surgeries, and numerous medications that left me numb, tired, and still in pain.
After the last failed surgery, and the prospect of another surgery, a friend reached out and told me of the plant Kratom, which is from the coffee family, she spoke of how it helped her arthritis and eased her need for pharmaceutical medication. I decided to see if it would help my pain and to my surprise it actually did! Without the side effects of the prescribed medication I had taken before. I was floored and excited that I may actually have a chance for a normal, active, virtually pain-free life. So, I finally felt enough relief and hope, that I changed my diet to an anti-inflammatory diet, stopped all previous medications, lost over 60 lbs, and began a vigorous exercise routine of walking/jogging, and weight training.
I’m the healthiest I have been in all my life, and I know that I owe part of that to the beneficial plant, Kratom.
Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important medicinal uses and has changed my life, so I’m asking you not to ban this beneficial plant. Study it.
Thank you.
I had severe anxiety and depression before I found kratom – it saved my life.
I am now a better mom, wife and friend. I have energy and love for life that I haven’t had in DECADES!
The DEA needs to understand that this plant is IMPOSSIBLE to overdose on. I will gladly buy a 250g bag for anyone who doesn’t believe me and I will watch as you just try to OD on it. You will be puking 10 minutes in…everyone does! It has a built-in fail safe to assure that it never permanently harms anyone. It really is nothing short of a miracle!
Without this wonderful benign plant I will go back to being bedridden, the way I was before I discovered it. I might even end up back on those horrible pills that were literally killing me. I nearly ended up in the ER several times due to their side effects. I found kratom just in time…and now after only 2 short years it is being ripped from my hands simply because pharmaceutical profits are being cut down.
Clearly my government doesn’t give a damn if I’m dead or alive. All they care about is the highest bidder and I am DISGUSTED with being an American these days.
The DEA is exceeding its authority on this one. Kratom has provided me with the ability to work and play with my grandchildren. I guess they would prefer those of us with cronic pain to use narcotics that do not provide relief. My job, my house, my family suffered while I was on prescription medications and my pain was still a 9 at all times! I am disgusted by these attempts from the government to totally ruin my life!
what the DEA is doing is absolute lunacy. if you look up the chemical makeup of an opiate or morphine it doesn’t have any similarities. It’s not an opiate no matter how many times they say it is. Kratom itself has caused ZERO deaths. it helps opiate addicts ease withdrawal symptoms, some veterans use it to ease ptsd symptoms, and I used to to combat anxiety. Most Kratom users use the ground up leaf with no additives. of course there will always be abuse but imo anyone looking for a high will be sorely disappointed in Kratom. it’s a sense of wellbeing like kava or ginseng. I hope this can be stopped before we see an even bigger surge in overdoses. Kratom is harm reduction.
please look at the #IAMKRATOM for more success stories.
Kratom gives me pain free days. It makes it possible to work. My family uses it. My grandson has a medical issue where the doctor had him on pain medications. He is just using Kratom now. Please help us keep our chosen pain relief.
The only “imminent danger” regarding kratom is it’s availability, in a contaminated form, on the black market if this ban is not stopped.
My husband and I and our son take Kratom all for different reasons. My son was almost lost into Meth. My husband has scoliosis and was addicted to pain medicine. I have hip dysplasia but I was scared to let my Dr Gove me pain meds cause I didn’t want to struggle with the addition. My pain made me old before my time. I found Kratom after feeling like I had come to a point that I was going to snap. I ordered some and on the first day my husband didn’t take one pill my son slept that night and didn’t leave and I cleaned the house we had a great day. It’s been almost a year now no pills for my husband I have my life back and my son now has a job he told all his buddies to stay away but a few of them started taking Kratom and live normal lives now. If they make Kratom illegal my family will fall apart I will be a person with a clean record who has been at the same job for 11 years always done the right thing that will take the risk of being a felon or losing it all going to jail. I will take the risk to save my family!
Alcohol is legal and people can overdose on it; same with caffeine, coffee. Kratom doesn’t have any recorded deaths of overdose. It should not be banned because it is safer than things that are already legal. Kratom in moderation can be used positively, and the responsibility to consume or not should be the consumer’s.
I hope that kratom is kept legal, especially so more study can be done on it to learn about its potential benefits.
my jaw was recently shattered and I find kratom to be more effective than oxycodone with acetaminophen. the DEA is evil. take cannabis from schedule 1 too. cannabis is the only medication to ever effectively treat all of my disorders.
Many many years ago I developed an opiate habit that started innocently enough. I had an old childhood back injury that flared when I worked. By the time I realised (not knew. I know opiates where addictive and dangerous. That’s just how much discomfort I had.) what was happening I was hooked. It has a tendency to drain simple joys from daily life. Happiness becomes centered around having the opiates. Once I decided to stop it wasn’t that hard really but the mental and physical effects have lingered for years. Cravings and melon holy sadness.
A few years ago I found out about Kratom. I didn’t believe it would help with pain but the I tried it due to the insisance of a friend that sweared by the herb. It worked. But I noticed other effects after a while. It shifted my mental and physical addiction/the hole that opiates left and slowly woke me up from the addictive mind set. The Kratom leaf has many properties. That’s much I’m sure of. It does need to be studied. But the government needs to stop and look at what’s going on. The DEA man power should be put toward national security and anti terror police work.
And the DEA has really harmed amercia at large with the war on drugs in regard to marijuana. Just needs to be said again and again. It’s RIDICULOUS.
Please provide proof of your statements, DEA!
Ive been on disability since 2012, hadn’t worked since 2006. Since finding trustworthy kratom vendors from an organized group online, I have been comsuming it regularly and working full and overtime.
I find the ban to be highly suspicious based on the lies in the DEA’s document. For example; there have been no deaths proven to have occurred from kratom. That’s like saying people can overdose on coffee. It does not cause respiratory depression. I have athsma and kratom does not restrict my breathing like pain pills.
This plant saves lives, yet the DEA calls taking kratom abuse for any reason.
I do not know how to keep my job without kratom. Pa8n management pills do not work. I cannot take NSAIDs because of anemia. I feel worse for the people who take it for cancer relief nd other painful chronic illnesses and diseases. I feel like the DEA overstepped its bounds by banning and making this gentle plant a shedule 1 substance. It feels like it was enacted in a childish manner in anger and frustration ,under pressure from greedy pharmacological companies. It seems to be the only reason because there is a huge lack of concern for our fellow Americans who have found the ability to work, play, and be happy.
It’s painfully obvious that the government doesn’t care about it’s citizen’s health and wellness! I have fibromyalgia, failed back syndrome from spinal fusion surgery, depression, anxiety, and arthritis. I have been on many different prescription drugs and they all had terrible side effects for me and gave me little to no relief. I discovered kratom in a chronic pain support group and decided to try it. Best decision of my life! I can function and go to work. I have been taking kratom for over 2 years with no ill side effects. I just had a physical and all my blood work and vital signs are completely normal. I don’t want that poison (prescription drugs)! I am an zero prescription drugs and just take 1 natural plant instead. The DEA wants to make me a felon for that choice……..utterly ridiculous!!!!
I have been using kratom for almost a year now for chronic pain and fibromyalgia it is a Godsend there is nothing dangerous about the it’s a 100 % natural alternative my husband also uses for Lyme disease he uses it for his arthritic pain and anxiety I also give it too my dad who has Parkinsons disease it takes his tremors and anxiety away he eats it in applesauce none of us have had any side effects from using kratom I believe it’s the pharmaceutical companies pushing the DEA to do this there is so much misinformation purposely being put out there it’s just a shame kratom gives people such a better quality of life so I guess I will be a felon here soon because I have kratom and use it this is just WRONG
I am a 33 year old mother and also a caregiver to my 20 year old special needs nephew. Kratom has given me my life back, a life that was taken from me by a car accident in 2006 the same car accident that started me out taking narcotics… you know the ones that the doctors toss out at me at every appointment. I started using kratom in April this year and in one month I had already weaned myself off of my pharmaceuticals. Oxycodone kept me functioning but I wasn’t living, now I’m alive and not in debilitating pain. I can now keep up with taking care of my nephew and having to lift him many times throughout the day. I have never been high from Kratom. I have never been sick from Kratom. I have never nodded out from Kratom. I have never felt out of control by Kratom, but I have been all those things from pills. When I was taking pain meds I was out of control so I researched ways to get clean and when I found kratom I felt that I had hit the lottery and when I got my first order in the mail I was so excited I tried it right away.. I knew right then I had hit the lottery just like the tens of thousands of others have been feeling, now you are taking this plant away from us. We will all become felons because of a leaf. We should be able to decide what we put into our own bodies. We should be able to decide how to medicate ourselves. We are only trying to function properly and lead healthy lives please don’t take that away from us. If you do I guarantee that there will be deaths and many deaths all attributed to you taking it away from us because many will go back to the pills and if they can’t find that they will go to harder stuff and others will end up giving up and committing suicide because they have nowhere else to go. Please understand that you are only making things worse with this ban, please hear us out.
I don’t know why this came out anonymous.
The DEA is making a mistake if they truly wish to curb drug addiction in general. It is a well known scientific fact that countless people including myself have kicked opiate addiction with the help of kratom, so I can speak from personal experience myself. This plant is safe and that is another scientific fact. Also, there WILL be great harm and death brought about if this plant is ripped away by an even temporary scheduling. People in pain will return to join and amplify the obvious opiate plague that no one can deny. Families will be harmed as their providers lose the life changing benefits of this plant. Businesses built by kratom users will fall. The vast majority of the people who consume kratom have become positive forces in their communities thank to kratom and thanks to this ban, these will fade away and hurt the economy. I can go on and on about the damage and loss of life that will result to this irresponsible over reaching of the emergecy powers. The science is not on your side and this will be a moral and mortal disaster.
Most of the people taking kratom are the infirm and many will have to return to disability. Most of the people taking kratom are older and responsible people who deserve the benefits of this god given plant. Please do not allow this tragedy to take place.
uldn’t walk six months ago 30m August 2015 to February 2016 i was bedridden. I have been pending disability for almost a year now. I suffered from borderline lupus fibromyalgia scatica insomnia ptsd anxiety depression and for five years basically was a guinea pig from big pharma posion when I tell you those medication were like being tortured I mean it. I couldn’t hold down food I couldn’t use the bathroom on my own I had cluster migraines vomiting dizziness and hardly knew what month it was I lived in a total Brain fog. Kratom did for me what twenty specialists and hundreds of rx drugs could not. I’m not only walking I’m able to go running and jogging. I returned to the gym and went back to work on a trail basis. In fact I was doing so well I was days from calling off my disability claim with my lawyer and returning to the workforce. I have a mmj license so I want to laugh when people talk about being high on kratom. First of all I’m less high on mmj and more alert than i ever was on rx drugs like world’s apart I couldn’t even walk on rx drugs let alone anything else like working or driving a car. I will concede that mmj does have a high but kratom does not. I take driving seriously I have never in my life had a sip just a sip of liquor and drive. I don’t smoke mmj and drive either because I do feel a little less alert than usual. Having a medical marijuana license was nice and the fact that I had something that I could take for my severe pain that didnt make me ten times worse like the rx drugs but at the same time it did not leave me able to work or drive cars so I was still very unproductive in my own life. Honestly the mmj just took the edge off from all the ailments so that i didn’t lose my mind because i frequently thought about suicide during that time. Kratom was introduced to me by a 65 year old woman in my fibromyalgia group who has been in a wheelchair for two years prior to trying Kratom and is now walking again. Within 30 days of trying kratom I was able to stop taking all of my other medications and my nine month cluster migraine was gone. I could stand again, I could let my dog out. I could see the sunshine again. Please help us there are so many others like me with similar stories. I can’t imagine and it’s unfathomable that in less than a month I’ll be confined to a mattress again with no other choice than to harm myself futher dehibilate myself more by trying some more rx medication after over 100 pills and nearly dying from reactions and side effects and being overmedicated I know that trying fifty more kinds of drugs is not the solution. I found a miracle God answered my prayers instead of taking to me to his kingdom he game my life back with this plant. I’m only 32 that’s a long time to live confined to a mattress in a wheelchair with no income because disability will never approve anyone at my age. Despite my serverly dehibilated state I had so much trouble even getting a lawyer to take my case. I’ve been denied three times already my last response from disability was that I can’t work with the public (no idea why) but I can stock shelves with my cane being to dizzy to stand but I’m on a step ladder lifting things above my head with the neck and shoulders that have been injured in five seperate car accidents as well as being the victim of domestic violence that have been injured treatment with a orthopedic a pt accipture massage chiropractic care for five years. The ones I can’t lift my phone up eith some days but I’m going to pick up boxes with balancing myself on a stool. Now maybe I’d be able to do that on kratom but there wasn’t a chance in you know where I could have done it on the rx drugs I was on. I couldn’t even get to the toliet for God sakes.
really sad news for Kratom lover as it truly help me to relieve pain, enhance mood and energy level. Find my unbiased articles about Kratom on my blog here: http://kratomguides.com
Editorial
I’d like to voice my opposition to the DEA’s Intent to Schedule the alkaloids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which would make Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a schedule 1 controlled substance with no medicinal value. This would put kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.
Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important medicinal uses and has changed my life. I fear this action by the DEA will only lead to more tragic deaths of victims of the opiate epidemic, maybe even my own (if you think this may lead to a replace and illicit drug use). I know that my own quality of life as a productive member of society will not be the same without kratom.
With regard to this issue, I am soliciting my concern that this DEA schedule I doesn’t take place. I suffer from chronic thoracic spine pain, sciatica, and spinal stenosis and have been able to discontinue taking 3 of my medications because I use this herb. People I love also need this herb for various reasons. If this happens, I, among many others will be in a lot of trouble, the quality of our lives will be removed out from under us. Heroin addicts who no longer have the use of this herb will go back out and die.
I’m doing my best to support this cause, written to my state representatives and contacted the Justice Department signed the petition.
Thank you very much for listening.
Kratom is a solution, not a problem. It has helped me for the last 4 years.
My name is Todd Johnston and I am a law abiding, tax paying, small business owner in Texas. I have been using Kratom since 2014, in small doses every day (2 to 4 grams for the whole day) to help manage anxiety, inflammation and minor aches and pains.
I became introduced to Kratom when I was 28 years old after a frustrating string of attempts to treat my anxiety with traditional pharmaceuticals; all of which left me some sort of unwanted side effect. From depressed thoughts, to more anxiety, to bowel problems (one med had me on the toilet for 3+ hours a day) I reached out to my friends with a plea on social media. A friend of mine introduced me to kratom as he had been using it to taper off of hydrocodone dependence and had great success.
Flash forward 2 years and I have no ill side effects from kratom use and have not increased my dosage, ever. I have been taking 2 to 4 grams daily. My life is changed for the better. My blood work always comes back healthy, despite having liver and blood pressure issues when I was on the pharmaceuticals. Even my liver panel is healthy.
I own a small business. I service pools using a new, organically based, method that I came up with over the course of 4 years of research. It is physically a demanding job. I also hold down a part time job as a waiter and work 15+ hour shifts. Yesterday I worked 16 hours straight with no breaks and was able to do so thanks to Kratom (one dose of 2 grams in the morning, another dose of 2 in the afternoon and I had energy and pain relief to keep me going).
Does that work ethic sound like someone who is a junkie? Does that sound like someone who has dropped out of society to chase a high?
The DEA’s letter of intent includes flat out misinformation and lies about Kratom. Kratom is not a “synthetic opioid” – Kratom is a class of naturally occurring alkaloids that interact with opioid receptors in the body to produce mild, yet similar, effects of narcotic opioids without the negative side effects of narcotics.
I will repeat that – Kratom produces similar effects, though more mild, than narcotic opioids, without the negative effects of a narcotic.
We need sensible regulation – not outright prohibition. I will agree, 100%, that there is a huge difference between dried kratom leaf, and the extracts marketed and sold at head shops. The head shop kratoms are often tainted with other designer drugs and the extracts are unnatural and dangerous. They should be either heavily regulated or illegal altogether.
The dried leaf of the kratom tree is not dangerous, nor should it be illicit. I can not take more than 8 grams of the dried leaf without feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. This is a built in mechanism to the alkaloids to naturally prevent overdose. Can you still? I’m certain, but it would have to be a very poorly made conscious decision to take too much kratom leaf. It is so uncomfortable I doubt anyone in their proper state of mind would even try to.
Furthermore the laughable amount of poison center calls, 660, is not enough to warrant a prohibition. With 660 as a referenced number we ought to definitely be banning laundry detergent pods which had over 37,000 calls in just the first three months of 2016.
FStates that banned Kratom saw a rapid increase in opioid overdoses and deaths. In Jefferson County, Alabama in 2015 there were a total of 138 deaths from opioids. Kratom was banned. Through June 2016, there have been 103. If that trend continues, and it seems that it will, there will be over 200 deaths from opioid overdose after the kratom ban.
I am not a criminal. I am not a lazy dropout. I am not a junkie looking for my next high. I am a hard working American, a job creator, and a good person who suffers from anxiety and long laborious days. Kratom has changed my life. Let’s be sensible. Let’s not create millions more criminals by irresponsibly prohibiting a substance that the DEA clearly does not really understand.
Kratom helped give my father relief while enduring chemotherapy. My daughter’s mother used kratom successfully as a tool to get off of methadone and has since then gotten off of public assistance and returned to work as a fully functioning tax paying member of society. My wife uses kratom daily as an alternative to prescribed opiate meds without issue. I use kratom myself for energy and focus for ADHD safely without the side effects that I got from prescription medications I was on like adderall and strattera. The DEA is overstepping their bounds. They are supposed to enforce the laws not create them.
Thank you for helping with this issue. Kratom has helped improve the quality of my life so much for myself and my family! I have been able to go back to work, therefore, no longer needing free medical care and food stamps. I have been able to play with my son, go out on family excursions and generally get the life that I lost 15 1/2 years ago that I lost from a car accident. Please stop the DEA and their overreach of power. I do not know that I can go back to my old life of living everyday laying down due to excruciating pain. Thank you, again!
I am a 36 year old male. I use plain leaf kratom 3 times a day, morning, noon, and evening. I wish I had discovered this wonderful plant years ago so I could of avoided the horrid pharmaceuticals that I used for so long.
Kratom has greatly improved my quality of life. Several years ago I was injured at work which resulted in back surgery. While the surgery gave me the ability to walk again I’m still in a lot of pain every day. I hated taking pharmaceuticals daily. They make me feel like a walking zombie every day with other unpleasant side effects. Since I started taking kratom daily a little over 3 years ago my life has changed for the better. It greatly helps reduce the pain I live with every day.
I am able to return to work but will never be able to do the things I used to do. But I still am able to return to work and help provide for my family. One of the best aspects of having kratom is has given me the ability to play with my 3 year old daughter. It still hurts to do certain activities with her up but I was unable to before kratom and that was heartbreaking to me. I have dreading the thought of this wonderful plant being taken away from me and others who truly need this amazing plant.
Thank you for your time
Andy
I am a 49 year old therapist specializing in treating trauma and a daily kratom user. I have been using it on and off for four years and receive tremendous benefit from this tool to manage chronic fatigue without any detrimental side effects. The DEA is attempting to stay relevant at a tremendous cost to hundreds of thousands of law abiding Americans who use this plant to better their lives. Some regulation (like having to be over 18 to purchase) I can see being appropriate, but schedule 1 status is completely asinine.
This ban is going to put thousands of people out of work. So many of us have been able to go back to work after being disabled with chronic pain or from the side effects of prescription drugs. I feel that this is a CIVIL RIGHT! To be able to choose which medicine works effectively for my pain. This is nanny state, police state action. DEA has gone too far this time. It’s my body and my right. We, the American people should not be forced to take prescription drugs when there a natural alternatives out there.
This ban is going to get rid of a VERY positive, needed and crucial help for many people. MANY chronically ill people and veterans who use this plant as an alternative to dangerous, ADDICTIVE and unhealthy prescription drugs. This plant does so much good. The dea has cracked down so much on narcotic prescription BECAUSE of issues with addiction, and with people moving onto harder drugs, such as heroin. They should be doing their research and realizing that this plant saves so many lives. And makes so many people who would normally be stuck in bed, miserable and sick/in pain, a PRODUCTIVE part of society. I personally was in a hit and run, with a drunk driver while I was pregnant with my son. My son was born a full month early and I suffered MANY lasting injurys both mental and physical. I was prescribed prescription narcotic painkillers, and that ALONE was a whole hell of its own. Aside from the actual crash. I found kratom and it saved my life. I was in such a negative and horrible place before I found kratom. From doctors constantly prescribing then cutting off, prescription meds. I wanted nothing more to do with them, and was forced to live life in my bed, in pain. WITH kratom, I can again be a part of my family. Spend time with and care for my children, hold a job AND go to school, be a FUNCTIONING part of society. PLEASE do some research. And see that this ban is an absolutely horrible thing.
I believe the Drug Enforcement Administration has overstepped their boundaries by submitting the letter of intent to ban Mitragyna speciosa as of September 30, 2016.
The power given to the DEA to emergency schedule a substance without normal review and comment is only meant in the most extreme and dire of circumstances.
This herb is no where near creating any kind of emergency situation. Research, expert opinion and public commentary has clearly shown that this is not warranted.
The DEA is part of an executive branch which is supposed to enforce laws, not make them. Because of this extreme overreach, I am asking for your help in stopping this intention and allowing for the normal process.
This is a perfect example of extreme overreach by the DEA.
They claim that it has no potential medicinal benefits and a high potential for abuse. This simply isn’t true and is a blatant attempt to take citizens choices away from being able to choose herbal supplements for pain management, anxiety, and numerous other personal ailments. People will be forced to purchase manufactured pharmaceuticals which clearly seems to be the intent of the government. Coffee, cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol remain legal in the United States when a holistic herb such as Kratom becomes banned? Where is the Justice in that?
I’d like to voice my opposition to the DEA’s Intent to Schedule the alkaloids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which would make Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a schedule 1 controlled substance with no medicinal value. This would put kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.
Before Kratom, I was on anti-depressants for the migraines, birth control strictly for the menstrual problems, and pain medication for the calcified tendinitis. How can the Government honestly say that taking all of these other things is better for me as an individual than taking one single herb for all of it? I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision. If anything, regulate it; but please don’t ban it.
People with ailments such as Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Lymes Desease, Arachnoiditis, Crps, and other horribly painful conditions that are hard to treat, Kratom does wonders for these conditions, and without all the nasty side effects that come from long time use of pain medications.
Kratom is my safer alternative choice instead of these prescription medications:
Topamax – migraines
Ibuprofen – Calcified Tendinitis
Birth Control (just for hormone balance, not actually because it was needed)
Ambien – Because of the Topomax
Tramadol & Hydrocodone – Calcified Tendinitis
Cortisone shots – Calcified Tendinitis
Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important medicinal uses and has changed my life. I’m asking you to please contact the DEA. Please send a letter or request an oversight hearing asking to delay this emergency action. I know that my own quality of life as a productive member of society will not be the same without kratom.
If you have questions about Kratom, please visit https://www.americankratom.org. Thank you for your time and service to the state and taking the time to listen.
I believe the Drug Enforcement Administration has overstepped their boundaries by submitting the letter of intent to ban Mitragyna speciosa as of September 30, 2016.
The power given to the DEA to emergency schedule a substance without normal review and comment is only meant in the most extreme and dire of circumstances.
This herb is no where near creating any kind of emergency situation. Research, expert opinion and public commentary has clearly shown that this is not warranted.
The DEA is part of an executive branch which is supposed to enforce laws, not make them. Because of this extreme overreach, I am asking for your help in stopping this intention and allowing for the normal process.
This is a perfect example of extreme overreach by the DEA.
They claim that it has no potential medicinal benefits and a high potential for abuse. This simply isn’t true and is a blatant attempt to take citizens choices away from being able to choose herbal supplements for pain management, anxiety, and numerous other personal ailments. People will be forced to purchase manufactured pharmaceuticals which clearly seems to be the intent of the government. Coffee, cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol remain legal in the United States when a holistic herb such as Kratom becomes banned? Where is the Justice in that?
I’d like to voice my opposition to the DEA’s Intent to Schedule the alkaloids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which would make Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a schedule 1 controlled substance with no medicinal value. This would put kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.
Before Kratom, I was on anti-depressants for the migraines, birth control strictly for the menstrual problems, and pain medication for the calcified tendinitis. How can the Government honestly say that taking all of these other things is better for me as an individual than taking one single herb for all of it? I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision. If anything, regulate it; but please don’t ban it.
People with ailments such as Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Lymes Desease, Arachnoiditis, Crps, and other horribly painful conditions that are hard to treat, Kratom does wonders for these conditions, and without all the nasty side effects that come from long time use of pain medications.
Kratom is my safer alternative choice instead of these prescription medications:
Topamax – migraines
Ibuprofen – Calcified Tendinitis
Birth Control (just for hormone balance, not actually because it was needed)
Ambien – Because of the Topomax
Tramadol & Hydrocodone – Calcified Tendinitis
Cortisone shots – Calcified Tendinitis
Here’s how “dangerous” and oh so terribly destructive kratom is. Brace yourselves, because this is a frightening story.
My girlfriend and I woke up feeling down and a bit achy and just kind of blah. We sat around and watched a movie. We drank coffee. Nothing helped. Then finally even in light of starting to feel like “criminals” about doing so (thanks DEA), we each took a slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon of powdered kratom in some juice. Guess what we did 20 minutes later? Did we eat each other’s faces like we took bath salts? Did we go out and rob a convenience store like heroin addicts? Did our respiratory systems collapse and we had to call 911 like countless prescription opiate users? No. We cleaned our house! Guess how much kratom I’m going to take later? None. Because it is *that* addictive.
