The Drug Enforcement Administration has received a torrent of backlash from patients with chronic pain and former opiate users after announcing plans to ban kratom, a plant gaining popularity for its opiate-like effects, the Washington Post reports. Kratom, which originates in Southeast Asia, has become more widespread in the U.S., fueled by online testimonials from users and a lack of federal regulation. Advocates say the plant, which typically is crushed and mixed or brewed with water, poses few health risks while helping users relieve severe pain and overcome addictions to powerful prescription painkillers.
A DEA spokesman said the agency has received a surprising number of comments about the ban and could ease the restrictions after further research. The Food and Drug Administration began seizing some kratom shipments from overseas in 2014. This summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that annual calls to poison-control centers related to kratom use rose from 26 in 2010 to 263 last year. States have been banning the substance: Alabama and Arkansas outlawed it earlier this year, joining four others — Indiana, Wisconsin, Vermont and Tennessee, says the American Kratom Association. DEA has announced a temporary federal ban on kratom beginning Sept. 30.
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64 Comments
How can they say they might “ease” restrictions “after further research” when the very listing in Schedule PREVENTS research BY LAW, because Schedule 1 prohibits the possession of a substance, even if only for research purposes. It’s good that the DEA is reconsidering, but if they go forward and classify kratom as Schedule 1, that will effectively CEASE immediately all research of the plant.
I may be reading too much in what the spokesperson said, but this seems disingenuous.
Overall, this whole ban proposal is ludicrous. If any of these bureaucrats at the DEA would simply try kratom for themselves they would see what everyone is saying when they say that is comparable to coffee with some calming, analgesic effects. It literally IS the cousin tree to the coffee plant. One would never be able to tell if someone has used kratom tea because it doesn’t get you “high” and actually tends to make people MORE functional – ie, sharper wits/mind, calm but not sedated, energized but not hyper. It’s just a very balanced, plant-based tea leaf.
It’s also worth noting that pharmaceutical companies DO have patents on the active constituents of the kratom plant to make into medicine. Yet the DEA says that kratom has no medical use? In saying this, the DEA is directly contradicting the statements of Federal Government health agencies and peer-reviewed pharmaceutical research.
Again, the entirety of this ban proposal is based on scare-science, flimsy data and hype and if it is banned it will make criminals overnight out of disabled/PTSD veterans, soccer moms, grandparents, teachers, lawyers, and even law enforcement officers. All types of people drink kratom tea daily for it’s medicinal benefits.
You hit all the very relative points that could win at least a postponement – they removed it once before. Your a very good writer and glad your on the right side to fight for justice.
Well said my friend!
What specific pharmaceutical companies have patents on the active constituents in Kratom?
Glaxo smith-Kline
Extremely well said. Also, I wish some of these reporters would look into DEA Acting Director Chuck Rosenberg and his link to one of the biggest pharmaceutical lobbyist firms in DC. How does a lobbyist become acting director of a law enforcement agency?? Conflict of interest, perhaps? Absolutely!
Right yet another convenient oversight of reporting from the mainstream media. It is sooooo obvious who’s puppets they are.
Well the good news is that the law firm hired by the American Kratom Association to negotiate an agreement is the firm in which Rosenberg was once a Partner.
You are so right i agree with you totally hopefully they delay the ban and do some research and like you said thet should try it themselves.
Loud applause for you my friend, well said.
And for me it has stopped my Crohn’s symptoms in their tracks!
Amen!
I’m a 61 year old retired teacher who has used kratom over the past three years for back pain every morning when i get up . . . you summed it up perfectly – bingo!