This DEA thing is a non-scientific joke, and everybody including them knows it. Regulators, PLEASE do something about this corruption under the guise of “protecting” people from themselves. This has nothing to do with any citizen’s best interest. Read the comments on this page. Watch the #iamkratom videos. Do something before the US becomes totalitarian. An agency like the DEA shouldn’t have so little oversight that they can be absolute dictators and state flat out false science and lies in their reports to fulfill some agenda. It is an abuse of power, and if you read these comments – an abuse of Americans who depend on this plant as a health supplement. Personally, I don’t *need* kratom like people with chronic pain…BUT I damn well should be able to have some with my girlfriend if it just makes us feel better once in a while without being a FELON.
There are not enough middle fingers in existence to express how ridiculous this is.
This ban is outrageous.. comparing kratom deadly drugs such as heroin is so wrong.. my ex husband was a heroin addict and it destroyed our lives.. its like apples and organges.. ive suffered from depression, severe anxiety, PTSD and chronic pain for over ten years.. because of the epidemic of pain pills it was nearly impossible for me to get medication.. I couldnt live with the pain anymore and my whole family suffered because i was 100 percent disabled form my aliments.. Kratom has given me my life back.. i only take 2 teapoons three times a day.. it doesnt get me high.. it makes me feel liek a normal person and i can function. Big pharma is losing money because no one wants to be addicted these awful pills anymore.. and that hurts there business.. and its a mutli billion dollar business.. they are not interested in helping or curing us.. kratom is as harmless as coffee.. i know if i loose kratom ill be back on my anti depressants and i will still be depressed.. i wll not have access to pain meds and i will be back on the couch unable to be with my children.. My kids dont want you to take kratom away from their mommy.. it has changed my life for the better.. i am thriving.. i use to just exist now i am really living.. you will have blood on your hands if you take this all natural God given plant away from us.. you wanna win this war on drugs.. well kratom is your answer.. you take kratom away and will be taking away my freedom along with it..
My husband and I discovered Kratom one year ago. I have chronic pain after a terribly failed back surgery. Four yrs later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
Dr’s have tried every pharmaceutical recommended for fibromyalgia and some not recommended. These drugs either did nothing for my fibromyalgia or the side effects were awful. Many of the recommended drugs I am allergic to. I break out in hives, severe nausea, vomiting and itching. I finally tried Kratom to help manage my pain and symptoms of fatigue, mental fog, anxiety and depression.
One hour after consuming Kratom I was pain free! For the first time in 20 yrs, I had no pain! I cried out of pure joy and relief. I do not consume Kratom every day. As seniors, we are on a fixed income. Insurance will not cover Kratom which is very sad.
My husband is an Army vet. He has asbestosis as a result of exposure in the Army. Two yrs after the asbestos showing up on chest X-rays he had his first brain bleed stroke. Four years later he had s second brain bleed stroke.
He suffers from hip, back and severe shoulder pain. The VA gave him hydrocodone. The hydrocodone makes it difficult for my husband to function. He suffers from a cognitive impairment (memory loss), severe anxiety and depression. His psychiatrist has him listed as having a mood disorder. Hydrocodone and the other mind numbing drugs made him worse.
He tried Kratom. His pain is managed, his mind is clear, he is not nearly as anxious.
We decided to wait before ordering more Kratom and trying different amounts of Kratom to find the perfect match because it may become illegal. Why? It does not get a person high, not even a light buzz! It does not make you crave more when it is not in your system.
Why has the DEA chosen Kratom? I believe for funding. The DEA cannot justify more funding to fight the war on cannabis. What better way to create a need for emergency funds and ongoing funds to battle the evil drug Kratom?
One big problem! Kratom is not a drug! The DEA has shown its lack of understanding and knowledge by referring to Kratom as an opiate! Kratom is not an opiate! It merely attaches to opiate receptors in the brain.
The DEA has wrongly listed Kratom as a “drug of concern.” Kratom is not a drug and the only concern Kratom presents is to the pharmaceuticals who are losing $$$ because thousands of Americans have decided to think for themselves and want a natural aid in managing pain, anxiety, depression, PTSD and a whole host of other physical and emotional ailments
Declaring war on Kratom makes about as much sense as declaring war on coffee, sugar, or chocolate. All of which can be abused, but do not pose a threat to society.
Kratom poses no threat and it is about time Congress step up and do the job we the people are paying it them to do. Tell the DEA it has overstepped its boundaries.
The DEA is not supposed to make the laws. Hell, the DEA can’t even do its own honest, unbiased research on Kratom. The DEA should be reprimanded for this huge attempt at overreaching its power.
My husband and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have served this country to ensure our liberties and freedoms remain intact. #”STOP THE BAN ON KRATOM.”
I am a 40 year old small business owner, and I am a frequent user of kratom. I discovered this amazing plant four years ago after spending some time researching natural alternatives to pharmaceutical pain management in the wake of multiple surgeries for degenerative disc disease and trapped nerve release in my right arm. The improvement in my quality of life after discovering kratom has been substantial, and the benefits tremendous – I have gone from a state of constant pain and discomfort that was only negligibly affected by the multiple surgeries I have had to endure, to being able to live the sort of life I had prior to the onset of nerve issues in my back and arm.
As an American taxpayer, I wholeheartedly disagree with the DEA’s decision to ban this plant, and their pending actions will have a direct, tangible effect on the quality of my life and my ability to work.
I dread what lays ahead for me.
Dear DEA,
With all due respect you have not done your due diligence. Kratom saved me from a life of pills, anxiety and drinking. You cannot simply cite erroneous statistics to ban something because you view the world in black and white.
to my story… I am a law student at a top 40 law school I have followed all of the rules, never been in any trouble, except I happen to use Kratom for anxiety. None of us are junkies we are simply human beings trying to live our lives naturally and peacefully. Stop what you are doing it isn’t right deep down I think you know it by now.
I am a 37 year old father and husband, I take Kratom for my chronic neck and back pain. I oppose the DEA proposed ban on Kratom. Kratom has been used safely for thousands of years. Kratom has not killed anyone. Kratom is not addictive. Kratom does not get you high. The DEA is using no scientific data to back up thier claims that Kratom is public health risk. The risked posed by prescription pain medication is more of a danger to the public heath of the United States. We are living in through one of the worst Heroin addiction epidemics in American history, caused by the over prescribing of opiates by medical professionals, and then the over regulation by state and federal government to stop the abuse. Then all those now hooked on opiates turned on Heroin to fill the void in their addiction. The Heroin is cut with fentanyl, a prescription drug more potent than morphine. The amount of overdoses is staggering. We, the American people are to believe that an herb in the same family as coffee, that’s been used safely for thousands of years is a public health risk.
Thank god someone is finally listening…..to think of all the people who will die if this ban takes place….so heartbreaking truly is
Simply put, kratom has given me my quality of life back. I consider this leaf an herbal remedy that has so many benefits. I discovered Kratom 2 years ago and before kratom I was on a cocktail of medications for my medical problems, physical and mental. (Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Vasculitis, Depression, Bipolar disorder, PTSD) These same medications that were supposed to be helpful were ruining my health. Kratom took the place of 7-10 medications with ease and minimal side effects. In 1 month I was able to transition from consuming harmful drugs, to just consuming a leaf daily. Kratom has not cured me, but it helps with my daily pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, inflammation, and so much more. Instead of being bed ridden, I get to be the mother and wife iam so proud to be. I fear that if Kratom becomes illegal, I will have to go back to my old life. Which entails being in constant illness, and taking harmful medications.
I wanted to reach out because Kratom has changed my life. I’m in my early 40s and have been dealing with back issues for quite some time now. The doctors only solution was pain meds and physical therapy. I took the pain meds as prescribed (norco) and I became dependent on them after taking them for an extended period of time. It got to the point where I knew if I didn’t stop, I’d totally mess up my life. So, I quit cold turkey and then just basically lived in constant pain until I discovered Kratom. Kratom has been a total blessing to me because I could actually live and function again without having the “doped up” feeling that pain meds gave me. It made me feel like a brand new person if that makes any sense. I think the DEA needs to be made aware of the medicinal qualities of this tree/leaves and conduct proper studies on it in order to stop the scheduling of it.
Please stop the DEA from making Kratom a Schedule I drug, especially considering that Kratom is a leaf from a tree related to coffee, not a drug! The DEA has committed a great overreach when it decided to do this. Especially, the way that they did it. No public comment needed. Really? I thought that I still lived in the United States of America, where I had the right to be heard! I have found Kratom to be a very safe alternative for my chronic pain conditions. Please, make the DEA show its so called proof of imminent danger. How can they even make such a claim while in the meantime people are dying every day from street and prescribed drugs. Kratom is a plant that God gave us, how dare any organization interfere with God’s plan!! Please, allow Americans to speak out about their experience with Kratom. I am a 60 year old American, a taxpayer, and thanks to Kratom I am able to work full time instead of having to go on disability. Please, make the DEA prove their reasons with scientific fact, not conjectures! Thank you for listening.
I am a 39 year old software engineer who has been dealing with depression, insomnia, chronic lethargy, a pinched nerve, and anxiety for around 20 years. I have taken almost all drugs available with prescription to try to treat these issues. None of them worked.
I have been treating my issues with alcohol for the last 5 years or so since being laid off from my last job. I was miserable and not planning on living another 10 years. Then I read an article on kratom and decided to try it. After taking it the first time I knew I had found a treatment that works.
I have been taking kratom for 5 months. Since I started taking kratom all of my issues were a thing of the past. I have not had a drinkn in 5 months. I have a new job that I can function, even excel at. And my outlook on life is good again.
Now that the DEA is proposing to schedule kratom I have to worry about all of my ailments coming back. Please don’t make me go back to back to my previous life, I would not be able to manage it. Please do not add kratom as a schedule one drug.
Our government’s job is to protect but not to over step it’s bounds. Kratom is a traditional medicine in many countries with centuries of safe use. We have an opportunity to give thousands of disabled and suffering Americans hope and productivity but once a substance is put on the DEA’s Schedule 1 list it rarely if ever gets off! Even scientific studies are blocked.
Herbs and foods like kratom, coffee, garlic, aloe vera and even marijuana are traditional medicines that have been in the public use for centuries and longer. Our society doesn’t have the technology to prove these substances safety because it’s their unique natural combinations that make them so effective. However, the U.S. Public has already proven their safety over years of use. Many states have made it available to adults only (over 18). It’s that easy. The Government can be given a pass on being responsible for the public’s safety by simply advising caution and restricting purchase to adults. As in so many products already on the market.
In the case of caffeine anything can be abused. How many people have used poor judgment with coffee or caffeine products to stay on the road longer than they should with bad consequences? We’re allowed to smoke, drink alcohol and take aspirin. Have you seen the documented fatalities from aspirin? Over 16,000 a year!
Any extreme negative side effects that have been reported from kratom have been tried in a court of public opinion and hear-say only. They would not hold up in a court of law with verified facts. It’s absurd to restrict an herb that is helping so many people because of here-say. How could this injustice happen in America?
The DEA should not make kratom illegal! It is a safe plant which has tremendous potential to positively effect people’s lives. I completely stopped drinking alcohol (a much more dangerous substance) thanks to kratom. I also have diagnosed OCD and anxiety issues and have been in and out of therapy for many years. I don’t want to imply kratom “cured” any issues I had, but it has helped me deal with them and improved my quality of life. Kratom has a proven safety record and should be regulated and researched further. Instead of making its citizens into criminals, our country should be helping to empower them and provide them safe access to this plant. We could also set up a quality-control organization to help ensure kratom isn’t adulterated with an contaminants, and establish a trade relationship with the south-east asian countries that grow it. This would help improve both our economies—instead of putting people into the criminal justice system, put them to work at kratom farms, quality-control centers, and dispensaries. There is an opportunity here to do good, not evil. Make the right decision DEA. Please.
I found kratom a year ago. Exactly a year ago. I was teetering on the edge of my 18th floor balcony, feeling the bitter crisp chill of the sky up that high, and a thought came to me, clear as a bell:
I am not going to make it through this winter.
I clung to the chilled metal ledge, my fingers frozen numb and white through the biting rain and strong gusts of the storm coming up from the river below. Barges slowly floated by, tiny people came and went, cars and trucks followed traffic patterns, and I felt like I was on a distant planet, merely an observer, no longer a part of life on this little earth.
I could jump.
But I was too much of a pussy.
But I could no longer stand to be in my skin.
Days seemed to last for years. I’d pray to anything, begging and pleading to get through another day, to sleep, to die, to feel nothing. If I could cling on to my balcony rails with all my strength, I could keep myself from falling from the earth, and being shot out into the unfeeling black abyss of the universe.
I knew so deeply this one truth: I could not, I would not, make it through this winter. There was no other truth. It was all I had left.
I’d later learn I was suffering from a severe form of akathisia. It is a movement disorder characterized by restlessness, basically, the inability to stop being in constant motion. I was in such a state of excruciating discomfort, I would pace day and night, stomp my feet, pick at my skin, pull out my hair, rock, shake my head, but nothing would help shake the restless feeling. They say very large doses of Haldol and Thorazine do not even have much affect at all on the disorder.
I silently suffered alone with this feeling of impending doom and debilitating anxiety, and my life was simply no longer tolerable enough to make the effort to survive anymore. Yet somehow, I continued to exist, trapped in my own private hell that I myself had constructed. I was locked away in my tiny, filthy apartment and could not even ride the elevator downstairs to buy a drink in the coke machine, let alone make the impossible walk a block away to the corner liquor store.
You see, alcohol was the only thing that helped, so I drank it constantly. Straight cheap vodka, right from the plastic gallon bottle, of which I had a plethora stocked away for the zombie apocalypse. But, as I clung to the balcony rail that day, my supply of vodka exhausted yet again from my self-isolation, I was hallucinating, drenched in cold sweat, shaking uncontrollably, my heartbeat skipping, then racing, then stopping, I realized I might die from delirium tremens soon, and that since I had no one who’d notice I was gone, it might be more neighborly of me to just jump, as my body would be discovered before decomposing in solitude.
I had experimented with different drugs before looking for relief. Pot just made me more aware of the disease, but I picked up blunts and cigarettes anyway just because it was something to do with my hands. I never did heroin, because I’d heard it wasn’t much help, though I doubt I could hold a needle without dropping it from my shaking hands. But I was a severe alcoholic, in the late stage of that grotesque and subtly progressive soul-eating disease. I was only 30, but had been binge drinking daily for as long as I could remember. Unlike heroin, withdrawal from alcohol is often fatal. Alcohol withdrawal is far worse than heroin withdrawal. But that was a year ago, and I didn’t die of DTs, and I didn’t jump either.
Somehow, through some miracle, I had a visitor, and faced the outside world, and got more alcohol. But I got something else that day as well: a little pack of kratom powder. When I’d taken the edge off by polishing a good glass or three of burning liquid poison labeled with a generic little graphic of a russian palace, I mixed a little kratom in with a shot glass of water, and gulped it down in sudden unexpected hopefulness. 30 minutes later, I realized I was sitting down. On a couch. You see, akathisia is basically the inability to sit still. I hadn’t done this alien behavior, in fact I should have been on disability, instead of just skipping rent, and getting desperate, and doing what I had to for just that $4 vodka bottle. I’d lost a lot of jobs for my pacing, and for my dropping expensive things out of my shaking hands. But here I was, sitting, my heart beat stabilizing, my shakiness dissipating, when just a few hours before I was hating myself, feeling not worth my life, mustering my last bit of exasperation enough to end the pain and suffering of this world.
The rest of this story is a love story. I love kratom.
I started coming out of isolation, thanks to kratom. I discovered new interests, talents, abilities. I discovered that I was a brilliant and attractive female with the rest of my life ahead of me, and that even settling for my wildest dreams would be selling myself short. I started to lose my fear of people, and eventually started to talk to them, then make friends, get back into and excel in my career, becoming known as the best at what I do. I began to hear constantly that I was known as “charmer” and a “silver tongue” that I was charismatic and could garner attention and praise from anyone that I happened to meet. I moved out of my shithole apartment and got a breathtakingly beautiful house in the best part of town. I no longer feared waking up in a gutter when I chanced to leave my house, knocked out and my vodka stolen, because I hadn’t had a drink since I could remember, and had no desire for one ever again. I didn’t need to self-medicate with alcohol anymore, so I began attending 12 step programs, and discovered my spirituality, learned that serving and helping others gave me an inner peace where before there was only a black void of despair, and made amends to everyone, buliding back bridges that I’d burned before in my desperate addiction to alcohol. A year later, as I sit on my porch, admiring my flourishing ferns and flowers I’d cultivated, (I had also found a love for gardening. It was meditative.) I don’t remember that scared, lonely girl who had nothing to live for. It seems like just a story in a book, and not me.
I suffered from severe anxiety attacks to the point where I just wanted to stay home, I have essential tremors to which I want to avoid all social contact unless I planned to medicate myself in order to handle life. I got chest pains and when I have to go to the store, I had to jump out of line in order to get over an attack and find a line with no one in it. I have been on many prescriptions over the years, Effexor, Lexapro, Welbutrin, etc. and I had to deal with withdrawal or side effects.
NOT ANYMORE! A Doctor has cared enough to figure this out!
I’m all choked up while saying that kratom worked for me the first day! I took two capsules and a few hours later I was amazed I was not thinking about “how to cope”. I went on with my day and went out to the store and when I was on my way home I realized I managed without being crippled from anxiety. If you suffer yourself, you know the lifestyle of anxiety and depression. There is no foggy feeling, nothing but clarity and confidence. My husband has even noticed a difference in me and I’m no longer having essential tremors!
I know a large number of people who have successfully tapered off of opiates through the use of kratom. unlike other methods (such as switching to methadone or suboxone) a person can actually quit kratom cold turkey, after the switch is made, and not have withdrawals from the opiates after the kratom is discontinued. it has worked miracles in the lives of so many people i know. it would be such a shame if use of this tool was made into a felony. To say kratom has no medicinal use is absurd.
I suffer from server anxiety and Kratom helps me function day to day without the need to take powerful prescription drugs such as Xanax. Kratom does not make me “high”. It helps my anxiety without making me feel like a zombie. Everything that the DEA has said in their notice of intent is completely false. Kratom is NOT an opioid. It is very safe and no one has died from taking Kratom alone. All reported deaths that involved Kratom were due to the people having other substances in their bodies that we mixed with Kratom. If Kratom gets banned by the DEA then millions of people in this country will suffer. Many people will go back to using hard drugs such as heroin and prescription opioids. In Alabama Kratom has been banned and reports show that opiate overdoses have doubled as a result. Please help stop this Ban. Many American lives will be destroyed if this ban on Kratom ends up actually happening.
I am writing today to express my feelings about pending legislation regarding the natural herb Mitragyna Speciosa, more commonly known as kratom.
Kratom has been used in Asian countries as a natural medicine, relaxant and stimulant for centuries with no known detrimental effect on its users or society in general. While it can be mildly habit forming, it is by no means a dangerously addictive substance. There has never been a reported death or other severely detrimental effect caused by this plant alone, and it is self regulating in that overuse can be very unpleasant as it will cause nausea and vomiting in high doses. The plant contains many medicinal alkaloids including those that are analegesic, anxiolytic, antidiabetic, antimutagenic, antiviral, immunostimulant, antidiarrheal, antileukemic, antioxidant, and muscle relaxant. It has been studied in animals and found to be remarkably non-toxic in that there has been no lethal dose discovered thus far, even in extremely high doses. Additionally, the plant contains alkaloids such as corynantheidine, an opiate receptor antagonist, which disrupts addiction and habituation.
I first discovered kratom about 10 years ago when I was looking for a natural anxiolytic and relaxant to help me relieve chronic anxiety and depression. I found this plant to be up to the task and began using it on an occasional basis prepared as a tea. I found it to be a gentle relaxant with no obvious side-effects and it did help to alleviate my anxiety and depression. Around that same time I incurred a severe spinal injury which resulted in severe chronic pain in my lower back and legs. In 2006 I had a 2-level spinal fusion which alleviated some of the pain, but also caused additional chronic pain my lower back and hips. Since that time I have suffered from incurable chronic nerve and musculoskeletal pain and have been on prescription opiate therapy ever since.
While the opiates have been a blessing, they are also a curse as the Tylenol that comes with them is taking a toll on my liver. About 3 years ago I made the choice to begin using kratom to alleviate my pain as well as to reduce the opiates needed to control it. To my surprise I found that kratom was superior to my prescription opiates for relieving pain, while also continuing to positively impact my anxiety and depression issues, so I gradually made the switch and I have now been free of prescription drugs entirely for the past 2 years.
For me this plant is a miracle and it would negatively impact my quality of life if I had to switch back to prescription drugs due to a ban on this beneficial herb. In my long relationship with this plant, I have never found it addictive or harmful in any way. Please study this plant further and understand what a wonderful plant it can be for help in managing chronic pain and other detrimental conditions such as severe depression and anxiety (it has also been widely used as a safe alternative for those addicted to opiate drugs and/or alcohol, and far less harmful).
I ask you to please oppose any outright ban on this plant or its constituent parts. I fully support a ban for minors, but adults in our society should be able to freely choose a healthy alternative to prescription drugs and other harmful substances.
I believe this is a very big mistake! This plant has helped countless people, myself included, live a better life. I could go on and write a book as to why this is a mistake. The biggest reason that I can think of, that should be important to law makers, is that it is reducing the need for pain killers, which has accounted for hundreds and thousands of deaths nationwide. Why is that piece of the puzzle not looked at? This is a huge problem and to say that Kratom is as dangerous as Heroin, Meth, etc.. is just silly. Please see the benefit this plant has, and do not place this as a scheduled drug. This is NOT A DRUG!
The DEA is attempting a totally criminal action. They are trying to fight my right as a human being to make the choice for myself to ingest al leaf from a tree that grows on this earth. That is violation of my humanity and while it may be true that out society has already legally attempted to control what i can and can’t do with my body, we have to draw the line as people to prevent it. Despite all their official status as government agencies the chemicals they are trying to sell us as “medicine” and “safe” is actually poison. By engaging in this totally autocratic and fascist overreach of power they are flaunting their ability to function as an authoritative and totalitarian entity and walk all over the people and constition. The DEA and the FDA will have the blood of hundreds of thousands of americans who used this leaf tea to break free from heroin and narcotics, many WILL go back to heroin and pills and many WILL die or live life that is no life to live. Many of these people are mothers, grandmothers, fathers, hard workers, and military servicemen who’s country is spitting right in their face and throwing to the curb. We are in the midsts of an opoid addction and OVERDOSE epidemic. Even on the DEA’s twitter they post about the overdose crisis, yet by passing this thuggish law they will lierally directly cause an even bigger spike in these deaths. This is the behavior of mafia thugs or a nazi police state. The DEA is using flat out lies and dirtily manipulated information to demonize this herb, this is wrong and criminal. We as the people demand that this so called “government agency” (really corporate gangster mafia thugs with big guns and technology) get the hell out of there they do not belong, our own lives, and the choices we make for own bodies in the privacy of our own home.
The “meds” the FDA approves literally kill almost 50,000 people a year but they are approved and “safe”. All the calls to poison control center and every single “death” was allways assocated with the ingesting f OTHER DRUGS mixed with it, Kratom a lone never caused a death, yet the DEA is publicly presenting these statistics as if Kratom was the cause of these deaths death. There were far more calls to poison control centers for energy drinks, yet I don’t see “an imminent public health threat” warning about monster or red bull.
This ban will kill people, destroy families, send addicts back to pills, heroin, alcohol, cause suicides, and it will allow the government to try and micromanage what i cant and cannot use in my own body in the privacy of my own home, and what i can and can’t ingest as medicine. This will be stopped, we will not allow it.
I am a 35 year old full time HR employee and full time mother of three young kids. I also have fought debilitating anxiety and depression since my teens and back pain since my late twenties. I’ve tried antidepressants, anxiety medications and prescription and OTC pain pills for my ailments but rather than take a handful of pills each day I just have some Kratom and it works better with fewer side effects. This ban is the wrong way to go. The DEA criminalizing law abiding citizens for just trying to get through their day based on a “drug” profile that sounds safer than most medications out there. A factor in 15 deaths? In 2014 alone 47,000 people died of opiate overdoses. Anything that could prevent even one of those deaths should not be outlawed. #itsjustatealeaf #iamkratom
Last year, my wife suffered a psychotic break that got bad enough that she needed to be hospitalized and she was ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After 4 nights at the behavioral health center, she was released on a prescription of the anti-psychotic Geodon, but showed no significant improvement. She was also prescribed the anti-depressent Lexapro for a short time, which seemed to make things worse, and ultimately the mood-stabilizer, Lamictal, which seemed to provide some, but marginal improvement. In the meantime, I desperately searched the internet to see if there were any alternatives we could try and discovered Kratom. There were tons of anecdotal reports of it having helped those with anxiety (a common feature of my wife’s troubles) and other mood disorders. My wife began taking a small amount of the dry powdered leaf daily and quickly improved. Today, she is fully back to being the person I remember and joyful mother to our small two children.
I applaud the work you’ve done in the name of justice and fairness! There is no legitimate reason for the DEA to impose an emergency scheduling of a substance that is far safer than energy drinks. Kratom saves lives and gives opiate addicts, and pain patients a chance to live productive lives.