I thought the whole thing was either the wrong information or a practical joke at first.. It’s just so obsurd it’s beyond comprehension.. I actually got a bag back in ’03 but then sorta forgot about it until I discovered what it was really for back in June.. Yes, it still appeared to be good after 13 years! Been using it ever since for like 3 months.. I’ve had chronic pain not to mention depression for ages.. This was the solution.. I was thinking it was too good to be true.. And, sure enough! The whole big pharma losing profits conspiracy theory is debatable.. I’m sure they make a gazillion dollars even with coexisting with Kratom as some people prefer pharmaceuticals and vice versa.. Why shouldn’t we have the freedom of choice as it’s supposed to be in a so called free country? The whole it’s too dangerous argument is also ludicrous.. I lost my dad due to lung cancer a little over 2 years ago.. I got a message for DEA.. Tobacco products interlaced with chemicals on the market is far more lethal than Kratom is beyond reason.. No medicinal value.. Where’s your “emergency ban??” Alcohol=tons of overdoses and deaths due to accidents etc. Where’s your emergency ban?? I think what’s angering the people even more than this laughable ban attempt is your insult on our intelligence incinuating that it needs to go by the wayside due to its dangers and you’re only trying to protect us.. Be real and tell us the real reason.. You may as well by this point.. You guys made a big mistake and the last thing you want is a civil war with war veterans and soccer moms involved..
I also did not believe this bizarre news at first. It’s ridiculous,… and so is the DEA. I am a sixty year old woman who works an outdoor job in Montana year round, and as of three years ago did not dream I would be able to continue in my job. I was dealing with increasing pain in my lower spine and my joints, primarily my knees. At that time I discovered and started using kratom and my pain levels have reduced and my health has improved to the point that I feel I have many years of productive work left in me. Kratom does not make me “high” at all. I replaced my morning cup of coffee with a tea made with a cup and a half of hot water poured over 1 teaspoon of kratom, 1 teaspoon of guarana, and a bit of stevia sweetener. I do not want the DEA to force me to have to quit my job and to become an invalid for the rest of my life who has to choose between living in constant pain or to live on mind-crippling and addicting pharmaceutical drugs. We lose 19,000 human lives per year in the USA due to prescription opiate pain killing drugs. So why does the DEA want to make a law abiding citizen like me a “felon” for having found a healthy herbal alternative that has kept me working, and able to pay my income taxes? Speaking of taxes, the vendors who presently sell kratom legally also pay taxes to the US govt. but the DEA wants the profits to go to the non-tax paying black market, and to the Big-Pharma-Monopolies who will take hordes of USA tax dollars for their research to chemically alter kratom and transform it into a distorted and dangerous chemical drug. Then they will price gouge the USA citizens (as usual) by charging $900.00 for a 30 pill bottle. I hope that when the DEA is busting the veterans and soccer moms that Michael G. talked about and these people are placed on trial, that court juries will educate themselves and exercise the one authority we have left as citizens to put a stop to stupid and idiotic laws…Jury Nullification.
I stand behind what this man ha said!!! I used to be addicted to my Vicodin that was prescribed by my doctor and hated life. Now I have access to something that is as harmful as coffee but really helps my situation and of course now the pharm companies are buying out the DEA’s choice to ban it so that the pharm co’s can patent it and make profit. ENOUGH WITH THE CORRUPTION!! Think about the veterans, those in need like me.. Jesus people please
Good points. Kratom relieves Willis-Ekbom Disease, Severe RLS, Parkinson’s, MS, and other disorders that result in muscular spasms. It has been a miracle for me. It is my daytime medicine and without it I will suffer. DEA sees no medicinal value, they should consider how many patents big pharmaceuticals have on Kratom now. There is the PROOF
I have links and files to over 20 Scientific Studies spanning the last 15 years which the DEA is ignoring, They know that Kratom has been researched, and that it is non toxic, fairly un-patent-able, and does not cause health problems, WHILE miraculously helping people wean off of dangerous pharmaceuticals, and other addictions. This plant has been used by humans for over 500 years. Studies have been done. The DEA are puppets for BIGPHARMA, and are being caught, pants down for that behavior, RIGHT NOW.
I think it is just talk, to quiet people down. This thing is so sad when I think of kratom has helped me and others. I know people who’who’s lives will change much for the worse as a result of this ban and many people will die as a result. Many. Sad.