I was previously addicted to prescription pain killers for 5 years throughout high school and into college. I took them to help with my anxiety because traditional medicine didn’t seem to work. At some point I realized enough is enough and knew I had to quit taking pills. At that point I turned to Suboxone. After taking Suboxone for nearly 10 years I realized I was just as high and foggy as I had been on the pills I was addicted to before. I decided to quit Suboxone as well. This was followed by months and months of intense anxiety and feelings of hopelessness. I felt like I would never feel good or “normal” again. I had heard of Kratom about 10 years ago and decided I would give it a try. It provided so much relief for my anxiety. I quit taking my antidepressants, I quit taking sleeping medications. I finally feel at peace with myself and my life. I no longer have to depend on pills that put me in a fog and do little to nothing to ease my symptoms. The DEAs announcement is a crushing blow to me. I am scared. I don’t know what I am going to do and I think hundreds of thousands of Americans are in the same boat as me. I manage my anxiety and opiate cravings with Kratom. I will suffer when this ban takes effect but nothing compared to those who manage chronic pain with this plant. What are they supposed to do? They are being robbed of their quality of life over a plant that has caused zero deaths when taken alone. If the goal of this ban is to create misery and pain for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Americans then the DEA will succeed in achieving that goal.
Finally, someone is asking what we are all asking. For the DEA to actually present their information in a manner that is forthright and objective. The sources cited in the DEA’s Aug 30th intent to emergency schedule are full of data that has been manipulated in order for the DEA to plead their case. Laypeople across the US are presenting the same and even more data sources online in such a manner as to allow whomever so choses to look at the sources to make their own conclusions as to whether or not kratom can be considered a threat. We have garnered increasing support because of this. The reality is that the DEA presented something wrapped up with a bow; however, there wasn’t even a box underneath the wrapping paper, let alone factual evidence to support their claims.
This ban will destroy the lives of so many productive tax paying americans. Kratom is not another synthetic chemical, it’s a plant that helps people get off hard prescriptions but also helps many with their medical problems cope in life. Kratom does not destroy lives it helps save lives. This backlash we are seeing is the result of desperate people trying to keep their lives together with the help of this plant and the DEA wants to make felons of them all. People please listen to the stories and do what you can to help. We need people to continue to sign the petition and make phone calls to your congressman and senators to help stop this ridiculous ban.
The DEA is claiming this herb has no known medical use and a high potential for abuse in spite of the conflicting NIH.gov published study that highlights the medicinal benefits AND low potential for dependence. The study is here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21594658
This would all be bad enough; but the truth is that the pharmaceutical industry has issued patents on kratom derived drugs and this is why the DEA is moving to ban the herb. They are attempting to control the market and destroy kratom the way they did cannabis with marinol. Article here:
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/pharma-kratom-dea-patent/
Kratom has been a great blessing to my life as well as to others in my life that I know personally. It has helped with pain and stress management. The plain unmodified tea has a very low potential for abuse. Using too much is not a desirable experience and dependence is closely related to coffee. This tea has helped me when all other pharmaceuticals were not able to help and caused other health problems. Due to my health problems there are many drugs I cannot take. I am a sole provider for a family of 4 children and my wife. Making this necessary medication illegal will do us great harm and put our livelihood and my health at risk. I use kratom under my doctor’s direction and supervision.
Kratom saved me from a life of endless prescription medications, doctors visits and mental health problems. I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 16, and degenerative bone disease and bulging disks at 19. I was prescribed over 15 different medications to combat these different diagnosis and none of them actually relieved my symptoms. Plus, they contributed more adverse symptoms. At one point I was taking medications to relieve side effects of other medications. I began drinking kratom 2 years ago and I haven’t looked back since. I no longer have debilitating back pain and my panic attacks and migraines have virtually disappeared. I have a brighter outlook on life and the future. My quality of life was bleak and dark before I found natural herbs. Please don’t take this helpful herb away. Hundreds of thousands of people are asking you to reconsider your decision.
My wife an I have used Kratom for over four years. We are successful business owners, parents, homeowners with excellent credit and we are registered voters. Kratom makes it possible to be a fully functional member of society with out using ANY dangerous and addictive pharmaceutical pain relief drugs. Kratom has never had a negative effect on our health or well being. We use it as needed and not daily, so Kratom has never been shown to us as having any addictive effects unlike pharmaceutical pain management drugs. Kratom is 100% natural and has been used for centuries. Without Kratom we would be forced to either find another herbal remedy, if one exists or accept pharmaceutical drugs from our doctor, risking severe addiction, withdrawal and an altered state that could ruin our lives and destroy our business as it has so many others. We implore the DEA to halt it’s scheduling of Kratom and to cease and desist from protecting the wealthy and heavily influential pharmaceutical companies that wish to continue to feed on the citizens of the United States.
This decision by the DEA is based on unsound reasoning, and there is little to no evidence to show that kratom can be harmful or deadly. This herb has been used in southeast Asia for over 500 years and there have been no deaths reported. The 15 deaths that they are citing in the US are all either suicides or poly drug instances which can’t be tied to kratom alone. I have been using kratom for nearly 2 years now, and it has helped me immensely. Before kratom, I was taking oxycodone prescribed by my doctor to treat fibromyalgia, which put me in a fog and honestly didn’t control my pain to the extent I wanted it to. I am only 28 years old and am so thankful that I was able to wean myself off of opiates, because I have so much of my life left to live. Kratom on the other hand has allowed me to manage my pain, boost my mood & energy, and work full time without a problem (all without any side effects)! The American people and our lawmakers need to see this botanical for what it is: a safe, natural herb that allows people in chronic pain, with depression/anxiety, and PTSD to live full, productive lives. Heroin & opioid deaths WILL rise in this country if kratom is put on schedule 1. The epidemic is already bad enough, why are we making it worse by banning this plant?
This decision by the DEA is either extremely misguided or something far more sinister.
My life was in shambles. I couldn’t keep down a job because of a crippling opiate addiction. I became addicted after a series of surgeries and doctors prescribing an unnecessary amount of painkillers. I quickly became dependent on the Dr. prescribed opiates and it’s as if a switch flicked in my head. I couldn’t quit. My entire day began to revolve around these pills and how to get more / keep from running out before my refill was due. I wanted so badly to stop taking them because I was a mess. Slurring my words, nodding off at family occasions, and losing a job or two in the process.
Eventually, as doctors do, I was cut off and was sent into immediate opiate withdrawal. It was horrendous, and I wasn’t able to do it. I turned to street drugs to keep me from being sick, but I wanted nothing more than to get off of the opiates. I couldn’t afford rehab, so that was out of the question. I felt like I was losing myself and I became suicidal. After doing some research on the internet, I found kratom. I tried to quit the pills and took some kratom once withdrawals set in. I was shocked to find that the kratom got completely rid of about 90% of the withdrawals!
I was in tears I was so happy, because I had finally found the solution. Now I had to address the problems the led me to using so much in the first place. I am a sufferer of depression and anxiety, and was on a myriad of pharmaceutical drugs that did nothing but give me terrible side effects. With the help of kratom, I weaned off of the painkillers, followed shortly by the Viibryd, Abilify, Lexapro, and klonopin that I was on. I was completely drug free and my quality of life did a complete 180! I got and have held a job now for a year where I am succeeding finally.
I don’t’ have opiate cravings thanks to the kratom, and my anxiety and depression are under control to boot.
The DEA’s decision to ban this herb is absolutely horrific. I personally know many good people who will relapse on opiates and the DEA will be directly responsible for the spike in overdoses due to the ban. Kratom has so many health benefits and is so much safer than these nasty pharmaceuticals the drug companies push on people. There are studies that have shown the opposite of what the DEA was saying. I could parrot everyone else and mention that the number of calls into poison control centers regarding kratom ingestion is literally negligible when you consider that over 7,000 calls were made in 2016 ALONE for laundry detergent pods.
The DEA is clearly overreaching here and they have completely failed to establish any evidence that this is an imminent public health hazard. The only reason the DEA is doing this is because kratom, a plant, is clearly cutting into the drug makers’ profits, so naturally, the DEA will continue to fight a losing war on drugs and ban the only safe alternative to these nasty, addictive prescription meds. It’s despicable, and the American public will not stand for it.
I’ve used Kratom safely, responsibly and successfully for a couple of years to treat my depression, anxiety and physical pain from bipolar disorder and back pain. I continue to use Kratom while taking up healthy practices of prayer, mindfulness, exercising self control and personal ethics. All of these things used together help me to maintain a calm mind and satisfied sense of being.
I am now a hardworking, tax-paying member of society when just a few short years ago I could barely leave the house because of crippling anxiety.
Please help us to save this plant, it does not cure anything but that doesn’t mean it cannot help with a myriad of other health concerns.
This is my story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzRlc08sNV4
I am a 56 year old grandmother. Kratom has helped me to deal with chronic pain/anxiety/fibromyalgia due to a head on collision with a drunk driver 13 years ago.I have gone the pain pill route with all of the nasty side effects,when the pills quit working my pain doc’s recommendation…stronger pills,patches etc.I will not go that route.I have personally seen tragedies involving chronic pain and addictions. Kratom helps me to have a life other than sitting on the couch,it does not take all my pain away,but makes it managable and allow me to live my life.I still cannot work,but I can enjoy my grandkids,do some around the house,etc. Please help save this plant,it has given help to so many!!
I am a 56 year old grandmother who up to two years ago struggled to walk with a cane. I was in constant pain and that was WITH the pain pills I was on. I was also on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications because of the pain and being unable to go anywhere or do much because of it. I felt completely useless. I was then blessed with a grandson which was bittersweet because he brought so much joy but then I felt the heartbreak of not being able to do much with him because I was so bound to pain and all my medication. I am so blessed that Kratom gave me my life back! I no longer need a cane and have been able to stop taking my antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. I rarely need pain medication as Kratom helps me to manage my pain. I can get out of the house, I work a full-time and part-time job and I can now pitch balls to my grandson! I feel like a new person with a new lease on life. It terrifies me to think that this plant could land me in jail. Please help save this plant – it has done so much for so many people and it is affordable as well.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my story. I am 54 and have lived a hard life; I was raised in an abusive home, married an abusive man, worked in bars in rough neighborhoods, been in 2 severe car accidents and became an alcoholic at the age of 23 and at 31 went to AA and have been dry since 1993. I have had 30 broken bones including extensive facial trauma and as a result I suffer from chronic pain and partial paralysis. I am also epileptic and was diagnosed with ME/CFS TMD, DDD and neuralgia all within the last 18 years
For over 30 years, I have trusted Drs to know what is best for me and believed them when they said there was nothing to be done except keep medicating myself. Well, I nearly medicated myself to death and yet, was still in pain and began suffering from new health issues because of the medication including hair loss, high blood pressure, ulcers of the stomach and intestines, unexplained rashes, nightmares, lethargy and more.
10 years ago I had enough and decided no more meds, no more doctors. I do not want to end my last years on the roller coaster they called healthcare. I began looking into alternative treatments and while I was still in pain, my body was healing internally and I regained some of my former health.
Then two years ago I found kratom and it has been a godsend. Why do I like kratom? There are many reasons but the most important to me are that it is natural and organic. I love that it is affordable and that it gets the job done. I do not have to “build it up” in my system to reap its benefits, I can take it when I need it and decide how much I need each time. If I am feeling well, I can go almost an entire day without a dose. On other days I may take it as often as 3 times.
I have had no negative side effects while it takes the edge off my pain. I am able to go about my day clear headed, doing all the things that need to be done.
Please, consider that your decision regarding kratom will affect millions of Americans including myself who have found their lives again. Many of us have gone back to work, raised our families or are now able to volunteer our time in our communities. Believe us when we tell you Kratom is harmless. With the high cost of healthcare, there is nothing more hurtful than knowing your family is going into debt and you are not getting any better; there is always another test or medication your Dr wants to try.
Kratom has not only helped me, it has helped my family. My husband works hard, we are a single income family and we raised 4 children. We are a typical crosscut of the American family and I of an average kratom user.
Thank you for listening to my story, I pray that it, like so many others will touch your heart and open your eyes to the need for Kratom to be available for those who choose to use it.
Please vote against the ban on kratom, Thank you, Dee
I am going to post a quote from one of the greatest Presidents this nation has ever had and he really understood politics and he knew where politics were headed because he knew that GREED played a huge part.
“Prohibition… goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes… A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I am 54 and work in a physically demanding field. As a mechanic, as an Automotive A/C tech and recently have been able to return to tree trimming to make ends meet. I spent 25 yrs as a climber in this field. I have been able to do these things as a result of a herb called Kratom. If I have to return to pharmaceuticals to relieve my pain I do not believe I will live a very long. My quality of life will go back to Near 0. I have lived with chronic pain for the last 20 years of my life. It does not go away. treatment with pharmaceutical painkillers is not an option. I have just completed an A/C repair course and have a $10,000 student loan to repay. If I go back to traditional pain treatment I will be unable to repay my loan. I will never be able to complete the required apprenticeship to get my contractors license in my chosen field. This is my retirement plan. This ban is in effect canceling my life.
I am sure there should be some regulation applied to this plant as far as accessibility by youth. I should not be made a criminal for responsibly treating my chronic pain. If this plant is actually studied with real science it will be found to be quite beneficial in a number of ways. As for the pathetic numbers the DEA has given for their ban. I have 100,000 X more chance of dying if I have to go to a hospital than by using Kratom.
Hospitals kill 440,000 people a year by mistakes. Preventable deaths by hospitals 440,000. That is a scary number. That is perspective!
http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/newsroom/display/hospitalerrors-thirdleading-causeofdeathinus-improvementstooslow
I am deeply disappointed and I’m deeply outraged. Until a year ago my choices were few and far between to treat 2 very debilitating neurological issues. Then came my discovery of Kratom. Having suffered very painfully for years and remained on long term opiate therapy as well as many other medications that came with a whole host of bad side effects, I was desperate to gain some semblance of life. I was a burden to my family and would have already become a burden on our government. While its not a cure it is certainly effective and its safe. Kratom has saved my life! No one can live in that condition forever and most people can’t even begin to imagine this life. My quality of life was so poor that all my thoughts were about how to end my life without hurting the people I love while becoming highly adept at putting on a good face. Even the use of antidepressants for years did not deliver me from longing for the end. I didn’t want to die, I just wanted the pain to end. Today, pain is more managed than it has been in 15 years. My quality of life has improved quite dramatically! I’m no longer “foggy” from opiates all the time! The daily regimen of meds remaining still present quite a challenge.There may be a day that I have to return to all prescription meds again but I pray that time is not sooner than later. I can’t bear to think of what my life will become again. Please, please, please lift the ban on Kratom. My life still has enormous challenge, please allow me live the best life I can.
You can’t let the DEA’s plan to ban kratom go ahead! There is so much good that kratom does for so many people: it is extremely medicinal and a very effective mental health supplement. It has been for sale for many decades, and shown to be perfectly safe with no recorded ODs. Why does it need an “emergency” scheduling now? This is ridiculous. Any naturopath will tell you that kratom, when taken at a low dose, is very safe, and non-habit forming.
Personally, I have used kratom everyday now for over a year. I heard from an internet forum that it could help with depression and anxiety, as well as bipolar disorder — things I have suffered with for a very long time. I decided to try it out, buying a small amount of capsules. It works great! I take about 1-2 grams a day, far far less than it would take to get someone “high” off of it and it has changed my life! I have motivation, I have much less fear and anxiety in dealing with people and being in crowds. Since starting kratom I have gone back to school to get a Masters degree, left an abusive relationship and have generally had less mood swings and more motivation.
Kratom is a godsend — no other psych med I’ve been put on (a very extensive list) has helped me as much as this simple tea leaf! It is NOT an opioid, but does work as an agonist to the same receptors that opiates/opioids do. An opiate agonist is NOT the same thing as an opiate/opiod — common opiate agonists are chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar, and even meat protein!
To get a kratom “high” you need to take more kratom than most people looking for a cheap high can afford, and even then it is not very good. It almost always induces nausea at those dosages, and does very little but make the user sleepy. At low, medicinal doses, it acts somewhat like a mild stimulant to very sensitive people (it is related to the coffee plant), but also has amazing anxiolytic and mood balancing properties. It is also, from what I have heard, very effective as an analgesic for chronic pain.
I feel like the DEA did absolutely no real research into this wonderful herbal supplement. Likely they just saw the ridiculous over-priced packages of it they sell at headshops that are similar in looks and branding to dangerous drugs like spice and bath salts. Kratom is nothing like those! Most kratom users get it online through reputable retailers, usually as the full leaves to make a tea with or powdered in capsules. They do not take it to get high, they take it because it is effective in treating their medical conditions!
Banning kratom only cause negative effects: people will be more inclined to seek out stronger painkilles, they’ll turn to alcohol and street drugs to dull their depression and mental illnesses, there will be a kratom black market where the quality of the product is questionable and possibly dangerous. And, I hate to say it, but some people, unable to relieve their pain and depression, will commit suicide.
Once again: Do not ban kratom! It doesn’t deserve to be banned, its very helpful and safe, and banning it will only hurt the effort to stop the heroin and pharmaceutical opiate epidemic currently destroying America.
Kratom gave me my life and hope back! I’m a 47 year old, wife, mom and grandma. I have never been in trouble with the law. I have been suffering with RSD for 13 years now. I tried all the pharma drugs and got no relief, only negative side effects. I was a walking zombie yet still in excruciating pain. The depression, anxiety and hopelessness that comes with this disease is debilitating at best. Before I found kratom I spent most days curled up in a ball wishing for death. There is no cure for RSD. But with kratom I can manage my symptoms easier and actually be able to function somewhat normal. Once I found kratom is helped with all my symptoms and I began sleeping through the night for the first time since before my diagnosis. It’s a terrifying prospect to lose katom and the ability to improve my quality of life in a safe, effective manner. Kratom saved my life as it has for many others. Finally a safe alternative to the addictive and dangerous opiates I was once prescribed. And I don’t have to worry about anyone, including my grand kids, OD’ing on it if they get in to it either, You take too much, you puke. You run out, no withdrawals, just the return of the pain and mental issues it causes. Kratom helps keep my thoughts positive and gives me hope for a future where I can manage my health safely. Taking this plant away from us will cause so many to suffer. And in a time where addiction is an epidemic, kratom can and does save so many. I’ve personally seen it help so many people. It would be a true injustice and an invasion of our civil liberties. If we choose to use a safe alternative we shouldn’t be made into criminals for it. #KeepKratomLegal #IAmKratom
Kratom has been life saving & life altering for my husband & I. This proposed ban is absolutely ridiculous & we wanted to share our story.
My husband served 8 years in the US Army & was medically discharged after being hit by an IED. He suffers from chronic pain due to nerve damage as well as severe PTSD, anxiety, depression, & insomnia.
The medication from the VA nearly killed him. They had him on opiates, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, & sleeping pills. Anyone who has taken even just one of those medication knows the “brain fog” you experience & obviously effects your ability to work.
One of the other men he served with suggested he try kratom, after he found it & had a great experience using it. After doing our research on it & hearing so many good things we decided to give it a try.
The difference between my husband on rx drugs & my husband on kratom is absolutely night & day. Kratom EFFECTIVELY helped every condition he’s dealing with & keeps him alert & focused enough to be able to function like normal. Kratom has actually been MORE effective than certain prescription meds. Before kratom, even with all the prescription drugs, he had horrible night terrors just about every single night. He hasn’t experienced ANY after switching to kratom. Kratom gave me my husband back & our kids their dad back.
In addition to his success with it I also found it to be life changing. Years ago, after a bad car accident, I developed a dependence on prescription pain killers. I eventually got off them & switched to suboxone but suboxone had plenty of its own horrible side effects & I hated the way I felt on it. I tried getting off suboxone multiple times but failed every time.
When we were researching kratom for my husband we read about how it’s been used for centuries to ease opiate withdrawal. I decided to give it a try & was shocked at how much it helped.
I’d been on 16mg of suboxone daily for years so I was expecting brutal withdrawals. I stopped taking it cold turkey & had kratom tea in the morning, afternoon, & evening. Anyone who has gone through opiate withdrawal knows how horrible they are. I kept waiting for the worst to kick in & could not believe how few withdrawals I had. The worst I felt was mild flu-like symptoms from coming off suboxone but overall felt fine to go to work & keep up with all my other responsibilities.
My husband & I are not felons. He is a supervisor at an oil company & I’m a full time trainer at a credit union. We are home owners & parents of happy kids who attend private school. In our extra time we foster animals & help them find forever homes.
I’m terrified for us & thousands of others if this ban goes through. Opiate overdoses increase every time kratom is banned but it’s not just the overdoses- it’s also the loss of QUALITY of life kratom has given so many of us. I can’t even imagine going back to prescription medication after how far we’ve come.
This proposed ban is just unreal & all I can do is hope that common sense & what’s right prevails here. Kratom alone has not cost a single life & it has been life saving for thousands.
If this ban goes through you’ll be making felons out of good people just trying to live a normal, healthy life.
I suffer from debilitating mouth ulcers – 4 to 5 times a year, for at least a month, ulcers form up and down my esophagus – during which times I take the weakest version of hydrocodone which allows me to work and stand the pain — normally my doctor would give me two refills just to get through the current outbreak – but because of the DEA limiting hydrocodone to no refills, when I run out I have to hope I can get an apt just for the doctor to give me a new prescription. All I do it walk in, say hello, walk out with the prescription – twice – and I have to shell out $245.00 each time to get this prescription and since this happens 4 to 5 times a year , the DEA has now just increased my doctors bill over $2,000 a year.
I just tried Kratom – it’s not a cure all, it tastes bad, like a plant, it doesn’t remove all the pain, however, I have found out that if I mix it with lemon tea, it takes the edge off and I can work without hydrocodone, I still take hydrocodone, but during those times I take only 1 hydrocodone, and only at night to sleep.
There is no reason to bad this, Kratom is not heroin, but if needed, make it so that you have to be at least 18 to buy, like with other drugs you can buy, e.g., Sudafed –
I am a cervical cancer survivor with severe endo and as a result I was forced into very early menopause. For women, suffering from endo and going through menopause is the worst of both worlds and treatment is a catch 22. HRT has to be taken, but the endo prevents you from doing so, unless you want debilitating pain for the next 30 years. Enter kratom. Kratom has made all menopausal symptoms AND endo symptoms go away. I have been taking kratom for almost a decade and I feel great. It helps me live a normal, pain free, life.
I have horrible social anxiety that has been treated with a wide range of pharmaceuticals that have taken me from “high” to a zombie… along with alcohol which helped, but I didn’t like how it made me feel either. I heard about Kratom from a friend that takes it for back pain. I heard that it helps with anxiety, so after doing a ton of research, I gave it a try around 5 years ago. It took some time to find the perfect dose, but it’s been a miracle for me and my family. I’m able to function normally now and I even hold a full time job where I need to interact with others all the time. I don’t get “high” or even feel anything from it, besides being able to combat my anxiety. Please do not ban Kratom, but rather regulate it and make it 18/21+. That will help make it safer and allow those of us to continue life without going back to harsh medications.
I keep kratom on hand (but rarely use it) because I have had recurring kidney stones and needed to have 10/325 norco’s to alleviate the pain. I haven’t had the stones now for awhile, but my last bout with them cost me $7k in an ER visit because it was the middle of the night and I didn’t have anything on hand. With kratom, I’m not worried that I might suddenly wake up in terrible pain and have to decide whether to writhe in agony until my specialist’s office opens up or drive to the ER and sacrifice my daughter’s college tuition. I could take some kratom to dull the pain until the office opens (if necessary).
I know my story pales in comparison to everyone else’s but that ease of mind means a lot to me!
I am a 61 year old retired educator and school administrator with 31 years of public school service. I am writing to you because I am appalled at the DEA’s decision to ban kratom as of September 30th without proper research, and without any input from the citizens or the officials elected by citizens. It is clear, from even their statistics, that kratom is not truly a national emergency and imminent danger, unlike detergent pods and legal prescription opioids.
I suffer from severe arthritis and can barely walk; many days I am unable to use my hands because of the pain. For five years I was in constant pain and had been on prescription drugs that nearly destroyed my life. I was ready to give up, but then I found out about kratom. I now choose to use a natural plant-based medication instead of the prescription narcotics. I believe it has saved my life, and I’ll suffer a severe setback when kratom is made illegal. This ban will destroy my quality of life. My health is now better than ever. My blood pressure is no longer high and my cholesterol levels are better than ever. I credit kratom for all this. I cannot go back to relying on prescriptions that cause me bad physical side effects, anxiety, and depression. The shop I purchase my kratom from can testify that most of their kratom customers are people my age and older. Young people and drug addicts don’t like kratom because it doesn’t give you any high or “buzz.” Blaming kratom for those 15 deaths is like blaming Coca Cola for your hangover instead of the whiskey you mixed it with. The DEA should know better, and I believe they do. The DEA will be responsible for the overdoses that come from people forced to go back to prescription drugs and, worse, heroin, because of their decision. Just look at what happened in Alabama when kratom was recently made illegal. They’ll also be responsible for increase in an elderly jail population when all us senior citizens are arrested with a schedule 1 drug in our possession.
I hate that I can no longer trust government agencies like the DEA and CDC who pretend to have my best interest in hand but appear to really be protecting drug dealers and big business including pharmaceutical companies. Please look at the real facts about kratom, and not the scare tactics being used, and allow this plant of God’s creating to be researched further. Thank you for your time and God Bless you!