How can it be a bad thing, when it saved my Son’s life…along with many others!! It has been the only thing that has helped him…please, this cannot be taken away from him!! It’s no joke!!
Can you imagine what our founders would think of the DEA?
I’m probably switching back to hardcore street drugs when it goes into effect. Thanks DEA. Back to being an addict…
I’m so fucked.
We have some great news that needs urgent action BY 5pm ET TUESDAY! We, with our lobbyist’s help, have found some champions in Congress to write a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter asking the DEA to slow down this process. They are Congressmen Pocan of WI, who I met with the night before the March, and Salmon of AZ.
The letter asks, among other things, that the Director of OMB and Acting Director of the DEA delay a final decision on the placement of Kratom as a schedule I, provide ample time for public comment on this significant decision, and resolve any inconsistencies with other Federal Agencies regarding the use of Kratom.
So this is what we need you to do!!! Find your Rep here and e-mail them over the weekend! http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ Then use the number below to call YOUR representative first thing Monday morning. Tell them you are a responsible adult consumer of Kratom for help with ______ (ailment) and ask that they please contact Congressman Pocan’s office to sign-on to the Pocan/Salmon Dear Colleague letter on this issue.
To call your Member of Congress:
US Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
Well put. This is an extremely real route that a lot of people will go back to if this legislation goes through.
Please just get kratom, don’t put yourself at risk again because of this supposed ban. Don’t worry-It will be available somewhere, just like hardcore drugs are.
That will be a personal choice. Not the DEA’s fault. You’re stronger than that
I agree with you!!! I’ve been off opiates for 5 years and only becuause I had Kratom to help me through it.. So many people are going to overdose, relapse and die from not being able to take Kratom! Great idea DEA! Send the public back out to the hard drugs and ban a plant!!!
Me too. I have been clean for 17 months after using my entire life. It makes me not even want to use drugs. I suffer from chronic back pain and this works better than actual opiates without the terrible side effects! I do not want to go back to drugs, but if this ban goes through, I probably will, and I hate even thinking about it. So many people benefit from Kratom and it just breaks my heart to see this happening.
The DEA absolutely knows…. This is absurdity. This plant saved my life. It continues to aid people. As Americans, we don’t need to ask or hide from our government. We can drink the tea that helps us because we are born of a place of freedom. All the DEA’s arguments are lies. They know it. Kratom communities know it. And it will become significantly clear to the populous that this entire system need rearranging, whether those in power know it or not!
The DEA is scamming us. There will be no research permitted on it if the ban occurs at all.
That’s the saddest part of all of this. The DEA is trying to trick us. They think if we feel like we have won, we’ll back off. WE CAN NOT BACK DOWN. We have a good chance to turn this around but we have to KEEP FIGHTING.
I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder when I was eighteen years old, Ive tried many perscriptions perscribed to me by a doctor and not very many of them seemed to work. The ones that did work caused really bad side effects and addiction, I even began drinking more often especially in social situations to try and relieve my anxiety disorder. I started using Kratom six years ago and i Have been able to get off all perscription medications and have an over all sense of well being, I actually start conversations with people, I never knew what it felt like to be normal. I ended up going to college and am working on an engineering degree, I have my own house, car, and a life of not being anxious around others. If it werent for Kratom, I would still be living with my parents on perscription meds and not moving on with my life. I feel alive again, I really hope that the DEA sees that people who use kratom are just your average everyday hard working american trying to improve their quality of life.
The impact that this ban will have on people and their lives is going to be irreversible! There are going to be deaths due to overdose, suicides due to depression and people losing hope! Children losing their parents into an opiate and benzo coma! There will be people losing jobs and they will no longer be able to care for their family or themselves! Kratom has helped so many people be able to return to a world that they forgot existed and now our government is going to pull the rug out from under them!! I’m extremely scared for my own life and the poor quality of it without Kratom! It has been a very stressful couple of weeks for the Kratom community and the next couple will be even worse as September 30th closes in on us! After that….it’s all on the DEA! Zero deaths due to Kratom alone but there will surely be deaths alone without Kratom!