I have chronic pain ,scoliosis, sciatica, arthritis and I am prescribed opioids for my pain. I got very frustrated having to take my pain meds as they don’t work as well over time and was tierd of being in a fog and still not living the quality of life that I knew I should be living ..so I searched the internet for natural pain reliever and came across kratom..after studying kratom for about 6 months I decided to purchase some over the Internet at a reputable place and tried some with my carnation milk shake I found a great difference right away and was able to start taking less and less of my medications ..as time went on my pain was at a lower level then it has ever been..no more fog and I was able to start living the quality of life that I knew I wanted to live again..and that is just what’s it’s done for me..Look at all these other testimonials. .This is by far a wonderful plant to be respected and to be grateful for..Taking this plant away will do way more harm then good…please reconsider what you are doing. .if you are really trying to help the people of this great country please keep this plant legal ..Banning it will only cause alot of hurt and pain that doesn’t need to happen. .I am I mother,grandmother, daughter, sister and friend.. God Bless ♡
Please do not ban Kratom it is the only effective method that I have found to help me sleep at night and ease my chronic pain. I have tried prescription and OTC meds and they either don’t work or impair my motor skill and cause heavy withdraw symptoms or leave me groggy in the morning. With Kratom I have been able to abandon all my Medication, ease my chronic pain, and get a good night sleep. this is a very useful plant that serves as a safe alternative dangerous prescription drugs. PLEASE DEA DO NOT BAN KRATOM
I am writing to voice my opinion as to the effort by the DEA to move kratom to a schedule 1 drug. After a work-related accident and numerous back surgeries left me with debilitating pain, I was forced into the nightmare of addiction to prescription pain medications. I am certain that the doctors meant no harm and, for a while, the medications were effective. Over time the effectiveness of the drugs diminished and I was forced to higher and higher dosages which eventually made my quality of life miserable. After nearly a decade in that hopeless cycle I found an alternative that allows me to function normally in society and maintain employment without the harsh effects of prescription pain medications. That alternative, for me, was kratom. It has been nothing short of life-saving for me as I am free from the effects of narcotics with a very manageable pain level. I can’t imagine, for the life of me why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence and first hand testimony of millions of Americans in support of kratom’s safety and efficacy, the DEA is trying to classify this TRADITIONAL TEA LEAF as a Schedule 1 drug. In my mind it smacks of a quest for more power and authority for the administrator and his organization. This ruling would effectively turn myself and millions of other Americans using this plant into felons overnight costing taxpayers millions while obliterating current federal research on the plant. In light of this, one has to ask, is the DEA is more interested in maintaining failed drug policies than in making decisions based on scientific evidence? Overwhelming evidence, thousands of years of use, and my own experience leads me to believe that kratom is a safe alternative to prescription opiates with important medicinal uses and has changed the lives of so many Americans including myself. I fear this action by the DEA will only lead to more tragic deaths of victims of the opiate epidemic by effectively casting them back into the current opioid and heroin epidemic. I fear that is exactly what will happen to me. Trust me. I do not wish that feeling of hopelessness and despair on anyone. Especially those who suffer from legitimate pain issues and have no other recourse but to resume that addiction nightmare. I would also be very interested to know how much influence the big drug companies have on this decision. I am sorry for the length of this post but I feel that my, and my family’s, situation will become desperate. I only wonder what they will come after next?
I am a 37 year old single mother and widow. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a year before I lost my husband because of a drunk driver. The pain from my disease was debilitating. Waking up to care for my child bordered impossible. I tried a number of drugs from my doctor, many opioids, and not only did they not work after a few weeks, the side effects were horrendous. I was moody, tired, had dental problems, still in pain and if I tired to go a day without to get my mind stable I would be incredibly sick. I went to a wellness shop out of desperation one day, and the women that owned the store introduced me to kratom. It was nothing short of a miracle. I had energy, my pain was gone, there were no side effects and I never in the four years of taking it had to increase my dose. I don’t get high off kratom, I did however get high off the oxycodone the doctor prescribed. It’s disturbing that the DEA would rather have me high, still in pain and every other terrible side effect around my child, then to give me the choice to an herbal alternative. I am terrified to have to go back to the doctors poison. How dare you take my right to live a productive life away from me. Who are you to control how I chose to care for my body? We are not free, we are controlled by wealthy and greedy corporations that have no problem destroying people’s lives for their financial gain. Your taking away my ability to care properly for myself and my child. Not everyone is blessed with good health, you should walk a mile in their shoes before you make decisions that effect their well being.
Hello. I am a 57 year old woman who has been using Kratom for 10 plus years. It has been a life saver for me with chronic pain, lethargy and outlook. Discovering and using Kratom has given me the ability to live instead of exist. I started using kratom when I was in bed for one year, contemplating suicide. it allowed a lift in my mood to pull the curtains and look out the window. it allowed me to take a shower. it allowed me to change from wearing the same nightgown for a year to showering daily and putting on clean clothes. it allowed me to put hair color in my hair without leaving it in for a week simply because “I couldn’t rinse it out”. It allowed me to take a basket of socks and matching them. This is all while I was addressing my condition. I was seeing a psychiatrist. I was so treatment resistant. Please don’t take this away from us, you have no idea what you’re doing. You have no idea what it feels like when you cannot move due to physical and mental pain. I lost my job due to the physical and mental pain. I lost my family at that time and I credit Kratom to being able to build myself back up, step by step, to who I thankfully am today.
Kratom saved my life. Before I found kratom, I was hopelessly addicted to pain killers I started on after a bike accident almost killed me. A few years after the accident, I was on suboxone for four years btw, I had to hit the streets to treat mt phantom pain and cravings. I had no life. When I you d kratom, I was able to taper off opiates completely… To the point I realized I wasn’t even in PAIN! The opioids had trained my brain to send false pain signals so it could get more drugs and satisfy it’s addiction .
This herb is the only thing that has helped me with anxiety and depression. After a particularly trying year ( my 79 year old mom became ill, And I had to take care of her. She ended up in long term care, and I had to sell her house. During this time, I had to leave my job in order to be available for her 24/7.), I turned to my doctor to try a few things. That’s something I’ve never done, but I was kind of desperate. What he gave me (and he’s a good guy, it’s not his bad), didn’t work, or made me feel worse. This herb is the only thing that has helped with the anxiety which in turn helped me to deal with my overall stress. After trying my doctor’s prescriptions and having them not work or make me feel worse, I did try other herbs such as St. John’s wort, but nothing really worked as well as kratom. I’ve been taking it since around June. And it’s helped lift the cloud, without making me feel impaired, or straight up bad (like the antidepressants did.) Kratom has been a god send.
When I was just 18 I was prescribed opiates by my family doctor to treat chronic pain. After just a short time I found myself physically dependent, and before I knew it my life was spiraling downhill. I couldn’t function as a normal human being or member of society without the dangerous opiates, and thus the problem kept on progressing and getting worse. As a result I dropped out of college and was reduced to a being desperate just to survive on a daily basis. Then I found kratom. It was a natural safe solution which allowed me to become free of my deadly opiate dependency with literally no negative repercussions. With kratom I could now function as a normal being. I could think clearly, I could stay awake, I could be active. Thanks to this herb I went back to college and ended up graduating from the number one public school in the nation becoming a contributing member of society. Thank you CRE for taking these crucial steps towards proposing a sensible solution to this important topic.
To me, what is happening here is absolutely criminal. I discovered Kratom about a year ago. I wish I had discovered it sooner. The damage I have done to my body per my physician’s instructions is slowly reversing thanks to the health benefits that Kratom has afforded me. The DEA is taking something from me that has given me quality of life back, given a mother back to my children, a wife back to my husband, and my mother no longer worries that I will “accidentally” kill myself on pain killers. Kratom is a plant with no added synthetics. It has made me more self aware where I no longer put processed foods, or sugary drinks in my body. I overall feel so much healthier, and look forward to each new day, rather than being eager to get in bed and stay there. I am a professional, with no more than a speeding ticket on my record. This is not a drug, but a lifestyle for health
Kratom saved my life. Please do not make me a criminal.
Hi, I am a 57 year old women who has been living with Fibromyalgia for over 10 years. Doctors have prescribed numerous pharmaceutical medications which have been of little help. In addition, I have herniated discs in my neck and lower back. I had to cut back on my Dental Hygiene hours to 6 hours a month because the results of my illness and back issues made it nearly impossibe to perform my tasks without being in horrible pain along with fatigue that would keep me in bed for days. I only did this small amount of hours to stay in the loop and keep my license active. Luckly I was able to obtain another job out of my field with a drastic pay cut which made life even more unbearable because of finances. I found Kratom through numerous searchs for a natural supplement and joined some groups to learn more. All I have to say is wow because I have been using this miracle plant now for 4 months and it has totally improved the way I feel. I am a productive member of society and wish to remain that way and even plan on going back to practicing Dental Hygiene which is my profession I educated myself for and love. #IAmKratom. #StopTheBan.
There is no reason for kratom to be prohibited under Schedule 1 in Autumn 2016. This plant has been a life-saving gift for many who find pharmaceutical medications are not sufficient to mitigate damaging health issues that keep them from living productively. When so many people rely on the benefits of this simple plant to help them live decently & productively, there needs to be much more study of this plant than there is now. Prohibition will disable that study completely. In its natural form kratom is a relative to the coffee plant, with no more ill effect than coffee has now. If coffee is not prohibited in our communities, kratom should not be prohibited either. It has made an enormous difference in our lives. Please continue to enable us to experience and appreciate the benefits of this God-given plant! Without prohibition, many more of us can benefit from kratom in the future. Many more of us can experience the health-given properties of this simple herbal supplement, with untold positives for our community and society! Personally I’ve found great benefit in kratom, to help me manage painful arthritis, sciatica and fibromyalgia. In addition to these illnesses I have life-long pain due to scoliosis and lordosis, two types of spinal curvature. I’m managing these conditions much better than I was before discovering this herb. I’m living a much fuller life thanks to kratom!
I am begging you, please don’t take this herb away! It is the only thing that helps with my depression. It saved my life from prescription medication. My mother who is 58 has suffered chronic Lyme disease and crontic fatigue most of my life. For the first time in 28 years I have a normal mother. She has been in and out of doctors my whole life and this herb and saved her. I beg you please let us continue to buy this wonderful medicine. We aren’t drug addicts we are normal people benefitting from a wonderful herb. Please think twice before banning it. I will seriously do anything to help keep it legal.
There are many of us who’ve suffered so much from taking these drugs that the doctors push. In an effort to line the FDA’s pockets with even more money the DEA wants to take away a natural plant that works for many of us and has for many years. I’ve suffered from pain for a lot of years. When I found Kratom, I was on a lot of pharmaceutical drugs that were suppose to “help me”. In the end the only things it helped me to do was gain weight and become addicted to opiates, never helping to manage my symptoms. Then, the doctor took those away because the government stepped in and said doctors are over prescribing, which left me with horrible withdrawls. I was then referred to a Pain Management Doctor who again prescribed more opiates, along with a multitude of other medicines that never helped me. When I found Kratom, it was a miracle. I was able to ween myself off of all the medications prescribed to me. I no longer take anything except Kratom.It has helped my pain like nothing ever has before. Did all of my pain disappear ? No but, it is manageable now. I was able to stop taking the antidepressant Cybalta because Kratom helped my depression. I was having panic attacks, my anxiety was at an all time high and my pain was off the charts. Kratom has even helped me get some of the weight off. Over the last year and half I have lost close to 50 pounds. That weight was caused from taking the approved poison that the doctors were prescribing. I feel much better than I did a year and half ago. To make Kratom a schedule 1 drug will hurt a lot of people who use it. I never wish to feel the way I felt a year and half ago. I contemplated suicide many times because my life was nothing but, pain, day after day. and I was a burden to my husband. To take away Kratom is to take away my life once again. I never want to go back to those days. I’m raising my 2 year old grandson due to his mother giving him away. He needs me. I could never do that without this plant’s leaves. It has changed EVERYTHING in my life for the better.
I have heard a lot of stories about Kratom helping with heroin addicts and such. I have never done heroin but I was a meth addict and alcoholic. I was in and out of rehab centers multiple times and always relapsed eventually within a year. The main reason I was an alcoholic and then meth addict is because I suffered from depression since age 16 years old. Because of my depression I turned to alcohol for help which just made it worse. Then turned to meth after needing more help from being an alcoholic. Both just made my life extremely worse and I thought there was no way out. Then one of my friends told me about Kratom and how it helps with depression so that you can stop the need for your addictions to alcohol and hard drugs. So I decided I would give it a try because I was so sick of being addicted to these two substances destroying my life. Now all I have to say is I have a great career, and want to live life everyday. I no longer have Suicidal Thoughts!! Also after relapsing within a year of each Rehabilitation Center I am proud to say I have not relapsed once in over 6 almost 7 years thanks to kratom! Meth is another one of those hard drugs that according to statistics there’s a 99% chance of relapse. Well I was one of those statistics until I found kratom and it has been many years with no relapses. I never thought I would see the day when my life would be where I am today. I used to be homeless, with no money, living on the streets, and begging for money to get high. Now I have a great job, pay my bills on time, want to wake up every morning and be productive. I do not understand how something (kratom) that can cause someone like me to be a productive member of society should be banned. When I think of harmful drugs, I think of stuff that makes you lose everything that’s important. Kratom is not like that at all it actually has done the opposite and helped me get back everything important that I lost because of alcohol and meth. This plant has saved my life and instead of wanting to stick my head in the sand, I want to wake up every morning and do what needs to be done to be successful. I do not want to go back to what I was before. Please do not ban Kratom because I feel if you banned Kratom that you are saying you ban me too!
I am a 41 year old mother of 4 beautiful children. I can not take pharma pills due to that my body reacts bad. 18 years of suffering so much with pain and no energy due to endometriosis, arthritis and chronic kidney stones,. I started to take kratom 3 years ago and I started to feel much better and I am no longer bedridden. I am able to do a lot cook, work,clean and care for my children esp ecially my daughter with type 1 diabetes. Kratom has made it possible to have some kind of pain free life before I die. I am in fear of my future.With kratom I can function like a normal mom, please my children especially my daughter with type 1 diabetes needs me to be pain free. IN the bible . Gen 1.29 “So God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you” . God gave me this plant to help myself, no man has the right to take away a plant that GOD gave me, no man.
I’m 44 years old. When I was about 22, I was diagnosed with OCD and Anxiety disorders. I didn’t know that I had it until my job stressed me out so much that my anxiety and OCD was triggered and it’s never really gone away since. The doctor put me on 20 mg of Prozac and over the years has increased the dosage to 60 mg. But after about 10 years, I realized it wasn’t working well anymore, because those feelings of anxiety were coming back and I couldn’t shake them off. About 4 years ago, I decided to try kratom for anxiety and it works so much better. I don’t have to take the Prozac any more and I don’t have the undesirable side-effects from the prescription drug. I’ve lost close to 50 pounds, because I’m much more alert and active on kratom. I used to come home and sleep for 15 hours a day. Now I sleep about 6 to 8 hours, like normal people do. Not to get too personal, but the Prozac also had a negative effect on my sex drive and my wife is much happier now that I’ve found a better anti-anxiety treatment. I’ve been taking kratom daily for over 4 years now. It doesn’t get me high – it makes me feel like a normal human being again. I get things done and my judgement doesn’t get clouded by anxiety and paranoia like it used to. Please do not ban kratom – I don’t want to have to go back to a less effective choice with unpleasant side-effects.
I’m a thirty-three year old working professional in the legal field, as well as an artist and lover of history and other such things. I’ve been taking kratom for a little over eight years, and this pending action is devastating to me and to so many I’ve encountered.
I am not one looking to feel intoxicated; I am not trying to do anything that could jeopardize my standing in my career or within my life. I abide the laws and I work my best to be an upstanding, respectable and productive member of society.
Kratom saved my life from spiraling out of my own control, and it gave me back so much hope and so much of what I could achieve as a human being before life threw curveballs at me. Anxiety, panic disorder, and a decline in quality of life was leading me down a road I didn’t understand and couldn’t rise from. And then I found kratom.
Taking this from people who utilize it to better their quality of life is, in a word, cruel. Basing the decision on misinformation and ignorance – or, dare I wonder, corruption – is a slap in the face to all those who still believe in this country and believe that there are genuine and true people in our government.
Kratom may not be a cure-all, wonder herb – but it’s certainly not a dangerous one deserving this level of prohibitory treatment from those who claim that they are acting on the greater good of public safety.
The public is speaking to you now.
Listen to us.
This proposed ban on Kratom is, honestly, ridiculous and misguided, unless of course, the reason is to help Pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in money and kill people with their dangerous opiate drugs. The DEA calls Kratom an opioid. It is NOT an opioid, although it works on the the opioid receptors. It’s impossible to overdose on Kratom because, if one takes too much, they simply throw up. It’s also impossible to get high on Kratom. I used it to wean myself off a 27-year methadone addiction and there is no high at all! I know what getting high is and this just doesn’t do it. Also, when Kratom was banned in some US states, overdoses from other drugs doubled! I’ve helped other addicts end their addictions with Kratom and have never seen any adverse effects from it. I’ve seen plenty of good effects, like the resumption of normal, productive lifestyle, family reconciliation and improved health. The only possible reasons to place Kratom on Schedule 1 are ignorance and/or the DEA benefiting from promoting big Pharma. Either the DEA is ignorant or they think the American people are ignorant. Let me assure you, we aren’t and we are fighting for our rights to use natural, God-given substances to benefit our own health and well being.
As a Veteran who has been put on many opioids, anti-anxiety and anti-seizure medications, kratom was a Godsend. I was able to shut down the fentanyl, xanax and keppra. Now after a year of feeling great I again face the sedation of the other so-called approved medications. How can the DEA say that xanax and valuim are only slightly addicting? Its because kratom doesnt make big pharma money and so their lapdog, the DEA is out to shut it down.
how would you like to feel like a knife entering your body , like someone stabbing you over and over again. A pain so intense , a pain that is unbearable that you feel like your dying. This is the pain I had for 18 years until I found kratom. I have been crying just thinking about the pain that I well have without kratom. l it is not the kratom it is just thinking about the pain I well be having in the future. this is jennifer i wrote above i just forgot to add this.
I was a teacher, Studied Sign Language, Real Estate, even had my bartender’s license. I had a mother, sister & brother, in-laws, nieces & nephews, cousins and wonderful friends. I became ill 18 yrs ago and lost them ALL. These Dr.s I put my faith into prescribed meds that only at the very beginning helped. It wasn’t but a short period of time before I became dependant on them and they would no longer work the same. Dr.s would increase the dosage, but the only thing that would happen would be an increase of my dependency on them and the horrible side effects, not too mention robbing me of a clear state of consciousness. I failed! And even though I knew it wasn’t directly my fault, because of my illnesses, I felt like I was a failure at all the things I worked so hard to achieve, and the most important job of all, being a mother, has completely devastated me. If it were not for my children, I wouldn’t have a reason to go on. That is until I found Kratom. With this amazing God given plant, I found the faith and support needed to work towards making the changes to live a healthier lifestyle. I am no longer using the drugs that robbed me of any kind of quality of life but I am using a plant that has given me my life back!! When will it happen that “We The People” will become what is important again. Please help stop this ban and not take away the quality of life Kratom has given back to us. Time is precious on this earth, please let us live that time free of pain and anxieties. Please let us live with the freedom we were given to live off the land if we so choose. Please let us live with Kratom!
Some people was find ways to ease different ailment through natural herbal supplements, what’s the harm in that? Kratom help lead happy and productive life by lifting my depression and anxiety. it didn’t cure anything but IT HELPED tremendously. To the powers that be, please don’t ban kratom (a tea leap) it helps some many ppl. For me I also have a certain belief that I should be entitled to every herb, tree, blade of green, seed on the planet because that’s why GOD put them here, for man’s use (Gen 1:29). Kratom has truly been a GOD send herb, it has given me a somewhat normal of a life back. Don’t take that away, from people benefiting most. We are not lying about kratom it does help, not cure just help. I still have depression and anxiety on occasion but just not as bad. I just wake up the morning and (ONCE) a day have a cup of tea and that’s it for kratom and NO MORE for the whole. Sometimes I have zero benefits from kratom but most time it calms my anxiety. Kratom is not some miracle, its just an herb that has medicinal purpose. Why would someone want to take that away? I It just baffles my mind. Please DEA do the right thing, listen to the people, the proof is in the pudding. KRATOM greatly improved my quatity of life because I am so much more productive. People me all the time you’re as depressed as I used to be and that’s a good thing, don’t ya think? I do! Thank you for listening to the people.
I am a single mother to 4 wonderful children. They are 14, 12, 11, and 1yo. I have been taking Kratom for 4 years now. Before Kratom I had taken a laundry list of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. All of these had unwanted and sometimes disastrous side effects on me. One medication that I took for nearly a year, the last anti-depressant I ever took, caused me to be suicidal. I didn’t even realize I was suicidal. The ONLY reason I am here today is because without me, my children have nobody to care for them. Whenever I felt the urge to drive my car off the side of a bridge or cliff I thought about that. Other than this I felt great on the medication. That is the scary part. I felt great! The suicidal thoughts were super exciting to me and sounded like so much fun. The thought of flying free for a few seconds before I died sounded like so much fun it was so worth it to me. I had a bit of resentment towards my kids because I HAD to take care of them so I couldn’t do what I wanted to. The only reason I stopped taking this medication is because my insurance ran out and for a short time I didn’t have any insurance and couldn’t afford it on my limited income. I went through horrible withdrawls and was very depressed again but I suddenly realized that my “happiness” while on the medication was totally based around me being suicidal and fantasizing about killing myself!!! It was at this point that I said NO MORE!! I started searching and researching alternative medicine and trying to get my body HEALTHY through supplements in the hopes that doing that would help my mental health and I could combat my problems without pharmaceuticals. I started reading about Kratom. I saw hundreds of stories from people about how much it had helped them, with NO side effects! I decided to try it. I found a vendor I was comfortable with and made my first purchase. I started out with an extremely small dose as I am very cautious with anything I put in my body. Even on a tiny dose I could feel a difference. I increased a little at a time (1/4 teaspoon) until I felt like I got the best benefit I could from it. That took me about 2 weeks. I was also, at the time, a heavy coffee drinker. I would have a 12 cup pot in the morning and another in the evening and between that I was chugging down soft drinks about a 12pk per day. I always felt sluggish and tired. The first thing I noticed with Kratom was that I had energy. I would take my dose in the morning and within 30 minutes I was ready to face the day. I didn’t feel as depressed. I started actually speaking to people, even strangers!! That was huge for me since for the previous 10 years I had essentially been a shut in. The biggest thing was that my children had their mom back! They were very happy that mommy had her tea that helped her. They are STILL very happy. My two oldest children cried when I told them about the ban on Sept 30th. They remember what life was like before Kratom and do NOT want to go back to that. They don’t want to see their mom have a full blown anxiety attack because someone she doesn’t know knocked on the door, or they come home with a birthday party invitation and the thought of going and even just dropping them off is enough to terrify me. Why am I this way you might ask. I am a survivor of childhood traumas. Sexual abuse by two of my male relatives, beatings by multiple members of my family, surrounded by alcoholics and addicts (something I swore never to become and I have very proud to say I have NEVER walked down that path no matter how bad life has gotten at times). This brings me to another point. The reports that Kratom gets you high. This is FALSE! I have never been high on Kratom. The reports that you can overdose on Kratom. Firstly, you can overdoes on just about anything. Water, caffeine, alcohol, aspirin, Tylenol, antibiotics, and salt just to name a few. If a person takes more Kratom than they should they will feel nauseated and probably vomit. From what I have heard the best thing to do is lie down and let it pass. I did take too much when I was first trying to get my dose right. I felt a little nauseated and laying down for about 30-45 minutes took care of that. Any deaths associated with Kratom I am sure were cases where it was mixed with something else, possibly a more potent drug, or the person died from a preexisting condition not related to Kratom at all. This is a safe tree leaf that has been used for thousands of years.
My background: a Free American citizen living in a supposed democracy which was designed to ensure my rights were not violated by an overcontrolling and all-powerful government; 51 year old male and father of one; suffer with chronic pain caused by fibro and small nerve autonomic neuropathy; work full-time as a college instructor and I want to keep my job rather than go on disability; law-abiding: I have never been arrested and I pay my taxes; I am not now, nor have I ever been, a drug addict; depressed with anxiety disorder; I take less than 10g of Kratom leaf every day to bring my pain level down to a level where I can function and to ease my depression and anxiety. Kratom is helping me avoid disabilty and keep my job.
Like thousands of Americans, the only pain treatment which works that “modern” medicine can provide me is prescription opioids. I started with Tramadol, because it is one of the safest opioids, at one 50mg tablet per day. On the days I did not take it, I felt horrible and basically layed on the couch or in bed all day; I could not function, nor could I work. Tramadol was a wonder drug in the beginning, but I quickly became tolerant to the dose I was taking, so I took the next step on the road to opioid dependence and addiction: my PA increased my dose to 2 tablets per day, and then when I became tolerant to that, 3 tablets per day. Without kratom I would probably be at 4 to 5 tablets per day. I see no end to this: with opioids, I seem to be destined to increasing doses of tramadol until I reach the daily maximum, at which time my PA would be very happy to prescribe me a stronger opioid (she really is more than willing to do so). That’s right. As long as I take them according to prescription, I have easy access to opioids. So why not just enjoy the fun? First, it is not fun! The opioids, and kratom as well, do not make the pain go away; they simply temporarily mask it. I want a cure. Second, I really, really, really, abhor taking opioids. They cause side effects that I do not experience with kratom. The constipation sucks. The opioid-induced insomnia sucks. The tolerance sucks. The potential for abuse sucks. As opposed to kratom, opioids can truly be dangerous and deadly drugs. Opioids are not something I want in my medicine cabinet nor in my body.
I started taking kratom daily 1.5 years ago so I could reduce the amount of or eliminate the tramadol I was on. I am down to one tramadol tablet daily and with the 6-8 g or kratom leaf that I take, I feel better than ever. I”m still very depressed, but not suicidal and wishing for death the way I was before I begain taking kratom. Kratom has only a very few side effects, but they are tolerable and I am very willing to live with them because of the increased quality of life that I experience.
Like the thousands of respected, law-abiding, working Americans who are simply taking kratom to pallliate a medical condition for which modern medicine has few solutions, I know that kratom is a relatively safe and effective medicine. I have never had a negative experience with the therapeutic daily dose that I take. Why can’t the government spend the money they are going to waste trying to enforce a ban on kratom to fund medical and scientific studies to truly answer once and for all how effective (or ineffective, if that is the case) kratom can be, and to identify the benefits and the risks. I would rather the government spend money ensuring that the kratom that I legally purchase is safe and pure. I am less concerned now with impurities than I would be when kratom becomes available on the black market. It is so sadly laughable: the DEA claims that the kratom sold by brick-and-mortar and online vendors is of such questionable quality that it must be immediately eliminated from the marketplace. Does anyone at DEA truly believe that the kratom supply will suddenly dry up? Of course it will not: there will be continued demand from the dumbass kids who think they get “high” from it, but also from patients who are responsibly using kratom (we are NOT drug abusers) to palliate all sorts of pain and suffering. This ensures supply will remain. But when the ban takes effect, I would be seriously concerned what other drugs the black market kratom might contain. For the dumbasses, idiots, and social misfits who think they can get “high” from kratom (honestly, we do not need you nor do we want you; go away and stop giving a beneficial herbal medicine a bad name), black market kratom will be guaranteed to be adulterated because you cannot get “high” from this herb alone. So now I am doubly screwed. I cannot continue to responsibly use kratom to provide pain relief so I can keep working and have a less-than-miserable quality of life without committing a felony when I purchase it, but I would be terrified to purchase it because God knows what other drugs will be mixed with it. Thanks DEA. Thanks for ruining my life. Thanks for forcing back on larger doses of prescription opioids. Thanks for lowering my quality of life. Should things go seriously south, thanks DEA for causing my suicide when I can no longer cope with the pain and the depression. The blood of every American who ends up dying by being forced back on to prescription opioids is on DEA’s hands.
2 years ago I laid in bed, crying and in severe pain due to fibromyalgia .. All the doctors want to do is prescribe pain meds! I am a 46 year old mother of 3 Getting ready to celebrate my 24th wedding anniversary, have been a house cleaner for many years .. My life was in the pits, deep depression, sad and in pain Barely could get out of bed to fix lunch or dinner for my husband. Just happened to find Kratom, did MUCH research and after trying EVERY essential oil and EVERY supplement even ordered tea from China! Seriously! After my first few days of Kratom I found myself actually looking forward to the day, few days later I was able to clean the house and not need to spend 3 hours in bed because of it! I’m not a drug addict, I don’t get high, but Kratom has allowed me to live my life! I do not want the drugs the doctors prescribe! So why in the world would you want to create a possible drug addict? This ban will only cause me to double up on my pain meds. Why would you want to cause that? What is the deal? I’m taking a NATURAL PLANT! Instead of synthetic crap that can only cause a life long addiction! I enjoy being a productive member of society! Not a burden and drug addict!
https://medium.com/@mattcam/the-dea-is-about-to-make-me-a-criminal-and-end-the-last-best-hope-for-the-american-opiate-crisis-2b5c919bbcbb
Two years ago I was about to lose my job and be at the mercy of the state. I was laid up in bed and sleeping all day, sleeping off side effects of the many, many medications the doctors gave me to combat my chronic pain. I was to the point that i did not want to live anymore. I prayed every night that tonight would be my night to go to sleep and not wake up in the morning. I knew this was not the life i wanted to live. I have ehlers-danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, chronic colitis, increased intracranial pressure, and intraoccular pressure. The burning pain of the neuropathy made me unable to walk some days, and the migraines from the head and eye pressure made it so some days i couldn’t stand to open my eyes. I have been treated like a faker, a crazy person, and as a drug seeker, when all I wanted was some relief so I could have some kind of a normal life. I joined some online support groups to try to improve my frame of mind, and someone shared an article about kratom. I did a lot of research, and I read countless testimony from people who had found it before myself. I decided to take a leap of faith and give it a try, as nothing else was working. I cried the first time I tried it, because the burning lessened to the point that I could walk. It lifted my mood so that I didn’t have a black cloud hanging over my head. And since that day I haven’t looked back. Two years later and I am now working full time again with my own insurance and no state aid. I can again do things with my children and enjoy myself with them, with friends, with family. I have tapered off of the antidepressants, the antiseizure medications, and I take no prescription pain medications. My doctor has been amazed at my transformation, and encourages me to stay on the path that I am on. If my doctor supports this, if my family supports it, if it does not make me high and helps me maintain a stable life, with a stable job, how is that a bad thing? Take a look at us, and you will see that we are NOT what the DEA claims we are. We are professionals, we are mothers, we are grandparents, we are spouses. It would be unfair to not let us decide for ourselves as American ADULT citizens. It is our God given right to choose a PLANT over poison. And the fact that they made a synthetic version of our beloved plant before banning the natural occurance of it REALLY shows the corruption here. (PZM21) It takes all compounds of the plant working together that makes it so special. A synthetic will probably make us all worse. Do your homework and see what it REALLY is before you decide to rip it away from us that just want one thing. To live as normal a life as possible with the horrible circumstances we have been handed.
I have been using Kratom for 8 years. I have 3 herniated discs in my back and have permanent debilitating sciatica as well as severe depression resulting from my pain riddled existence .In coping with both physical and emotional pain I turned to drinking alcohol to numb my body and mind. I am proud to say that Kratom has helped me stop drinking alcohol completely and has turned my life around. Kratom has helped me function and lead a normal productive life that would otherwise be comprimised without the use of life threatening opiates which I am strongly against putting in to my body.I was concerned about the health impacts of Kratom when I first started using the leaf regularly, so after the second year of utilizing the plant daily, I went in to my family doctor to receive a physical checkup. I had my blood work ran as well as other tests to see if there was a negative impact from my daily use of Kratom.Not only did my tests come back with flying colors in terms of liver and kidney function, enzyme levels ect ,my cholesterol level and blood pressure also came down from my previous test results. I should also note that I have mistakenly taken a 12 gram dose of 100x extract ( an ungodly large dose) and I am here as living proof it would be very rare to lethally overdose from Kratom alone. What I would like to see is Kratom regulated to ensure people like myself are receiving the highest quality Kratom available. I would like to see an organic rating system for Kratom as well as fair trade. I would also like to be able to have the right to grow my own Kratom and other medicinal herbs without fear of being punished as a criminal. I am a good person, I am an average working class guy who is finally leading a manageable life with my pain In check thanks to this wonderful natural Herb, and I don’t know where I would be without it.It would be absolutely criminal to take Kratom away from those of us whose lives Are now bearable. It is my spiritual and religious belief that all healing plants on this earth are here for all of humanity to utilize. It is my choice and I have the right to own and use any natural health supplements and wholistic treatments that pertain to my own body.
Here’s some irony for you.
I’m in the Seattle area, and there are legal marijuana stores literally popping up all over…just about lining the streets in certain neighborhoods and suburbs. So, I can walk in and buy a far more psychoactive plant in my city and nobody blinks…but soon – if this DEA kratom ban isn’t stopped – I can’t buy the most helpful, useful, beneficial, and benign herb I’ve ever tried for lifting my depression, getting me off pills, and just plain helping me be productive. This juxtaposition would be hilarious – if it just wasn’t hilarious…at all. Oh right, and also I will be a felon if I have any in my possession. That’s not much of a knee-slapper either.
Dear DEA: Other non-opiate items that stimulate the opiate receptors: chocolate, cheese, massages, breast milk, oh yeah, and moderate exercise. Maybe you better put all those on Schedule Half…you know, because, that would be one higher up than Schedule 1. I mean…wouldn’t want anyone speed-walking and have any opiate receptors pop open. Oh, and hopefully none of those kratom-legal Canadians who have already taken a dose of kratom come jogging over the border either…I mean that would be like a double-dose of non-opiate opiate receptor stimulation. That’s probably like…a Schedule Negative Zero Zero. Maybe when you guys are done with this whole prohibition thing, we can get together and burn some witches and play some tic-tac-toe…you know, another pointless game where NOBODY EVER WINS.
Dear CRE: Thank you for your efforts in trying to give us a voice in this lunacy. Kratom literally pulled me from the clutches of doctor-prescribed opiate addiction, as I nearly overdosed twice. I don’t care how many times “they” say kratom has no medical value or throw around the term “anecdotal evidence” – it is a brilliant plant that almost adapts to whatever you need from it. If my friends hadn’t introduced me to kratom, I’d probably be dead or in jail.
nicely said! great job and thank you 🙂
53 yr old American Indian woman and kratom saved my life from depression, KeepKratomLegal
I am a nurse, mother, college student & chronic pain sufferer. Before learning about kratom about 2 years ago, it took me about 4 hours to just get off of my bed every morning. I was unable to care for my daughter she was a toddler and she was the one taking care of me. I am also a single mother who has always worked at least two to three jobs because I am an overachiever and a contributing member of society. I have always been top of my class no matter where I attended, I have gotten multiple scholarships…even an award from the president himself. I have no criminal record or past drug use or abuse. I come from a long line of nurses in my family as well as members of the military. Unfortunately chronic disease Ron’s in my family as my mother has many of the same ailments that I do. I have rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, Chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraines as well as back and neck injuries (from motor vehicle accidents). I never imagined in a millionaire I couldn’t have a semi-formal life. At the age of 24 I considered going on permanent disability which is my LITERAL worse nightmare. It would prevent me from having the life that I wanted for my daughter as well as for myself. I was so frustrated and injured that I could not be normal or function on a daily basis when I was such a an overachiever and perfectionist and wanted the world and was willing to work for it! I tried every treatment all NINE of my specialists in Boston recommended…with symptoms getting worse with every year that passed. I felt 3x my age! It was horrible and the worst part was that doctors would look at me and say you are young, you don’t look like you are sick. Such is the life of a chronic invisible illness sufferer! But then one day my mother recommended to try something natural. She had told me for the first time in over 30 years she had woken up with a pain level of one. I could not believe her and I was extremely skeptical especially as a nurse getting my second degree. I finally researched it for several months in detail every single day and ask Terry single person I knew about it. Finally 1 day I tried it and I literally cried because it was the first time I had not hurt in almost a decade. I could not believe I could take care of my daughter or get up for work without being late or actually go to school without fighting back the tears! I am NOT saying it is a cure but it definitely improved my quality of life from a 2 to an 8 or 9! I have never contemplated going on disability again since taking kratom! I can be a functioning happy healthy member of society without the horrible side effects of medications from the pharmaceutical companies. Please do NOT BAN THIS PLANT! It has changed my life so much I would literally rather move out of the country then go back to being a zombie on medication that doesn’t even work.
I am a nurse, mother, college student & chronic pain sufferer. Before learning about kratom about 2 years ago, it took me about 4 hours to just get off of my bed every morning. I was unable to care for my daughter she was a toddler and she was the one taking care of me. I am also a single mother who has always worked at least two to three jobs because I am an overachiever and a contributing member of society. I have always been top of my class no matter where I attended, I have gotten multiple scholarships…even an award from the president himself. I have no criminal record or past drug use or abuse. I come from a long line of nurses in my family as well as members of the military. Unfortunately chronic disease Ron’s in my family as my mother has many of the same ailments that I do. I have rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, Chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraines as well as back and neck injuries (from motor vehicle accidents). I never imagined in a millionaire I couldn’t have a semi-formal life. At the age of 24 I considered going on permanent disability which is my LITERAL worse nightmare. It would prevent me from having the life that I wanted for my daughter as well as for myself. I was so frustrated and injured that I could not be normal or function on a daily basis when I was such a an overachiever and perfectionist and wanted the world and was willing to work for it! I tried every treatment all NINE of my specialists in Boston recommended…with symptoms getting worse with every year that passed. I felt 3x my age! It was horrible and the worst part was that doctors would look at me and say you are young, you don’t look like you are sick. Such is the life of a chronic invisible illness sufferer! But then one day my mother recommended to try something natural. She had told me for the first time in over 30 years she had woken up with a pain level of one. I could not believe her and I was extremely skeptical especially as a nurse getting my second degree. I finally researched it for several months in detail every single day and ask Terry single person I knew about it. Finally 1 day I tried it and I literally cried because it was the first time I had not hurt in almost a decade. I could not believe I could take care of my daughter or get up for work without being late or actually go to school without fighting back the tears! I am NOT saying it is a cure but it definitely improved my quality of life from a 2 to an 8 or 9! I have never contemplated going on disability again since taking kratom! I can be a functioning happy healthy member of society without the horrible side effects of medications from the pharmaceutical companies. Please do NOT BAN THIS PLANT! It has changed my life so much I would literally rather move out of the country then go back to being a zombie on medication that doesn’t even work.
I am grieving mother with ptsd. I have pain from eds, arthritis, fibromyalgia, depression/anxiety, and other chronic illnesses. Kratom has helped improve my overall quality of life by 80%. Please don’t take this simple supplement away from those of us who utilize it instead of opiates and barbiturates.
Please help us educate the facts about kratom. I have stopped taking four pharmaceuticals. Kratom has given me my life back. I have had no adverse effects from this natural plant! It has literally saved my life. I work full time and have never been charged with a crime. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without this safe alternative!! It has made me a more productive member of society! Please help us stand up for our “right to choose”
There are so so many that use this plant as a safe alternative. I have seen it change people’s lives. Please help? I do not want to go back on pharmaceuticals. I have no health insurance and did not do well while taking the large amount of meds. I know and have heard from hundreds if not thousands how kratom has changed their life.
-Thank you so very much for helping the community. This ban will be responsible for many many deaths. And also destroy people’s lives who choose to use a safe plant as an alternative to help them live a decent life!
#iamkratom #keepkratomlegal #kratomsaveslives
Just wanted to add, Kratom deserves a fair chance in a scientific light to help those of us in need of another way to deal with very painful areas in our lives be it physical or mental. Kratom is a miraculous plant that has been around for centuries. and for the DEA to just put it into a schedule 1 is just a obvious over-abuse of power and we need your help . Thank you for the letter written to the DEA. All of this all adds up and together we can help save our countries veterans , people who work daily and contribute to our society of pain and mental instability’s being on just drugs prescribed that does more harm than help for most patients.
short story. I got severely addicted to opiates in high school, oxys, vicoden, benzos, because it was easily accessible in the good ole medicine cabinets, i stole, i lied. After 4 years, in 2005, looking for a way out, i found kratom, i can guarantee you, within 2 years i would have been a junkie on the streets, dead. 11 years later im still an active member of society, a business owner, a tax payer, im NORMAL, they are making kratom out to be some dangerous thing when i know 10,000% it isnt true. Kratom SAVED my life and the DEA will kill MANY people making it illegal.
I am a middle (to upper) age female. I have a history of scoliosis but was able to keep symptoms that started in my 20’s by visiting a chiropractor and staying very fit. Unfortunately I developed a stiff neck (actually due to another illness-lyme) and a doctor suggested traction therapy for it. Throughout the lengthy traction therapy (15 weeks), my low back and hips got messed up. Probably should never have put a 40 some year old woman in traction, but he later claimed he didn’t realize I had scoliosis! In spite of rehabilitation, and attempts at staying fit & strong, I never returned to my previous state. I am still working on it 10 years later and the pain is intense, at times I am barely able to move without excruciating pain, bend over, even walk at times. Just this past year I discovered kratom and it has been a godsend. It helps to keep me productive – for example, I have been in debilitating pain, unable to clean or do a thing on my days off. .A drink of kratom tea and voila, I am productive and able to clean and do laundry! Unlike regular pain killers, when it wears off I do not find myself in more pain. Rather, as it is also an anti-inflammatory, I find myself better able to function for a few more days, even without needing to take additional kratom, and certainly not feeling any after-effects of the activity I performed at the time. As I said, it’s been less than a year since I’ve discovered it, but I had hoped to begin to use it in a conditioning program where perhaps I may one day return to running. I don’t stand a chance without it.
Such a shame many peoples lives have changed for the better we have a right to what we chose to put in our bodies hundreds die daily from synthetic shit and this gets schedule 1 really ??? Without this plant i wull be back in bed nit enjoying life not able to work sych a shame
I have several chronic pain problems as well as anxiety, depression and add. I have been taking prescription medications to help control these issues for over 15 years but they never fully helped. I became dependant on my opiate pain meds and was abusing my add meds and was miserable with my life. Then I found kratom and was able to cut down my pain meds from taking every 4 hours to only as needed (maybe 3 times a month). Before kratom my life revolved around my medication schedule and I spent my days watching the clock waiting for it to be time to take another pill. Now I drink a cup of kratom tea in the morning and afternoon and my pain is controlled all day and I’m in a great mood. It’s no different than how many drink a cup of coffee or so throughout the day.
Kratom has absolutely saved my life and the DEAs uncalled for actions would be devastating for myself and thousands of other kratom users.
Thank you for your letter to the DEA and for taking interest in preventing Kratom from being classified as a narcotic. Kratom is in fact NOT a drug and should not be classified as such. Kratom has given my brother the ability to function in society again after a major accident which left him disabled in his dominant arm. He was on 11 meds and still was in pain. He was not able to work due to the side effects and gained 100 pounds. Thanks to Kratom and Kratom alone he is back to work and off all medications including fentanyl, neurotic, Xanax and 8 others I cannot recall. He takes Kratom daily and functions just like he never had his arm injury. Please do not take that away from my brother. He deserves to enjoy the benefits of Kratom without fear of doing something illegal!!
Where all other synthetic and natural remedies have failed, kratom has absolutely transformed my quality of life, as it has for countless thousands of others who suffer from a wide range of ailments. I personally suffer from chronic IBS, fatigue and depression. I sought help from conventional medicine and psychiatry, and then alternative therapies like acupuncture and Chinese remedies when conventional remedies failed. Kratom is the only medicine that has made my health conditions manageable and restored my ability to contribute to society as a productive citizen. I have found it to be completely non-habitforming and devoid of negative side effects; naturally I cannot say the same about many of the prescription drugs I have taken in my lifetime at the advice of medical professionals. While I am not currently taking kratom because my health has improved, I am saddened and angered by the wrongheaded decisionmaking of the DEA to list this gentle plant as a Schedule I narcotic. It is time for our government agencies to listen to the concerns of their constituents and act in the true interest of public health and safety, rather than shamelessly protect the profits of the special interests who are making us sick and killing us at a higher rate than car accidents. The DEA has betrayed the public trust and deserves to be held accountable for their overreach, arrogance, and flagrant disregard for principles of scientific inquiry and harm reduction.
I am a middle aged female with health issues, some minor, some not so minor. I began benefitting from kratom approx 10 yes ago and haven’t looked back. I’ve taken Rx meds that have had such terrible side effects, I had to stop taking them. Since starting kratom, my symptoms vanished and no ill ffects. Feeling whole and complete. Then, the DEA stepped in and is trying to take our health away from us. Kratom isn’t an opiate, nor is it bad for you, quite the opposite. I’ve opted for having liver, kidney function, CBC bloodwork done twice every year for the last 10, all normal, every time. It’s a plant. It’s not harmful. It’s helpful. It’s saved lives. So, why take it away? I choose to be heathy.
The Lord Giveth, the DEA Taketh Away…
I am not alone. I have chronic neuropathy pain. 100% of the time. Always.
I was on very high octane prescription pain meds, mega high doses for many years and as we all know, is not a solution for chronic pain. As you may imagine, my life was in the toilet. Completely. I couldn’t do a thing…
I had lost all hope, but clung to one last option… I decided (after 15 years of dependence) to give it one last shot. I stopped the prescription pain meds. It was brutal, but I got through it. I really had no idea what my pain level would be like but figured my life couldn’t get much worse.
I was wrong…
The pain was so intense, so never-ending, so consuming that in a short time I found myself sitting on the edge of my bed with a couple of bottles of pills. No more otpions.
A friend just happened to come over to my house and caught me. This friend took me home and helped me find a solution. It was kratom…
Contrast that situation with this: I just returned from a 3 week walking trip through Europe! Me! Walking! I am able to function WITHOUT the horrible side effects of presription drugs. I am happy. I am in love (never thought that would happen again!). My relationships have healed or are healing.
Imagine how I felt to return from Europe to receive the kratom “emergency” ban news… hard to believe actually!
So what are the otpions for people like me? 1. Go back to pain-land? Clearly, that is a dead end. 2. Back on meds? Nope. 3. Become a felon? I have zero criminal history… I can’t beleive I even have to THINK about that! 4. Leave the country. Sixth generation Californian… leave my home and loved ones?
Please help…. there are thousands upon thousands of people like me who need your help. It may even be you or a loved one. Stop these schoolyard bully tactics… let us keep our plant.
I’m so disgusted by the DEA yet again. They are violating our rights to safe use of a natural plant. Now that they are being called out by the CRE I am hopeful the rest of the agencies will work together to understand We need regulation of this scientifically significant plant. Please listen to the people! We don’t want more deaths from opiates and heroin! We are not drug addicts or junkies looking to get high. This plant has helped my well being in many ways.
Thank you for some sanity, I am 65 with Lyme and occipital nueralgia. I have various muscular and bone and cartridge damage from a very physical and hardworking life. I live with chronic pain. Kratom helps me to live a life and enjoy living. My 9 grandchildren and I are grateful.
Kratom has saved my life, and many others as well. I have severe Crohns Disease, I was on so much pain medication and the side effects were many, physical as well as emotional and mental. I was barely able to function between the medication and the pain. I was either messed up (when I took the meds) or in excruciating pain when I did not take it. I am a mother and a wife, and I couldn’t care for my family the way of needed to. I found Kratom and now I do not need any of that poison, and I haven’t had a flare up in over a year, this is the first time in my life I am able to say that and I’m 31. Please help us to live productive, normal pain free lives by keeping Kratom legal. Thank you.
My husband suffers from Chronic Daily Migraine. He has had them since he was 7 and now has migraine to some degree every day. All of the traditional migraine treatments have long since stopped working for him. Kratom is the only thing that helps. In addition, four years ago we lost my stepson, his only son to suicide. My stepson died from a self inflicted shotgun wound to the head. My husband found him. Since then he also suffers from severe anxiety and PTSD. Kratom has not only given him relief from Migraine but also helps with his anxiety and panic. He is able to function more days than not and we have Kratom to thank for that. I lost my step son, now with Kratom being scheduled, I have a very real fear I will lose my husband too. Please ,please rethink this decision.
Kratom is a powerful harm reduction tool that, if regulated and sold as a herbal supplement, could greatly improve public health by reducing opioid addiction. It’s safe, non-lethal, and useful for those living with chronic pain. It needs to be kept legal so researchers can continue to examine the potential therapeutic uses of kratom
I suffer from Neuro-Muscular disease,Microscopic Colitis and Autoimmune disease.I am in severe pain all the time and have difficulty walking.I am prescribed 10mg Norco for pain.I cannot ever take NSAIDS again,per doctors orders.The Norco does help,but I am looking at a lifetime of pain meds and was searching for a healthier alternative,with no neurological impairment.I found Kratom on June 3rd 2016.I cried when I took it the first time,No felt like ME AGAIN!I even helps me walk better and relieves my pain,I am awake,alert and able to enjoy most days.When I took Norco every 6 hours,So was mentally dulled,did not smile,did not laugh,did not enjoy my days.Please keep Kratom legal!We the People deserve a choice of our God given natural herbs to treat long term pain.Thank you for reading this.
My spine was broken during a domestic violence incident. The surgery to fix it failed and also left me with an incurable and extremely painful condition known as arachnoiditis. Many with arachnoiditis end up in wheelchairs. They said I will eventually. Before kratom I was on a maxed out dose of fentanyl, until I had to finally stop working and could no longer afford it. I had to switch down to a cheaper yet much less effective medication. I was stuck in my recliner all day every day. I hobbled through the house with a cane at only 42 years old. My life sucked. Depression came in. Thanks to kratom I was able to retire the cane to the closet. I can now walk independently again. I can take care of my grandkids and go shopping. I sent I’ll have to pace myself because I often over do it and pay for it for days. I also have fibromyalgia, arthritis, and hypothyroidism. My body gets attacked at every level from zero energy to muscle and joint pain, and extreme lower back pain due to the arachnoiditis. Thanks to kratom I have energy to get things done. My muscle pain has decreased. I can function again like I used to before the injury. Looking at me today you’d probably never know that I have a spinal cord injury. Thanks to kratom. If this plant is taken away it will adversely affect hundreds of thousands of people just like me. Thank you for looking into this. Keep kratom legal!
Kratom should not be banned! It is just a herb that had helped me be able to function everyday without having to be hooked on opiates! It had not cured me but I am thankful that I found this herb to help me get off opiates. I have been clean of opiates for almost a year now because of this very helpful herb that the D. E. A wants to ban. Please keep kratom legal so it can help others just like me!
I was neurologically injured by prescription meds. Developed a tic. Was so bad I was hospitalized a few times. After 3 years of every Rx imaginable, I found kratom. Went from and over weight, jobless, angry, depressed loser to a strong Christian, wife, now mother of two ( one produced while on kratom daily with no side effects or withdrawal) , home owner, happy, TAX PAYING , productive member of society. You will have a lot of people that will lose their jobs, have to deal with possible addiction from pain pills since kratom quiets pain. And i am certain people will die. We will also be dealing with the largest synthetic and heroin epidemic in our history and will have a hard time trusting in a government that would allow for an all natural, God given , non addictive ( but possibly dependent) remedy to be banned for absolutely no reason. There are no test proving kratom is harmful but there are studies done showing the positive impact and benefits. Please save our plant. Ina world where we were starting to see an open mind to natural cures… This is 10 steps backwards. No high! Please try it! God bless- J.C Hill ( testimonial on YouTube channel) #iamkratom
I’m a 45 year old mom and I owe so much to Kratom and how it has helped to improve my life. I have degenerative disc as a result of running (a bit too obsessively..). I was rx’ed hydrocodone to manage pain I suffered as a result. I not only discovered hydrocodone helped ease the pain it also allowed me to return to running, I was now able to run even longer distances while taking it. It wasn’t long before I was dependent on them. I sought help (unbeknownst to anyone around me) and was prescribed suboxone. While suboxone certainly belongs in the Arsenal against addiction, it isn’t for everyone. It left me in a fog and it (despite what my doc insisted) did little to address the pain that never truly left. After several attempts to taper off and at a point of despair, I learned of Kratom. I vetted it as much as I could before trying. I’ve never experimented w drugs (prior to hydrocodone) and wanted to approach it w caution. After much reading I concluded the testimonials and research merited giving it a chance. I thank God I did. It has been a game changer for me. I’m able to wake up each day, keep up w a very busy little boy, remain active in his school and do so w a clear head. Kratom doesn’t provide me w any euphoria. It provides me w pain relief while not clouding my head or making me feel “dopey”. I’m afraid making this herb illegal will do so much more harm while not doing an ounce of good unless you happen to be a street dealer or you are a shareholder in certain pharma companies. I really hope the DEA doesn’t get to see this one through. I will survive, as I’m pretty sure many of us will but in the midst of an Opiod epidemic , I’m afraid there will be many whose lives will be once again in jeopardy, and for what?
https://youtu.be/jQwm0X-G_xk
I am a law-abiding, highly-educated, technical professional – who has suffered from chronic depression for over 20 years. I have taken Kratom for over 10 years – and it has literally changed my life. My depression is in control due to treatment by a licensed psychiatrist; but more importantly in remission due to the use of Kratom. Kratom has treated my depression in a way that allows me:
— to be the best at my profession
— be the best father/husband I can be
— and to actually be happy and free from the devastating effects of depression.
Kratom has helped me more than any prescribed pharmaceutical ever has.
The gross injustice of the DEA’s decision to classify Kratom as a schedule 1 illicit drug without:
— citing scientific basis for their decision
— not making alcohol/nicotine a Schedule 1 drug when it is clearly more of a public health issue
&
— not allowing the public’s right to comment
… Has infuriated this citizen to act.
I do not ask much of my government. Yet, I have so far contacted all of my representatives, the DHHS, the DOJ, the DEA and Elizabeth Warren (just because I actually think she might give a shit about the common people and the egregious abuse of power the DEA is displaying by this decision)…. maybe I am naive? But I am not done…. and will not allow the DEA to take away my unalienable rights to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness!
This country has a huge opioid addiction problem and the DEA is not only incorrectly labelling Kratom as an opiate, it is now threatening to take away a critical solution to the opioid addiction problem!
Please sign the White House’s petition to stop the DEA – it has over 100k signatures and growing.
Please implore your representatives to allow the rational inquiry into the DEA’s decision by:
— temporarily stopping their scheduling
— listen to the huge amount of scientific and anecdotal benefits of kratom
— allow the citizen’s their right to a public comment period
— admonish the DEA to publicly release the scientific justifications for why they are scheduling Kratom as a schedule 1 drug.
— review why no public comment or scientific justifications have been allowed prior to the scheduling
Please stop the DEA from turning the hundreds of thousands of Kratom users into criminals.
I’ve posted this, my own story as a comment to several articles. Bottom line, I am STILL ALIVE because of Kratom. I’ll say that again – I am still alive because of Kratom. When I came back from Afghanistan and my reserve unit demobilized, the anxiety I found reintegrating back into civilian society was crippling. I drank myself to sleep most nights. Then I began to drink during the day. My marriage and civilian job were on downward spirals as was everything in my life. VA called it PTSD and their psych meds made things worse and added a layer of fog to my brain. Effexor was the worst – when you quit Effexor, you literally have the feeling of electric shocks in your brain. I’ve never felt more dead. At times I wished I was. I felt miserable and I was miserable to others. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t love or feel empathy; I couldn’t do anything. Then I found Kratom. It was like night and day; I never felt more alive. Fast forward several years, with almost daily Kratom use – I saved my marriage and we now have 3 beautiful children. They are alive because I survived – their lives got to begin because mine continued. Although the battle against PTSD, depression and anxiety never truly ends, I am winning. I’ve been winning since Kratom. My career took off. I support my family with an amazing job that I worked very hard for. I have not had a drink in 3 years. 3 years. Considering the person I was, that in itself is a miracle. I am a high functioning, extremely productive adult; I am an active father and I still serve our Country. In my civilian job, while not in law enforcement, I assist law enforcement on a wide range of cases including human trafficking, terrorism and organized crime. Does this sound like the work of a drug addict?
I’ve consumed Kratom 4-6 times per day for at least 5 years. In that time I’ve accomplished more good than in all the years before it. I wake up early, I work hard, I’m active; I listen to a ridiculous amount non-fiction audio-books. Every day I try to be a better person than the day before. I’ve tried to spread the word. I personally know at least a dozen other Vets who have pulled themselves from the abyss using Kratom. Every morning I have a scoop of Kratom and a cup of coffee. Every morning I drop my kids at school and go to work to “fight the bad guys”, as I tell my son. Now I am one of the bad guys??? For choosing not to accept anxiety and PTSD? For choosing a naturally occurring supplement over synthesized chemicals made in a lab at Big Pharma? Its estimated that 22 Military Veterans take their own lives every day. Every year thousands of people are driven to suicide BECAUSE OF medications like SSRIs, SNRIs and other chemicals prescribed to treat mental health problems. A ban on kratom will not solve this. I fear it will lead to many more of our sons and daughters being lost to suicide, opiates and heroin. Kratom was the last bit of hope for many, myself included. What will become of us? I remember times in Afghanistan where I was scared for my life, but they pale in comparison to this. If there is one positive I can take away from this, it’s the realization that I’m not alone. Thousands of others, my fellow “Kratomites”, took their lives back from pain, depression, addiction and anxiety. I never knew all of us were out there. Although we’ve never met, I feel they are all just as much my brothers and sisters as those I had the honor of serving with. I hope there is some intervention in this. I hope the petition gets a response. I hope that we will continue to have hope. All the lives that have been saved by Kratom; all the hope that Kratom brought, all the victories over physical and/or mental pain and/or addiction; all the children who live and breathe today because somewhere, sometime their parent/parents were able to take their lives back – we should not stand to lose that. America should not stand to lose all those people who have worked so hard to be the best version of themselves. That would be the worst tragedy of all.
A Veteran, thank you for your service to our country and sharing your story. You are a Patriot and have my utmost respect. Your “Hope” comment brought this quote to mind:
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. – Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption
The recent letter of intent by DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg to classify two of the alkaloids of the Kratom plant as aschedule 1 controlled substance is a clear abuse of power. Mr. Rosenberg is not an elected official hence should not have the authority to create a law effectively turning thousands of Americans into felons at month’s end. This proposed scheduling is based on conjecture and has no medical or scientific basis. Furthermore Mr. Rosenberg, who spent much of his career as a prosecutor and counsel, is not a doctor or a scientist; his refusal to allow any commentary or input by the medical and/or scientific communities on this topic is wreckless as it is detrimental to actual public safety. This action will needlessly jeopardize the lives of many Americans by taking away a natural supplement that is completely safe and make otherwise good law abiding Americans into criminals. Mr. Rosenbergs actions are a blatant abuse of power and an effrontery to democracy.
Well stated.
I was given Narcan on my 30th birthday because I had stopped breathing. I had taken Fentanyl. I was on anti-depressants, addicted to opiates, alcohol, and benzodiazepines. When I found Kratom, my entire life was transformed. I have been taking Kratom twice daily at a very moderate dose. Literally, my life was transformed. I am no longer on any opiates or other prescription medication and have never felt more mentally well. I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsve Disorder as a teenager and always self-soothed my symptoms with drugs and alcohol. Nothing has helped me better than Kratom. The stories being told here are one of redemption and stories of people regaining their lives, not ones of criminality.
All I can say is this is such a universal cure all….it has so many benefits no matter what your condition is if your suffering physically or mentally kratom is as valuable as winning the lottery. Maybe it’s just me…and I rarely if ever here anything about another benefit of this natural plant, I have not been sick in two years…normally on average I would catch a cold 2 to 3 time a year…just me? Nah I don’t think so…guarantee its another win for the mysterious herb that God put on this earth for us…all cures are in the plants! bet on it!
First, “Thank You” for your assistance CRE. This kratom ban is just a window into a much larger picture of the massive scaffolding built of unelected agencies (or agents) whose actions have decimated our freedom to choose the safest, most effective and natural treatments as individuals. The pending FDA regulations on the botanical & supplement industry itself will create a massive stranglehold on our right to choose. The timing of the announcement of a forthcoming “whole new class of safer drugs” and the guidelines for prescribing pain medication are certainly not coincidental either with timing of the proposed ban, in my view. When one sees the victims caught in the midst, unable to receive necessary pain drugs, elimination of access to natural and effective measures, and the current opiate epidemic, one certainly wonders what brand of evil is in charge. The rehabilitation centers who profit from addiction, our forced Affordable Health Care Act which makes it harder to access help, the drug companies that are ready to market the very synthetic drugs based on the very structure of M. speciosa, the blatent disregard for the well being of US citizens; I am at an utter loss to be able to point at only one problem. This is so much larger than banning a safe plant. Unfortunately it reeks of abuse of power backed by greed and/or intimidation. I’m a simple person, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to contribute to my life and society, yet met at every turn by a brick wall of injustice. I don’t need to convince anyone who has authority that this is a very detrimental move; I’m afraid they know exactly what they’re doing; and it’s just downright evil and unAmerican.
I’m 50. In 2003 while playing company softball I collided with the catcher and awakened the next morning with horrible lower back pain, pain so bad that it brought tears to my eyes and I could not make it down a flight of stairs alone. After an MRI I was prescribed Vicodin and a muscle relaxer, and took it for several months at which I became a couch potato with no motivation to do anything. I got to a point where I decided that this was not how I wanted to live my life. One doctor wanted to operate. I did research and deemed that it was the wrong path. Another doc put me on a physical therapy type exercise regimen that I would do for 30 minutes in the morning with the pain going away. I then discovered the “Back To Life” machine which I would do for 10 minutes in the morning making the pain “go away”. Then last October my younger sister who has neck/spine problems introduced me to Kratom. One little spoon in the morning and one at night has kept the pain from re-appearing since, except for the two 2 day occasions when I ran out. It is obviously apparent that this stuff works! Thanks for taking the time to read my comment!
Oh my! I did not know that a photo of me would populate in my previous comment! Now I have shown the world that I, as a grown man, cried! Haha!
I find it appalling that the DEA is attempting to put this plant (related to coffee) into a category where it cannot be researched. This is the same thing that happened to marijuana and now look how it’s finally gaining acceptance in medical use. Speaking as a Registered Nurse, I have found kratom to be quite helpful with my anxiety and depression. I have more focus and energy without the jitters caffeine can sometimes impart. It has helped me immensely with my social anxiety and being in situations with large crowds all the while never feeling in anyway impaired or unsafe. I have heard countless testimonies from the kratom community in regards to it helping people with a variety of medical conditions such as PTSD, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse as well as helping people take less of or completely get off of prescription opiods which are laden with undesirable side effects. This plant needs to remain legal. We live in America and we should be able to make our own healthcare choices.
I am a special education teacher of 16 years. Roughly five years ago I was honored by my good work and promoted to coaching other special education teachers. I was driving from one school to another during my work day when a semi cab slammed into my car. I have soft tissue damage that will never heal and a form of arthritis onset by trauma. I was prescribed a very high dose of naproxen and also a daily dose of tramadol. My life because a juggle of deep breathing and pain, ,there were evenings I would just cry because of the pain, and the inability of having any form of quality of life . My short term and working memory were a nightmare and became a sticky note queen just trying to appear functionally competent. A year ago I was told of kratom. I researched it for six months and finally purchased some through an herbalist that had been recommended to me. The last six months of my life has improved vastly. I have gone from looking at the clock every four hours wondering if I could even stand up before my next pain dosage to three 1/2 teaspoons of kratom . I am not exhausted by constant pain management and have been able to start working out again too. I am starting a doctoral program in January focusing on students with cognitive disabilities and their ability to comprehend basic text and verbal commands at a concrete level. This is an area of research that truly needs work, and with my pain under control, I will be given the opportunity to study this. However , Chronic pain is exhausting and with my condition getting a bit worse each year, I don’t see the ability to research and help a larger grouping of students. I have never been in trouble with the law, never had a drug problem, and generally am researching how to improve the lives of special needs students. I have always been a person proud of my American heritage , on September 1, 2016 my view of the America I knew, can to a crashing holt. I beg you to now allow thousands of lives including mine be destroyed by taking a teas leaf for goodness sake away from us. Please help a large sickly community fight for our right to continue to use our herb to completely and naturally help manage dozens upon dozens of diseases/disabilities .
Just passed my 4 year mark free of heroin. This leaf can, and has saved alot of lives. I fear for what kind of impact this “emergency banning” could have while we’re in the midst of a heroin epidemic in our country. I spent so many years chasing that next high, and eventuallt just avoiding the awful pain of withdrawal. So many nights sitting In front of the toilet puking, sweating, screaming, trying to sell everything and anything I could. Tryjng to hide my face at the needle exchange. I couldn’t hold a job, I had to wear sweatshirts constantly to cover my arms 🙁 I tried suboxone, in, and out patient treatment time after time. I never had relief that lasted. Kratom was a saving grace. Given the amount you take as an “avarage” dose, the taper down was extremely easy, and it made getting through the heroin withdrawal very smooth. No feer of overdose, and it didnt make me feel high like suboxone did, so i eventually forgot about the feeling. I never had any ill side effects aside from a stomach ache if I hadn’t eaten any food prior. I suffer from very bad back pain, and this plant works very well for relief. I was so afraid I’d have to take opioid painkillers and that I’d fall back into the past, but no. Just brew up a tea when advil can’t suffice, and I’m good to go. There is so much more this plant can offer for so many. This is just my experience with it, and i can honestly say it it helped save my life. 100k signatures on the petition in less than 10 days. Thats got to say something.
I am a medical social worker, and when I heard about the proposed kratom ban, I was very disturbed. I work in an inner-city hospital, and I see all kinds of substance-related medical emergencies arise–alcohol, methamphetamine, GHB, MDMA, Tylenol, antidepressant overdoses, ketamine, Xanax. You name it, I’ve seen it–I can tell you that in my years as a social worker, I have never once had a patient come in for a kratom-related problem.
In my personal life, as soon as people find out I am a social worker, I usually get to then hear their life story (sometimes even when I frankly didn’t really want to!) and I have heard so many people tell me how kratom has enhanced their life–that they were struggling with depression and anxiety so badly they feared getting out of bed but that kratom made them able to go to work or enjoy a little outing with their friends or family. I have heard chronic pain sufferers tell me that kratom gave them their life back, that a nice cup of kratom tea helped them be able to move and function and participate in enjoyable day-to-day life(something that for some reason all the pain Rxs could not do). I have heard ex-heroin addicts tell me that kratom saved them from the needle and spoon and that now they can do things like go to work, budget responsibly and make it to family gatherings and of course feel robust and energized instead of feeling too high to do anything or dope-sick desperately searching for the next fix.
Unfortunately in my line of work, I see a lot of sad cases. I have seen people where drugs and alcohol have completely ruined their lives. They are homeless on the streets, the women (and sometimes the men) sell their bodies for money. Or they steal. Or they panhandle. Or they spend their government benefits on drugs/alcohol. I know what the face of addiction and ruin look like. Kratom users are not these sad cases. They are people who have found a nice tea that helps them live the life they want. Some of them suffer from chronic pain, fibromyalgia, endometriosis. Some of them, including many of America’s veterans, have mental health struggles–depression, anxiety, PTSD. Many of them are working men and women, blue collar, white collar, licensed certified professionals. Many of them are proud parents.
The DEA wants to make a sweeping decision to make Kratom a Schedule 1 drug, right alongside things like heroin and LSD. I think this is ridiculous and I wonder what factual data can this possibly be based upon?
The DEA brought up 15 deaths involving kratom. It is my understanding that the deaths involving kratom involved SOME OTHER DRUG as well. Kratom by itself tends to self-regulate, if you take too much, you don’t die, you vomit and your body expels the excess. There are approximately 88,000 alcohol-related deaths per year. The DEA does not propose making alcohol a Schedule 1 drug. You just have to be 21 years of age to legally purchase alcohol.
The DEA brought up 660 calls to Poison Control over a span of 5 years. Not only is this a pretty low number of calls, but who knows what the nature of the calls were besides an inquiry regarding kratom. There were 16,248 calls to the CDC involving cigarettes over a 4 year period. So that’s 132 calls per year for kratom and 4,062 regarding cigarettes. Of course, we don’t see the DEA wanting to make cigarettes a Schedule 1 substance. You just have to be an adult to legally purchase cigarettes.
I think the DEA is stepping way outside of reasonable bounds by wanting to make kratom, a plant that is so helpful to so many people, from all walks of life, a Schedule 1 substance. What they are basing this decision on is so flimsy, it’s hardly there at all. It appears to me there is no solid evidence that kratom would be considered an imminent threat to public safety justifying being a Schedule 1 substance.
I think a reasonable action regarding kratom would be that you should be an adult to purchase it.
Any more regulation than that, I feel is unnecessary. After all, we do pride ourselves on being a country that allows freedom of choice for adults. So many adults make the choice for kratom, let’s allow them to continue to make that choice.
Nicely said Katie. Doesn’t it make you wonder what entities and groups are advocating this ban? The DEA is not the originator of this ban, it is just a tool or mechanism for other unknown powerful forces to exert their will upon the American people. The forces behind this ban appear to have mostly failed at the state level. Is it Big Pharma? I take Kratom for depression and have noticed a marked improvement in my mood and mental health. What effect does Kratom have on the manufacture an sale of anti-depressants, pain relievers and drugs like Suboxone? I wonder.
“Beware those spreading fear in the name of righteousness.”
My name is John. I’m 43 with a BS in Journalism and am a Microsoft Certified Professional. I suffer from Chronic Discomfort related to a narrow urethra at the neck of my bladder. Pulsating grinding pains in my private parts have kept me from a good night sleep for 25 years. I arise 12 times a night to void. I am unable to even relax and watch a movie on the sofa with my wife. What kind of life is that? Just imagine the nightly torment and frustration. I’ve been to a number of doctors who poked and prodded me in humiliating ways but could never offer significant relief. About 3 yrs ago I tried Kratom in my quest for help. It stopped the pulsating pain by 75%. Just one teaspoon with a cup of cocoa.
I am a 31 year old male. I’ve never been addicted to drugs and I do not have chronic pain. I have been taking kratom for 13 years to help curb my generalized anxiety disorder and it’s one of the few things that helps outside of addictive pharmaceuticals that I would rather not take (the likes of Xanax, and Klonopin). In my 13 years of use, I have taken it daily for over a year at a time, and I have quit taking it for consecutive months at a time, with little to no adverse effects outside of a little discomfort for a couple days. It does not even approach the habit forming potential of the medications I’ve been prescribed by doctors over the years – many of which cause SEVERE adverse effects upon quitting, and even while taking them. They are prone to abuse, as the more you take the stronger the effect you get – this is not the case with kratom. The effects plateau and taking more is liable to give an upset stomach, not a more potent effect.
It’s clear that this plant has a very wide variety of uses and it’s users come from all walks of life. It’s literally the only substance that I’ve found via doctors or otherwise that I would truly call “safe”, not only due to it’s low abuse potential, but because it’s side effects are far fewer and less pronounced than any other. Kratom, unlike the medications I named previously (and ALL pain medications) does not cause respiratory depression. Respiratory depression is what kills people who overdose on pharmaceutical drugs and there is not one instance of Kratom being responsible for a death – every single story to the contrary involves other harder street drugs or pharmaceutical drugs.
There are a lot of people who rely on Kratom for entirely legitimate reasons and it isn’t just limited to one subset of people, it’s people of all ages and walks of life, and the plant is useful for such a wide variety of ailments, scheduling it is going to cause a massive amount of harm to thousands and thousands of people. Make no mistake, there will be deaths as a result of this movement, as statistics in states that have outlawed kratom show, some a drastic increase.
The misinformation about kratom is disgusting and it seeks to label everyone who uses it a drug abuser. There is absolutely no comparison between Kratom and “real” drugs. You can keep taking almost every drug on earth, prescribed or otherwise, to get a stronger effect. Doing this with kratom will only make you feel sick and won’t get you high. It’s effects are mild, but effective, and it is not replaceable by any pill prescribed by doctors. The effects are mild enough that this truly is the equivalent of making caffeine or nicotine a schedule 1 substance, but worse, because the potential applications for kratom vastly outweigh the former.
I started using Mitragyna Speciosa two and a half years ago. I’ve suffered with severe bipolar disorder. All my life. I began having issues as an early teenager. I have been prescribed Paxil, Zoloft, anatriptaline, Valium, Depakote, and a few others. Nothing helped me. I had a motorcycle accident that severed my foot from my leg. I was prescribed perscription opiates. They made me feel good for a very short time. A few months into using the prescribed opiates I went into one of the worst bipolar episodes I had ever experienced thus far. I can only attribute that to the opiates I was taking at the time. I went from the sever depression bipolar into the bipolar/manic type. I tried stopping the opiates. The pain I was going through and the mental agony I experienced was tremendous. So now on top of my bipolar, I was suffering from chronic pain. So I kept taking opiates. I would feel good one month and another month or so I would go into a deep dark depression. I was either way up or way down. Which to me at the time was better than being severely depressed all the time. Either way, I was unable to take care of myself or my family with any kind of consistency. This pattern went on into my 30s. At the age of 32 I was introduced through differing support groups to plants and herbs that others claimed had helped them with similar issues. I tried quite a few and did quite a bit of research. Many did help. Such as holy basil for anxiety/ depression, turmeric for anti inflammatory, Akumma seeds that help with pain, shilijat, for mood, cats claw for pain, and many others. Then I began using Kratom. It didn’t work all that well at first. But I was told to keep trying, that different strains worked differently with individuals. I found a combination of green vein, and red vein leaves that began to help me considerably. Once I found the strain and proper amount to take, I noticed and family members noticed an enormous improvement in my wellbeing in general. I’ve been taking as I stated before for two and a half years now. I feel stable and balanced and just plain capable. Im well into a career now as a CNC department supervisor. I’ve been working the same place for two years. Prior to this job I haven’t been stable enough to maintain employment for any longer than 6 to 9 months. My family wife and children all attest to the difference this plant has made in my life. They feel as though they can depend on me, and they can and do now. I feel as though I’m clear minded, goal oriented, motivated, happy more times than not. My level of chronic pain and fatigue has all but disappeared. Many other aspects of my life have improved as well I could go on. That plant changed my whole families welfare not just mine. I beg you to do everything in your power to keep the DEA from taking this plant from myself and all the other 100s of thousands that it has done the same for. Research must be allowed to continue. This plant must not be taken from the people. Our country is experiencing an opiate and pharmaceutical epidemic. This plant has brought many out of the grasp of that epidemic.
Hello,
Bless everyone who is passionate about advocating for this wonderful healthy leaf! I am devastated to learn of this action banning Kratom because it has given me my quaility of life back for the past year.I, too suffer from horrible chronic pain and have been able to largely get off of pain meds because of this holistic herb. Hearing this awful news has gotten me highly upset and I want to do what I can to be able to help advocate. I wonder if anyone has a list of things that we as individual people could do, places to write, people to call? If there is a researched list already made it would save hundreds of thousands of people a lot of time all researching the same info.
I would also like to know who I could contact in order to offer my voice to the cause as I am a professional touring headliner. I know it’s not much but I would really like to help anyway that I could!
I’m absolutely terrified about this ban. Kratom has helped so many people, including me. It has given me my life back and now the D.E.A. wants to take that away. I no longer have to depend on the many pills I used to take a day and I truly never have to again. This entire situation is so sad. It’s not about the safety of people it’s all about the money… As if big pharma didn’t have enough…
Ever since the intent to ban was announced I’ve been an emotional wreck worrying for all the people whos lives have been touched by kratom in a positive way. For some this plant has been a god given miracle and to take that away is a very serious problem for so many people. Please don’t strip these people of their rights and livelihood. There’s too much at stake here – this is a natural medicine.
I am a 41 year old NH woman who has suffered with mental illness for 3 decades of my life. Weeks of meds-doctors-therapy-school counseling etc to deal with sexual assault in my teen years led me down a road I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Last year I learned about Kratom in a recovery page
One of the meds I was prescribed to “help” it does funky things to your head. brain fog, lost 50 lbs, no appetite, insomnia, basicly trapped in a body with anxiety and depression. Lots of crying. Lots of bad thoughts to end this insanity. I wouldn’t wish bipolar on anyone.
There are at least a dozen I tried. Either they didn’t work-still crying. Or I felt numb and could not cry or laugh. I felt dead. I quit that one after 6 months. I gave it 6 months. The others either had bad side effects or they made me sick and I just couldn’t function on them.
By the way its been 20 years since I slept a restful full night’s sleep. Those meds mess up with your biochemistry and I honestly felt like a guinea pig.
Kratom was different. It is subtle. It took 3 weeks to find the dose and type of leaf to work. Then I realized I wasn’t having racing thoughts anymore. I wasn’t having PTSD due to memories of my abuse or the head games that others in my life played. I was able to rationalize these thoughts and work through the different things. Without getting hysterical and screaming like a moron. I still had an occasional meltdown. I still can cry but it’s not for no reason or plague me for nights on end.
Kratom helps my PTSD, depression, endometriosis, arthritis and all the other stuff that goes with mental illness and body pain. If the DEA makes it illegal I won’t stop taking kratom. If it is banned my life is over and I have already started making plans to get rid of personal property and prepare for jail time. At least then if I am in jail I won’t have to worry about paying taxes or playing the stupid hamster game anymore. If I go to jail it will be in protest against this government. If they imprison me=they won’t get money out of me anymore. This entire thing sticks of big $$$ in the background. Not to mention it’s perfectly legal in Mexico and Canada. I may end up just moving there instead of facing prison time.
I am a working American who has worked since I was 13. I am not a deadbeat. I am done pandering to this out of control government. This year will be interesting to say the least. Either people will go move out of country=then you all loose our tax dollars or people will be miserable and likely end in suicide or they will black market to get the kratom. No government has the right to dictate what I can ingest. I am a working citizen who minds their own business. I don’t sell drugs to kids, I don’t harass other people’s life choices. I just want to be left alone to live my life the way I want. What is so hard for the government to understand? YOU DON’T OWN MY BODY!
I’ve personally observed several Americans lives changed for the better because of this plant. Please take the time to investigate this as it pertains to mental, physical and emotional benefits. I would donate my own money to fund research… and I know about 2 Million others that would as well.
I am a 34 year old mother of 4 amazing children and a wife to a wonderful man. We run a business that pays taxes and helps support our local economy. I homeschool my kids and have them involved in countless activities. In addition, I volunteer at my church and our local children’s soccer league. I am a solid, loved member of my community and our enormous family. I have struggled with endometriosis since I was 14 years old. After years of struggling with the pain, the surgeries, the years of infertility and the fertility treatments trying to create the family our hearts longed for, the heartache of losing 5 babies through miscarriage, I can definitively say endometriosis ruled my life. My doctors were prescribing me countless narcotics each month but no matter how many I took, they never really took the pain away. They simply made me sleep so I would forget about for a short while. 2 years ago, I did not like the person I was becoming. I found myself agitated and drowsy if on the medication or curled up in a ball in pain if not. I knew something had to change. I found Kratom. Miraculously, I feel no pain when I use Kratom. If truly eliminates the gut wrenching agony that plagued me 24/7. For a year after I found Kratom, I continued to fill me prescriptions, nervous to be completely off of them. December of 2015 was the last visit I made to pain management. I no longer worry that the pain is going to get the best of me and I will need a back up. I am awake, functioning, excited to take on each day in my crazy household. Yet now, this homeschooling, God fearing, preacher’s daughter of a woman will be considered a felon in 2 weeks. I will be classified with the heroin addicts overdosing in front of their child as was reported in the news last week. I have never once felt high on Kratom. I have never hallucinated or felt the need to take additional doses to receive relief. If you compare the person I was while on the treatment the government says is acceptable for my condition vs the person finding relief through a plant- the difference is as clear as night and day. I will not be forced to go back to that person. #IamKratom
I really hope they do their research. This plant has helped so many people. I just read an article about women who are addicted to opioid and are not being helped just left to rot, forced to steal to feed that terrible addiction. I don’t even understand why the DEA is interested in kratom It DOES NOT make people high! Thank you to all the people fighting for this!
I am a registered nurse who works over 50 hours a week while I go to school to finish my doctorate degree. I have been taking Kratom everyday for about 8 years now for chronic pain. I have had extensive blood tests including liver , kidney and heart panels to make sure Kratom did not have a negative effect on me. I have been completely healthy and have never seen Kratom negatively affect my health. It has helped me immensely with my chronic pain I suffer from due to a back injury. It allows me to go to work and provide for my kids. Not only that, but it allows me to care for my patients to be best of my ability. Being addicted to prescribed narcotics had a huge impact on my caring for patients and as a father. Finding Kratom has helped me not only help myself but be the father I strive to be and the nurse that is able to care for his patients without dozing off or making mistakes bc of the nasty side effects that I felt on opioids. Kratom has also helped my brother get off heroin as well. He has been using Kratom for years and is now a teacher. What is the dea thinking? When will this be about the people and not about the money. I see more deaths in the hospital from energy drinks than I do Kratom. In less than a month I will go from being a nurse with not even a parking ticket to a felon. I believe the cre has offered a fair compromise. Save Kratom. I have no clue what my life will be without it or how I will be able to effectively care for patients on opioids.
The more letters we write, the better. Send a letter to your Congressman, Senators, Attorney General, etc. The more we get the message out, the better. The best PR we can get for us, the kratom base, is spreading the word. Social media and such. There are hundreds of video testimonials you can share on your social media sites. Attach the link to the petition. We should try to reach 200K signatures or more. Anyone who has media contacts, reach out to them. If you are in a position to donate monies, consider donating to the American Kratom Association. These are all things that we can do in the effort to stop this ban from moving forward!
Kratom isn’t a party drug. It’s a botanical used to relieve pain and anxiety and as a mild stimulant like coffee. The effects are slow to take hold, there is no high and certainly no quick fix obtained from kratom. Banning this substance will instantly turn thousands, maybe millions, of hard working, law abiding citizens, who just want to find a solution to their problems outside of traditional, mainstream medicine, into criminals.
I am dismayed by this policy decision. Since my really painful foot issue for which I had surgery for in 2014 I have had to deal with pain that shuts down both my professional and recreational activities. I started to use vicadin to help get through the bad daily pain I was experiencing but the side effects are too severe. I found Kratom and my health and happiness immediately increased and I felt free from the pain and pain pills! I have been used Kratom to replace prescription opiates and have a huge benefit from it. The prescription pills are both addictive and debilitating. The Kratom allows me to be fully active all day and do not inhibit my mental and physical state the way prescription pills always do. When I cannot get Kratom I will revert to being in pain and have days where I cannot work and almost every evening I will have to sit down suffer my painful foot that keeps me from living a full life. At a time when the opiate pills are killing people and making drug addicts out of otherwise normal people this ruling is going to have a highly negative impact on everyday law abiding citizens. Please reconsider this policy!
Thank you CRE !
I am beside myself with this decision I feel let down, I work, think, better mom cause it helps my pain daily. Prescription I was on was making my mind foggy & needing more I was immuned to it. I said NO,then could not work cause of my life debilitating chronic health about lost my job. Till discovered Kratom the green tea leaf only, I got my life back & I only get epidurals in my neck now.
I truly believe that we are all responsible to make our government work for the people.
I am a 58 year old female, Air Force veteran, who survived a very serious auto accident 14 years ago. From this accident I have spinal injuries & I am in constant pain. I started using a botanical product 5 years ago to manage my pain. This plant is called “Kratom”. The use of Kratom to manage my pain has provided to me an option for pain management other than opiate based drugs. The only opiates I have used to manage my back & neck pain was during a 5 week hospitalization 14 years ago. Upon my release from the hospital I decided that I would find alternative, more natural means to manage chronic pain. Massage & chiropractic therapy helped somewhat. Today I use Kratom, made into a tea, to manage my pain, and I also continue with massage & chiropractic therapy. Now, because the DEA will put Kratom on a schedule 1 list, Kratom will become illegal on Sept 30. I will tell you what could happen to me, an American citizen who votes & works at a 70K job & pay taxes, if Kratom becomes illegal & I cannot buy it. I will be forced by my government & one of its policies, to go a doctor & get an opiate based drug for pain management. I may become addicted to i.e.: hydrocodone& my health will deteriorate. Kratom is utilized by Americans to break away from opiate addiction& as is an alternative to opiates. Kratom is a natural and should remain a legal botanical. Responsible consumers are using it safely across the country and the world for relief of a variety of both mental and physical ailments. The situations and circumstances of a few do not represent the many. Implementing sweeping, harmful legislation based on misinformation and alarmism is not a public safety solution. Kratom should not be on any dangerous drug list. It is a plant, which gives us a product that has a medicinal use.
KRATOM has help my life in such a positive way. I haven’t taken a pain pill in almost a year now after 9 years of taking hardcore pain meds ( fentynal, methadone and Percocet ) through pain management for serious chronic pain from spine surgery, degenerative discs, fibromyalgia, tendinitis and a hernia. I AM NOT A DRUG ADDICT! I was never addicted thank God. I played by the rules and stayed safe with strict guidelines and drug testing. I still live with tremendous pain, but I heard about Kratom from a Nurse at a hospital who bought me my first cup of tea and was amazed at how it worked. I didn’t get HIGH, it took my pain away and I didn’t want to just go lay in bed and go to sleep. I am a professional working, Christian, single Mom who would never jeopardize my life, job or child. Why would I take something that would be used as a recreational drug? I make tea by the gallon now instead of popping prescription drugs that I could get from my doctor today and guarantee kratom is healthier and not destroying my liver and kidneys. I have been very educated from the retailer and use it correctly and as needed for pain management. It’s been my saving grace from doctors wanting to push pain medication on me that I never wanted to take in the first place. I have now educated my primary physician about Kratom who couldn’t be happier to hear that I no longer take pain medication. She now shares this with other patients.
I was a heroin user for years. I came clean of all drugs in 2007 .I suffered anxiety depression and cronic fatige as well as pain. in 2011 I discovered kratom my life came together in a year. working 60 hour weeks and putting a life together for myself. I am about to get married in the next year. The thought of going to a doctor with my issues scares me .Not sure what I would do with out this stuff
Dear Jim Tozzi and members of the CRE,
I saw a copy of the letter you sent to the DEA yesterday regarding the proposed scheduling of Kratom. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I want to share my story with you, but first… Here is a very detailed scientific study recently published on Kratom from Columbia University, proving its medical value and interestingly enough was published quite recently:
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/americankratomassociation/pages/21/attachments/original/1467415534/Journal_Of_The_American_Chemical_Society_6-6-16_Report.pdf?1467415534
I am a 44 year old mother of a college student. I work in the corporate world, have a successful career, a nice fluffy title and I am college educated. I grew up with parents who did believe that conventional medicine is a last resort when natural medicine has failed. We drank a lot of yucky herbs and learned to take horse pill size vitamins at a very young age.
About 7 years ago I was in an auto accident, where I suffered two herniated disks and several torn muscles. Since then, additional disks have herniated at random due to gravity. One of the disks is literally pressing 20% into my spinal cord. Doctors and Chiropractors alike recommend surgery (I don’t trust the neck surgeries, as I have seen too many failed). The last Osteopath I saw couldn’t believe I was even functioning and immediately prescribed me a bottle of Percocet. My regular doctor will prescribe Vicodan whenever I ask. The drugs are not hard to get.
I do have chronic pain. I do have in my possession Percocet. In the past year, I have taken 3 of them. The year the accident occurred, I spent about two weeks taking full doses of Vicodan every day. I started to feel a craving for them as they exited my system. I knew about Kratom, but had only tried it once. Someone suggested I try it for pain. It worked.
I drink one or two cup of Kratom tea daily. I make it at home from leaf purchased on the internet. I drink it in the afternoon, when sitting in the chair at my desk has started to wear on my neck and shoulders. It enables me to keep working. Never has my boss or coworkers asked if I am messed up or thought I was not ok. I function completely normally with Kratom. The pain is reduced enough that I can continue working and remain productive. Without it, I would need to resort to the Percocets that I keep in my purse for fear of having a bad pain episode.
Kratom often gets a bad reputation because so many addicts/former addicts use it to stay off other drugs. I have never been a drug addict (unless you count that I used to smoke cigarettes). I have never been arrested. I don’t drink enough to mention it. I have a child in college, a savings account, a car payment. I am a productive member of society.
I think: Kratom is costing big pharma money because fewer people are getting/staying hooked on their product.
Thank you for listening. I am grateful that you have joined in addressing this issue of the DEA’s overreach.
God Bless you,
Melody
I’ve had two major back surgeries and suffer from scoliosis and constant nerve pain down my legs. I was give 5 different medications to manage the pain, including methadone, none of which stopped the pain. This medication resulted in a foggy mind such that I could no longer function as a software developer. I lost several jobs (having never lost a job in my life prior) and was bed ridden for a year contemplating suicide to end the pain. This is while under the care of a pain doctor / specialist.
After seeing the fear and hurt in my mothers eyes, I began researching and looking for alternatives, when I came upon Kratom. I am taking it twice a day, and while it does not stop all the pain, it does enough to help and, most importantly, my mind is clear and I can work again. I’ve been employed for nearly 3 years now and excell at every facet of my job. I no longer take ANY of the previous medications.
Kratom saved me from suicide and quite literally gave me my life back.
Based on my past experience, and the hell that awaits, if the DEA passes this law, they are basically signing my death certificate.
I am no longer a alcoholic or a prescription pain killer user thanks to Kratom. After much research I started to take Kratom three years ago and it has changed my life and made my family life better. I work hard everyday, and I am friendlier thanks to Kratom I am no longer in pain from arthritis, two hernias and a tear in my hip. If Kratom is banned I am so scared not only for myself but for all of us that discovered and use this completely natural plant that has zero side affects that I have seen.
Where does the nanny state regulation end? Extreme sports are dangerous and habit forming for some people. How many deaths or injuries from extreme sports each year? Let’s ban those! High sugar percentage foods are proven to cause obesity, an epidemic putting massive stress on our health care system. Let’s ban sugary foods next! Lord knows they’re habit forming for many as the obesity numbers indicate. What about video games causing our kids to be sendentary, which adds childhood obesity? Let’s ban Minecraft and Warcraft! Where does it stop?
Finally, chronic pain sufferers and anxiety riddled people have a natural option vs prescription medications and it is being threatened to be unjustly taken away from them based on incoherent research data that makes GMO research look legit. I have witnessed first hand the astonishing improvement I have seen in a few people very close to me who have been wounded in combat and suffer from chronic pain and anxiety transform into productive members of society finally free of debilitating pain and social anxiety issues, and the government decides that a plant that is related to the coffee plant is dangerous but prescribed narcotics are not?!? Your foundings are ridiculous and just another way to keep big pharma and government pockets lined with cash!
Kratom is a natural safe remedy for persistent health issues and I believe that is the problem. Big Pharma has obtained patents on some of the alkaloids in Kratom and wish to exploit them and the American people in the name of Profits over People. Placing Kratom as a Schedule I is inconsistent with the public interest and I further argue that this proposed ban would Harm the public interest. Kratom is a plant with great medicinal value and we have a right to natural medicine over synthetic. Kratom has given me a new lease on life and allowed me to renter the work force after being sidelined for years with severe inflammatory bowel disease and the mental anguish having this disease will cause you. I did the mainstream ‘traditional’ medicine and almost died and suffered so so much. I want to live! Don’t steal our choices and put profits over people!
I am college educated man in my mid 50’s. I have a BS in Social Science and a law degree (JD) and am licensed to practice law in Michigan. I have therapeutically taken Kratom for over 2 years for Depression. In small doses, it appears to provide me with the energy I need to get out of bed in the morning and function throughout the day. The anti-depressants that I have been prescribed have either had unpleasant side-effects, were very expensive, or simply ineffective. I am a believer in holistic medicine and take various health supplements. I was informed about Kratom and in particular, a study that suggested that Kratom was a promising potential treatment for depression. A 2011 study in the journal “Phytomedicine” reports that mitragynine (the active ingredient in Kratom) exerts an antidepressant effect in animal behavioral model of depression” and did so ” without any significant effect on locomotor activity.” In other words, the rats were not incapacitated physically or cognitively. The study concluded that Kratom can provide health benefits to someone who experiences deleterious physiological as well as mental symptoms of depression and anxiety. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20869223. My experience, while purely anecdotal, seems to support this conclusion. When I read that the DEA letter in the Federal register claiming that Kratom had no known currently accepted medical use, I was obviously surprised and dismayed. The DEA completely ignored and disregarded the scientific studies that conclude otherwise.
I wonder why the DEA appears to be in such a rush to ban Kratom without public input and discussion? I question where this urgency to ban Kratom is coming from. Who exactly are the proponents of a Kratom ban? It appears that the proponents have mostly failed to get Kratom banned at the state level and are now trying to circumvent state legislatures by appealing directly to the DEA. Is the main proponent big Pharma? Do they fear competition from a natural herbal remedy that actually seems to work and which is supported by scientific research? Are they worried that sales of anti-depressants and over the counter pain relievers will drop once people discover the natural benefits of Kratom? Are the manufacturers of Suboxone (Indivior) worried that their costly and potentially addictive treatment for opioid dependency will become unnecessary? Who are these people and entities behind this ban? It is not the DEA. They are just a willing tool and mechanism for others with an agenda.
As a citizen, I’m suspicious of the data and analysis used by the DEA. The DEA claim that they have received “correspondences from public/state officials which indicate that there were a significant number of overdoses and traffic fatalities directly, or indirectly, involving kratom.” The DEA claims that these correspondences are on file with the DEA (dated April 19, 2016). It would be interesting to obtain these correspondences to determine the number and content of those correspondences. I’m also concerned about the DEAs statement that there is growing concern over “increased requests for analyses of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine in human toxicology panels (blood/urine samples) to private analytical laboratories.” The DEA does not address the probability that the increased requests are due to increased testing in those states that have made Kratom use illegal. The criminal justice system in those states no doubt require that all drug screens include the constituents of Kratom. I am also suspicious of the data that suggests that “the number of positive results from these analyses increased’ from 2012 to 2016. The locations of these toxicology labs are Willow Grove, PA, Clearwater, FL, and Santa Rosa, CA. Why is the data coming from labs in different geographical locations? Why is the data coming from different years for different labs? From which states are these samples being submitted for analysis? Are they states that have made Kratom illegal recently? The sheer fact of making it illegal would explain any increase. An honest analysis would show all the results from all three labs over the entire time period from 2012 to 2016. The DEAs selective use of this data appears as thought they are “cherry picking” favorable data. To continue the fruit metaphor, this is akin to comparing apples to oranges. Again, this data is contained in e-mail correspondences on file with the DEA. Copies of these correspondences should be requested from and provided by the DEA.
One can only conclude that the DEA has acted hastily on questionable data and without public comment and discussion at the behest of powerful unknown forces. The DEAs argument appears to be that Kratom is dangerous simply because they say it is. This is counter to how a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people should operate.
.
When I heard of the DEA’s decision I died a little inside. I suffer from chronic back and joint pain. Very few things help with the pain with the exception of Kratom. After being referred to it by a fellow sufferer, my life has changed 100%. I have been able to function as a whole. My life has been so much better. I have even been able to Enjoy life! Now I am wracked with anxiety knowing that my future is again full of pain and suffering. I am so frustrated I want to cry. It seems our government does NOTHING at all whatsoever but make our lives miserable. LEAVE US ALONE! Why take away the only thing that makes so many of our lives tolerable?
This is just terrible. The future is so bleak right now. I honestly don’t know how I will go on… or if I will. Thanks DEA. You might have just signed my death certificate.
This motion is irresponsible in this atmosphere of escalated addiction, our Veterans with PTSD and pain victims searching for an alternative solution to addictive pharmaceuticals. How does it feel to be responsible for so many deaths and the destruction of extensive American families and children with your direction to instate this action. It seems that the DEA does not care about all the victims of opiate abuse and the soldiers who fought for your freedom. So many of these people are addicted because of the abuse of the pharmaceutical companies and the doctors lack of oversight along with the poor soldiers. The move to make Kratom illegal is dangerous and irresponsible.
This motion is irresponsible in this atmosphere of escalated addiction, our Veterans with PTSD and pain victims searching for an alternative solution to addictive pharmaceuticals. How does it feel to be responsible for so many deaths and the destruction of extensive American families and children with your direction to instate this action. It seems that the DEA does not care about all the victims of opiate abuse and the soldiers who fought for your freedom. So many of these people are addicted because of the abuse of the pharmaceutical companies and the doctors lack of oversight along with the poor soldiers. The move to make Kratom illegal is dangerous and irresponsible.
Corruption in our government has gone too far, we know this has big pharma behind the DEA’s agenda to attack natural and outlaw a plant that belongs in the genus coffee family, its beyond ridiculous and an obvious attempt to simply limit big pharma competition in the market place. The entire lobby industry is nothing but wild west bribery racket and that’s what needs to be outlawed, not Kratom. Plus the DEA has been known to break its own laws using US military aircraft to smuggle in drugs via the CIA, these are much more publicly transparent than they know or understand. They need to drop the Kratom ban or suffer the consequences on their other actions.
I’ve been told by a little birdie, I heard a third party rumor that the DEA needs to drop the ban on Kratom or suffer the consequences, film exists with audio, undercover digital audio / video released to the public showing offloads of illegal drugs using US military aircraft in conjunction with CIA help.
Just a rumor but a shame if the ban goes through………tick tock, tick, tock….
Look what prohibition of alcohol did for organized crime. Look what prohibition of marijuana did for the cartels. Now think about what prohibition of kratom will do for _______.
Of the three aforementioned prohibited compounds, you chose the scientifically and statistically MOST DANGEROUS one (alcohol) to make legal again. Logic is clearly not part of the plan.
For the first time in my life, I’m a true productive member of society. I love my job and work really hard. The great effort has paid off as I’m saving to buy a house in the beginning of 2017. For the first time in my adult life, I have goals and I know how to accomplish them. I have a plan. My relationships are also better than ever. My mom is older and not completely able to care for herself so I’ve taken the responsibility of providing for her. She lives with me and we get along better than ever. You see, 2 years ago I was a completely different person and my life was in a strikingly different place. My biggest hope at that time was that I would just die. Every morning that I woke up was just another day of disappointment. Every morning that I woke up, I would take another drink from the bottle to numb me through the pain. I’m an alcoholic and I struggle with depression and anxiety. I also have PTSD from an attack that occurred against me in 2008. I never thought I’d be able to give up alcohol so I had succumbed to the idea of just killing myself with it. I woke up drinking and went to bed drinking. I didn’t have the desire or the skills to cope with my depression, anxiety and PTSD. Not until I found kratom. Kratom saved my life. My alcoholism was to a point that I needed medical help to detox. The vomiting and tremors were really bad and there was fear that I would begin seizing. Even when the medical emergency detox was over, my body and mind still had a lot of transitioning and relearning to do. Kratom helped me do both of those. Kratom helped ease the painful withdrawals, eased my anxiety and prevented me from continuing in my depression. Kratom allowed me to see the light at a very distant tunnel. Kratom helped me seek therapy and grow stronger in my sobriety. The last 2 years have been such a journey of pain and reward. I got my life back thanks to Kratom. I’ve never been this happy and successful. Please don’t allow the DEA to ban Kratom. Kratom is not a harmful drug. Please, please research Kratom and the lives it has saved, including mine. My story is atypical of the lives it has changed. There’s so many addicts that need help, so many tunnels that need a light- I ask you to please let Kratom be that for them. Let’s regulate Kratom instead of prohibit so lives can still be saved. #IAMKRATOM #KRATOMSAVESLIVES
Look everyone, you have to speak in terms they understand…
MONEY
Kratom helps people work MORE, similar to coffee, as opposed to opiates/pain-killers that make people work LESS.
MONEY
If people work more, they make more
MONEY
If people are making more MONEY, they spend more
MONEY
If people spend more MONEY, the economy improves.
MONEY
If the economy improves, that mean you gov’t officials get to have more…..you guessed it…
MONEY!!!!!! 😀
Don’t you like money???
Also, less people on benefits, less insurance claims, paying more taxes.
This is a situation that really requires some deep investigation in to Mr. Rosenburg’s prior employers, in particular the patent for PZM21 ( in addition to MGM-9, MGM-15, MGM-16, TRV130, TRV734 ) as he worked for the same companies now seeking to bring these drugs to market.
I have used Kratom for 8 years because I did not want to be enslaved by pain and anxiety medications. After a sever accident, I was left taking Oxy Contin and Xanax/Klonopin, this did not work for me. It interfered with my job, ability to drive as well as interact with others due to pain levels and regression from social settings due to the pain. Then I found Kratom, since then I have not touched a single Big Pharma medication, and have none of the ill effects I suffered prior.
The amount of misinformation in the DEA’s notice to set Kratom to Schedule 1 is astonishing and shows they did not do ANY research at all.
1) The DEA stating it is a high risk for abuse. No it is not. Taking even a tad more than you should will at worst lead to vomiting as your body will reject the extra material in your system and can not absorb enough of the alkaloids to cause any harm.
2) Potential for addiction. Again false. Though there may be some withdrawl symptoms, they are no where near the severity of opiates, alcohol or even cigarettes ( all technically legal ).
3) The 15 alleged deaths from SOLEY KRATOM. This I would love to see proof of and the fact that Kratom was the ONLY substance the person used. It is truly sad for any one to lose a loved one in any capacity. However, there was a case in California not long ago, where some college kids ended up in the ER due to an “overdose”. Right away , since Kratom was some what an alien substance, it was blamed first and foremost. Later toxicology reports showed that they had also used cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, in addition to heavy drinking.
There are so many more, it would take hours to break down. But, as a used or Kratom, never OD’d, never had any bad health effects ( in fact it has been shown that it can help with the circulatory system as well as immune system ) . I do not want to be an overnight felon, or worse yet, return to the horrid nightmare of opiates and benzos, or worse.
Lastly , just a prediction, I am located in NE PA, and there will be a spike in the already considerably dangerous, heroin market. I thought the DEA wanted to “fight a war on drugs”? To me this seems like a Band-Aid measure to say “Hey! Look what we caught your kids doing, its BAD! KRATOM BAD!” so it looks like they had some major win, when in all honestly, they are crippling a few hundred thousand people, and causing an increase in the use of other illegal substances.
I am so happy that this issue is getting so much (well-deserved!) attention. I have been an avid supporter of Kratom since 2011, when I was lucky enough to discover the miracle plant by chance during an Internet search. I had been dependent on prescription pain meds and alcohol for about 5 years and I had tried multiple times to quit but had been unsuccessful. I was truly scared for my life.. Kratom had a huge impact on my life and I believe it helped me conquer many of my demons. The only people who will benefit from making Kratom a schedule I substance is BIG PHARMA, I repeat: the ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM MAKING KRATOM A SCHEDULE I SUBSTANCE IS BIG PHARMA!
Please do the right thing!
It is way too obvious that the DEA is working with Big Pharma for this unwarranted ban. Greed over saving lives in the midst of an opiate epidemic! It’s an abomination! I lost my daughter because of Big Pharma. Now I use kratom for emotional pain I will have forever. Now it is going to be taken away! I’ll be lost yet again!
I can’t even begin to list all the things wrong, unjust and just plain ridiculous about this irresponsible leap to ban kratom. Therefore I won’t. I could give my personal story of how this plant literally saved my life, but again, I wont. There’s been plenty of people post similar stories in light of these recent events, to the point that the reality should be clear to anyone who cares enough about their fellow citizens. However, what I will do is list a couple of extremely important realities as to why kratom MUST not be banned or made to be put on the Schedule 1 list.
1. Kratom does not “get you high”, as in kratom is not a “recreational drug”.
2. No to very low potential for abuse. Example: Using more and more kratom will not produce better effects. All that would be achieved would be an upset stomach.
3. People will die. This may seem over dramatic to people that are fairly uninformed or inexperienced with the kratom plat and it’s uses. So how will people literally die without kratom? The most common use of kratom is to aid in the debilitating effects of opiate (painpills) addiction/withdrawels. Without kratom, 1000’s of people will be forced to go back to their old habits, either via doctor prescribed pharmaceuticals or black market. Some of these unfortunate people will succumb to their addiction, overdose and hence lose their life.
4. Kratom is harmless. I think this is a fairly good point, making this recent push to ban kratom all the more foolish.
Sadly it is apparent and obvious that this move by the DEA is based solely on ignorance. Kind of makes you wonder what other acts created by the DEA are made in the same hasty manner.
Kratom is harmless in itself and the herb has improved so many people’s quality of life in a NATURAL way, this completely makes no sense for the DEA to rush to judgement based on absolutely no creditable evidence or science to support their position. The decision by the DEA is unconstitutional in every aspect and goes against everything this country is about DEMOCRACY. Voices of the people have the right to be heard and should not be silenced.
I have never incurred any harm from use of kratom. It helped me remain productive, reducing my pain from tendonitis, bursitis, sciatica, and arthritis, in addition to help me feel motivated to get things done so that I am not only not a burden to others, but remain an employed taxpayer. The effects are not any more intense than other plant products on the market such as coffee or kava. American people are increasingly taking notice of the oppressive, intimidating, and damaging actions of government and its agencies, so don’t forget we’re the ones paying your salaries when you act to criminalize and debilitate us.
Total misuse of authority. The DEA was delegated this authority to ban substances that pose real threats to to public, such as, things that can kill you. Kratom does not qualify. It has a long history of use without toxicity. Of course, I’m part of the public, a citizen of the U.S. and therefore my comments are not relavent to the DEA.
Thank you, CRE, for investigating the action of the DEA in banning kratom without due process. Since the DEA has decided that my voice does not count in this matter, I would like to add my story here. I was born with Chiari Malformation, a neurological condition in which the cerebellum is compressed down into the cervical spine. I was diagnosed after I developed severe pain and neurological symptoms after the birth of my son 17 years ago. For several years, I was often bedridden and misdiagnosed until Chiari was discovered through a brain scan.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Chiari. All hope seemed lost for several years. I tried pharmaceutical drugs, but did not like the stupor they caused so I quit them. I was told by my neurosurgeon that my back was against the wall and that I would live in pain or have risky brain surgery. I did not think I could ever work again or lead a full life. I could barely handle daily living activities and care for my son.
I elected to forgo surgery and prescription drugs in favor of a natural approach to pain management. Through this journey, I found kratom. Today I am back to working full time as a reading teacher in a Title I school, a demanding job helping struggling readers improve. I’m an actively involved parent, and loving wife. I am earning a living and not on disability. This is possible because of kratom.
I am in distress since learning of this ban a few days ago. I do not want to go back to living in pain and missing out on life. I don’t want to lose my job that I love helping children be successful in reading. I do not want to have to make a choice between that and becoming a criminal in the eyes of the government. I will not take synthetic, chemical versions of kratom when what nature has given us is superior.
I did not have a choice to be born with Chiari. I should have the choice to choose kratom for pain management. The DEA must be stopped from taking this action that will hurt, and even kill people who return to opioids when they cannot have kratom. How can our government have this callous disregard for its citizens? Please stop this ban.
My daughter was brutally murdered, and I’ve had to live w a debilitating grief..i didn’t get out of bed, shower, or eat for months..then 1 of my friends told me about the antidepressant qualities, and anti anxiety qualities in kratom.. AND IT GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK
Dont ban kratom, please.
None of the pharmaceuticals helped me..ativan is much more addictive and doesn’t even work well..
With kratom I’ve gotten up and showered everyday, and began to live WITH the worst pain and grief you could possibly imagine..
Kratom isnt just for people who suffer opiate addiction, it has so much potential to change the world..
Kratom needs to be regulated, not prohibited entirely! There is simply no rationality behind reacting this way toward something that has been around for as long as it has with as many positive testimonials from upstanding citizens. Does this kind of reaction occur for truly dangerous drugs that are an imminent threat?
I have been using kratom for five years to help with my depression and anxiety. I used to take countless prescription drugs and none of them seemed to work. I was unemployed and depressed and even attempted suicide. Since I started taking kratom, I’ve had a good job and have been a great mother to my children. I pay my bills, I don’t break the law, and I pay taxes. Kratom has helped me be a contributing member of society and an upstanding member of society. Please don’t let the DEA make kratom illegal. I’ve never had a bad experience with kratom. Kratom saves lives.
As a health care professional working daily with chronic pain sufferers and having experienced debilitating pain myself, I have a few remarks about the proposed Kratom ban:
As to the supposed lack of regulation of product, the DEA or FDA doesn’t inspect tea or coffee, known stimulants/calmatives used in every society, for quality or sources.
If scientific research is deemed necessary, investigators need only examine the populations that have used Kratom for centuries to learn of its long-term effects. Those populations are not dying by the thousands daily from overdoses. Only 600 emergency room visits over 6 years related to Kratom have all involved combinations of other substances; Kratom alone has not caused death or permanent injury.
Considering the furor over the ‘opioid epidemic’ which has been proven to stem from often unavoidable use of pharmaceutical products (having no relation to ‘lifestyle choices’) which have killed hundreds of thousands of citizens with impunity, the blatant hypocrisy of banning an herbal tea that effectively, safely, and non-addictively can eliminate pain AND assists people to overcome addiction to dangerous drugs like Oxycontin, heroin, etc., would suggest a serious conflict-of-interest. I want to know if the DEA director making the decision to label Kratom a Schedule 1 drug has received pay-off from any pharmaceutical firms or lobbyists to influence this decision.
Kratom can and does help the hundreds of thousands of veterans who returned home without limbs, with chronic pain, with unavoidable depression/psychic distress from extended tours, who lost their quality of life ‘defending our freedoms’.
Government was created to serve and protect the people of a nation; this (and other) act(s) of government suggests a total disregard for the needs and safety of those they are employed by to represent.
On behalf of those whose lives have been made bearable because of this gift from God, please give this matter your full and immediate attention. Thank-you for your good works.
I am a 66-year-old retired businesswoman who was a Creative Director for two of the nation’s top business-communications firms, the former head of the International Board of the Software Publishers Association, and included in Who’s Who in American Business for the years 1992 and 1993, to name a few accomplishments. Starting in 2001 and continuing through 2008, my family and I underwent a series of events that resulted in significant trauma. These traumatic episodes developed into a condition termed “compound trauma,” an anxiety disorder similar to PTSD. I was prescribed a number of drugs and found that the only drug I responded to without serious side effects was Xanax. I was then on and off Xanax for the course of a decade. When I decided to wean myself off of it entirely, I found out too late that it was highly addictive and that I needed professional help in achieving the goal of being Xanax free. It took three years of concerted effort in the care of psychiatrists, internists, and other MDs while undergoing horrific side effects to rid myself of Xanax. Unfortunately, it led to even more issues regarding trauma.
Three years ago, a friend of mine suggested Kratom powder to ease my consistently high-level of anxiety. I found that a minor dose of Kratom leaf powder taken twice a day (1/2 teaspoon) produced relief and most importantly, I was able to sleep at night. It is important to me to continue using it since a) it provides relief and b) it is not addictive. To prove that to myself, I have stopped taking it several times and found it to be a simple and easy process.
I have questioned this sudden “emergency action” on the part of the DEA. Online reports suggests a possible link between patents applied for by Smith Kline, of Glaxo Smith Kline & French Laboratories as well as the University Of Massachusetts Medical School and the University Of Mississippi with this sudden need to ban Kratom. It has come to my attention that since products synthesized from a natural plant cannot be patented while the powder or teas made from it are legal, it therefore must be made illegal for pharmaceutical companies et al to proceed with patenting and marketing synthetic Kratom. While I am not suggesting nefarious dealings on anyone’s part, it does lead one to wonder why the imminent need to place Kratom in the Schedule I category without proper time for judicious debate.
When I heard about what the DEA is trying to do, I was speechless. Pretty much my life has been plagued by anxiety and depressive episodes, and I’ve been through the pharmaceutical circus to try and get it under control. The hell I went through because of pharmaceutical drugs is some thing I never want to have to experience again. When I found kratom, I was skeptical at first but I soon came to realize how beneficial it would be to my ability to be productive in life. The symptoms of my anxiety were lessened without me being numbed by pills, and I felt less melancholic and actually wanted to go out an do things. This plant has helped me in ways I can’t begin to describe. And all without the side effects and withdrawals I had with traditional western medicine. If this plant becomes banned, I’m am worried not only for myself but for others that use this herb as a safe alternative to pharmaceuticals. I worry that my anxiety will only grow again and I will lose some of my desire to go out into the world. It helps me alleviate symptoms while keeping me functional enough to work out where some of my issues stem from so I can work to CHANGE then and not just mask them. I sincerely hope that kratom does not end up getting banned.
This plant changed my life. Like so many others, kratom does not give me a high. I find kratom demands respect and it won’t be abused. I could write a book about the trauma I’ve experienced, the years spent searching for relief and the years I wasted locked in my house, isolated and depressed. I hit a lower bottom than ever before when a friend suggested kratom. I believe it’s a gift from God. Kratom eased me out of depression and calmed my anxiety. I’m a better wife, mother and daughter and my family appreciates the changes in me these past 8 years. I’ve won awards at work. Friends laugh, but for me kratom is a terrific cup of coffee that fills my heart and brings me closer to God and the people around me. I don’t isolate. I’m active and involved. I’m living a full life.
I believe the DEA’s proposed ban will ruin lives. Some will turn to illegal street drugs, some will return to alcohol and some people like me will fight to keep the life we’ve built. While writing this I realize I’ve made kratom sound almost magical. While zinc and vitamin C help a body fight infection, kratom helps me fight for a better life. I work with my doctor and therapist but nothing has helped as much as kratom.
What an excellent exposure of government overreach this is! There is no logic whatsoever in the DEA’s decision to ban a substance with thousands of years of safe usage and no deaths attributed solely to it. Between this and their adamant refusal to remove marijuana from the schedule one category, the DEA is on track to lose all credibility. This law will not protect public health, if anything it will harm the public by adding to the already overflowing prison populations and will definitely lead to a large spike in the death toll of the opioid epidemic. The American people will not stand for this abuse of the emergency scheduling procedure.
My close friend opened up about her personal and vey painful journey with TSW. She is a hero in my eyes. She bravely and unselfishly bared her soul and intimate photos of the most vulnerable time in her life so that Kratom can be seen in a positive light for its medicinal benefits. She has suffered a long time and kratom soap soothes her skin and helps her be more comfortable as she battles TSW.
https://youtu.be/u3DJrcDzo5s
I am 63 and have finally found something that helps me deal with chronic pain! I was also fed a steady diet of narcotic and opioid pain medication. Kratom has given me the ability to think clear again, not clouded by the adverse side effects of the medication that’s distributed by our beloved government. It’s appalling that 11 year olds can now get Oxycontin!! The Bible talks about the fruits of the Earth shall be for us to use. It sucks when the DEA believes they are better than God because they sure are trying to act like it
My name is Angi. I’m 37 and I am from Virginia. I suffer from chronic kidney stones and infections. I have had sepia multiple times and been hospitalized more times than I can count. I’ve had my gall bladder removed and two tumors from my abdomen. I was diagnosed with lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome As well. I suffer from migraines and cluster
Headaches. I have vertigo as well as depression, anxiety and add. My issues come from a car accident from 1999. I was only 18 when I broke my hips, ribs, fractured my spine and punctured my lung. I was paralyzed and told I wouldn’t walk again. I’m happy I’m here to share
With you ,!I was blessed to beat all odds , I am walking and I have a 9 year old son.
Kratom has helped me cope with the chronic pain and fatigue. I cannot take pain medicine because it was causing the kidney stones. Kratom has given me a better quality of life then pharmaceuticals ever could.
https://youtu.be/kiI2LO_17aU
I am a 14 year Kratom user. I am also a law abiding citizen and I think the DEA has overstepped their boundaries with this potential ban on Kratom. I’m worried that the DEA isn’t even listening. Whether they do or not I want to state this:
I am a 38 year old male from Virginia whose life has been saved because of Kratom. I was a drug user. Now, 14 years later, I am a prominent member of my society here in my town. Kratom helped me take my life back, get off drugs, and overcome depression.
This plant doesn’t make me high, nor is it an opiate which most schedule I drugs are. I am completely baffled by the reasoning behind this ban. There have been no specific research proving their points behind why they want to do this.
I am a law abiding citizen. On September 30th, if this ban does happen, a lot of people will be forced to make the decision of taking harmful opiates to sustain their pain instead of a natural plant.
Please don’t allow this to happen.
My name is Cindi, I’m a 46-year old female from California and I’d like to voice my concern about the making Kratom a Schedule 1 drug.
I was diagnosed with DDD, bulging disks, osteoarthritis, raw nerve exposure and stenosis. I was going to a pain management Dr. and he put me on Norcos and then in a couple of months took me off. I was in constant pain 24/7. I had no idea how I was going to live with the constant pain. At that point I was only existing.
I happened to be in a pain group skimming over some posts, when someone mentioned Kratom. That it was all natural and helped with pain, anxiety and depression. I was very reluctant but I thought it might be my saving grace. I researched it and joined a group. I was able to get a free sample. I was still very reluctant, but thought what do I have to lose. I took a tsp and at first got no results. A day later I took it again and went about my business. Within 30 minutes I realized I felt my pain was disappearing. I almost couldn’t believe it. My pain was gone and I was able to do things I hadn’t done in a long time like drive in a car for more than thirty minutes, play outside with my son and do housework more than a few minutes at a time. I’m able to be a functioning wife, mother and woman. Kratom gave me my life back. Instead of existing. I’m living. For that I am forever grateful. It’s truly a miracle plant.
I have taken Kratom every day for 2 years, it has helped me so much to be productive during my work day. Every week I usually work 70+ hours and Kratom helps me to stay on my feet. Now the DEA wants to step in and say it has no medicinal value? I have seen so many of my friends take this natural remedy to stay off hard drugs. I have seen it help so many to live normal productive lives. Don’t take this away from the moms, addicts, and people in pain who really need this miracle herb. It has helped so many of us!
To whom it may concern
Recently the DEA has announced its intention to make Kratom, a herb which grows in nature, a Schedule 1 drug – on par with Heroin. I am emailing for two reasons – firstly I want to share my personal story with you and secondly I want to share larger concerns that I have with this ban as a US citizen. I am 34 year old male. I am a CPA and work as a senior manager in a large professional services firm. In 2011 I had a bacterial infection which caused nerve damage. The nerve damage resulted in debilitating pain. This situation unfolded fairly quickly for me and the doctors put me on medication which quite honestly didn’t ease my pain and significantly affected my mental wellbeing. I missed many days from work over the following 3 months. After doing some research online I discovered that a plant – Kratom – might be able to assist me in managing the pain. I tried it out and found it to be very effective in managing my pain. I was able to significantly reduce my intake of prescription drugs as a result of my use of this plant. Secondary benefits also accrued. Consumption of Kratom tea significantly reduced my anxiety and depression – both of which I have struggled almost all my life to manage. The plant allowed me to be a productive, tax paying member of society. I’m afraid that if this plant is banned I will have to go back to less effective, highly addictive pharmaceuticals with many negative side effects. I’m afraid that I would be at the mercy of a physician who may not fully understand the side effects and addictive nature of drugs that he or she prescribe (I have found this to be common occurrence). I’m afraid of having to choose between becoming a drug addict or living with debilitating pain. I know that my story is not unique. There are tens (maybe hundreds) of thousands out there that have a similar story to mind. Beyond myself, I am also sad for the thousands of recovering heroin addicts that have been able to give up heroin and prescription opioids as a result of all natural Kratom leaf. It’s my strong belief that heroin related deaths will sky rocket across this country as a result of any Kratom ban. It is widely known that heroin related ODs skyrocketed in Alabama as a result banning the plant in Alabama, and I have no doubt that similar results will be replicated nationwide if the ban takes effect. A ban on Kratom will have the opposite effect to what the DEA intends. These are not my most significant concerns though. My most significant concern is that the DEA is planning on scheduling this plant without a.) any evidence at all to support its claim that Kratom is an imminent health hazard (there have been 0 deaths that have ever proven to be caused by Kratom), b.) any allowances for comment by the medical and scientific community, and c.) without the authorization of Congress. This in my view is an overreach of authority by the DEA, which has much larger ‘go forward’ implications for our society than simply the “now effect” of plunging thousands back into addiction and/or chronic pain. The real question here, in my mind, is should the DEA be able to arbitrarily ban a natural substance without evidence to support its decisions, such as the result of serious research.
I leave you with this – the DEA says Kratom has been “associated” with 15 deaths, meaning that they have found 15 people that have died with Kratom in their system among other substances (but never able to attribute any death to Kratom itself). By contrast, lightning strikes cause the death of 51 people annually. I am atleast 3 times more likely to get struck by lightning than I am to die of Kratom ingestion. This issue is so much bigger than just Kratom. A message needs to be sent to the DEA and to the government at large. This HAS to stop. It just HAS to.
Thanks for your time
Sent from my iPad
Kratom helped me get off of pain killers w/o any side effects whatsoever. this plant is amazing and safe. what the DEA is doing is completely irrational and dangerous to millions. you have already taken away pharmaceutical drugs from chronic pain patients and now you are taking away their last hope. this is a tea leaf. no additives and no compounds. leave it legal. listen to all the voices. the chronic pain patients, veterans, older people and everyone else who is seeking something other than the poison offered to them by their so called doctors. #iamkratom #kratomsaveslives
After seeing the march on washington yesterday and the level of maturity most of the crowd was, clearly this plant is not a drug for people to get high. It is a natural plant helping those with chronic pain. It is saving lives not destroying them like heroin and cocaine. How could you even clasify these in the same schedule. The DEA really needs to stop this ban or over a hundred thousand people will be forced to go back to the streets and pharmaceuticals.
It’s a shame that those of us who experience pain buy don’t want to be heavily dependent upon pharmaceutical pain medication are having our rights ripped away from us. I am a mother, a home schooler, and a daycare provider. Not a law breaking drug addict. This is unbelievable and it’s hard to believe that a government agency can get away with unilaterally declaring a tea leaf illegal.
I have been taking Kratom for 5 years now daily. I have rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain. Kratom has helped me live a normal life. I used to have to take narcotic pain medication and live my life in a fog so to speak. I’m 39 years old and I’m a mom, a wife, and a baker. My job requires me to be on my feet and on the move sometimes 9-10 hours a day. I would not be able to complete my duties without the help of Kratom. I am a law-abiding citizen, I’ve never been arrested and have the utmost respect for law enforcement. After hearing the news that the DEA wants to ban Kratom I was, and still am devastated. I don’t know what will happen to me. I suppose I will have no choice but to either be in constant pain or return to using narcotic pain medication. Honestly I think the former is the better option for me although I know that would lead to depression and I probably would ultimately turn to the pills. This ban is not right. I would be considered a felon if I continued to use Kratom and that is mind boggling to me. I want the right to take care of my body and what ails me however I choose. They will ruin lives if this ban goes through. They have no basis for pushing this ban and it isn’t right that they are trying to manipulate people into believing Kratom is dangerous. I am a living, breathing testament to the benefits of Kratom. Please help us to stop this abuse of power.
Thank you cre for looking at this. This is a huge overstep by the DEA. The DEA is supposed to enforce laws, not create them. Kratom is not an immediate threat to public safety like spice or other synthetic drugs. Unadulterated Kratom is a plant that has been used for centuries in Asia and decades in the United States. I prefer to take kratom to help with my chronic pain over harsh and addictive prescription drugs drugs. I am a more productive citizen with my Leitrim use than I was on prescription drugs. I have not had a single sick day since adding kratom to my regimen. I called out sick at least a couple times a month while on prescription drugs because of pain and flare-ups. Please don’t make me go back to that.
Kratom has helped me regain my ability to function normally. I suffer from fibromyalgia and spinal issues. I’ve had a long and emotional years of trying to get doctors to listen and many years battling to get a diagnosis. Thought once diagnosed the doctors could help but years of harmful medications and procedures that have made my condition worse. As a Native American I decided to look into natural remedies and herbals to ease my symptoms. Found kratom after long research. This plant has helped me so much to be able to take care of my kids, household tasks, and help with my boyfriend’s farming our only income. Was looking into returning to work which I was unable to do before and get off assistance. Now with the ban this will not happen. And back to painful steroid injections that do not help ,but that’s all my pain management doctor has given me for treatments. Can’t live in constant pain and now they’re taking the only thing that helps me function. Guess I should start the disability paperwork and be a continued burden on tax payers.
Im a 34 year old male from Minnesota that has been dealing with IBS and subsequent depression that went along with a poor quality of life. I’ve taken different prescriptions with varying success but when I discovered kratom my life changed. My daily quality of life improved so drastically I didn’t need any of my prescription medication anymore and am no longer held captive by my ailments and can enjoy a normal life. I can eat any foods I want, run, bike, take hikes and fly anywhere without worry. I can’t explain why and how kratom works so well but to schedule this as a level 1 controlled substance is a huge disservice to me and hundreds of thousands of other Americans. There is so much undiscovered potential here and substantial evidence that kratom has many beneficial uses. Saying the DEA is performing a disservice is an understatement, this is a tragedy and detrimental to the very people they are claiming to protect. We need to end this unanswerable irresponsible action immediately.
There are clearly much more harmfull substances legally available on the market . This is a obviously bought and paid for by the pharmecuitical companies . Ridiculous and blatent lies to demonize this botanical. If regulation is necessary then restrict sales to 18 or 21 and up . There is absolutely no valid reason to ban this plant and create more pain and suffering for people . The government needs to stop taking donations and bribes from drug companies . If they had to rely on tax payer dollars instead, as it should be, perhaps we’d get some respect and have our opinions count for something.
I was taking 3-4 percocet 10mg a day having to buy them off the black market for a few years until I found Kratom. Since then I have been able to treat my pain and my opiate addiction with this life saving plant. Now that the dea is banning it I fear that I will have no choice but to go back to black market narcotics to treat my pain once my Kratom supply runs out.
I’ve been using kratom for a year now after my back surgery. Not only does it take away my pain but also my anxiety. Please don’t take away the one thing that works!!
I’m 36 yrs old. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 16, between the meds they had me on for that (several different injections and loads of steroids) and the fact that it causes my body not to process calcium properly I’ve developed severe joint issues and kidney stones. Since finding out about kratom a year ago I’ve stopped the pharmaceutical meds and gone strictly herbal. I’ve had 0 kidney stones in the last 7 months where as I was passing 6 or more a month and it helps tremendously with the joint pain . This ban will make life miserable for me and the thousands who use it instead of having to deal with the “side effects ” of pharmaceutical meds .