“Beware those spreading fearing in the name of righteousness” – Picard
I drink kratom tea about 6x/day. I’m 44, suffering from side effects of chemo, DDD, DJD,scoliosis ,and a few other ailments. I introduced my mother (67) to kratom, and also my 87 year old grandmother. None of us are drug addicts. We just simply find MUCH relief from kratom. Last summer I had a total hystorectomy due to cancer. As soon as the hospital took the morphine IV out of my hand, I went straight to my kratom, and never looked back. Kratom works BETTER than opiates for pain. For ME – there is no comparison!!! #iamkratom #kratomsaveslives #stopthekratomban
Shawn I also had a hysterectomy for cancer last year (I am 60), and I too came out of the hospital and went back to using my moderate daily dose of kratom–in fact, I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had kratom to calm my anxiety after being told I have cancer. This ban is outrageous.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Kratom DOES work better, for me, and there are literally NO SIDE EFFECTS. This whole thing is just ridiculous. And the DEA KNOWS IT. We have to keep fighting for what is right. We should have the RIGHT TO CHOOSE KRATOM.
But in the meantime, I’ll just have to learn to live with level 14 pain while the “gods” that be dictate my life?
I am praying daily that this ban does not go through. This plant has changed my life for the better.
Unfortunately we, on the side of keeping it legal , do not have the money to lobby congress the Klaxco Smith Klien has to criminalize it
We must keep kratom legal
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
If we ban kratom, why shouldn’t we ban coffee which is just as addictive. We need to get this point out there, just because something is addictive doesn’t mean we should ban it. Better yet why don’t we just ban cigarettes and any form of tobacco while we are at it. Tobacco use is highly addictive and dangerous, I think that meets DEA’s needs to be on schedule one.
I’ve been using kratom for the past few years. I use it for pain relief and also for anxiety. This plant has allowed me to get my life back. It also got me off the addictive Pain killers that doctors have no problem putting us on. Pain killers were the worst, they worked, but come with all sorts of side effects that kratom does not have. Kratom in small doses has been a life saver. If you take to much it can make you feel a little upset stomach, but If you drink to much coffee you will also get ill effects. You drink to much alcohol and you’ll get ill effects same with tobacco.
We need to get this point out there so everybody can realize, just because something is addictive doesn’t mean it’s bad. People can become addicted to certain foods, should we just ban them too. This ban is going to affect more people than the DEA thinks. All these people who have found kratom beneficial are going to be put back on the dangerous and addictive prescription pills. A lot of us don’t want to go back to that lifestyle. We have found a relief that is not man made and works better than any of the prescription pills without the ill side effects that follow.
We need to get these points and more in front of as many people as we can. We also need more people to sign the petition. We have met our 100,000 signatures and more, but we need to keep adding more.
Thanks for taking the time in reading this, hopefully we can all work together to keep kratom legal.
Sincerely, Erik Gronner
Sent from my iPhone
Now is the time to take action. I am sick of automated messages expressing sympathy from senatots. Tell them to DO something and sign Pocan/Salmon’s letter to the DEA. Fighting this ban saves lives, do not forget that. Be respectful but be firm. We will not roll over, we want the ban delayed at the least, we want it to stay legal and easily accessible. We are not criminals, we will not let them send us back into suffering. We have to rise up together. We the people CAN make change happen if we are outraged enough! I have fibro, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and PTSD and I am an honors student, mom, and volunteer. I will not go back to bed ridden, inactive, and depressed. I refuse!
I’ve been a Kratom user since 2008. It has literally saved my life of horror that was once filled with prescription opiates. I have not touched a prescription pain killer for 8 years and I will not return to that life that was not worth living. I am a responsible, productive member of society. I employ hundreds of folks and I worry about their future as well.
I fear my obituary will be one of many associated with this reckless behaviour instigated by those that are supposed to protect and serve us.
I sincerely hope they reconsider the ban. This plant actually helps lots of people.
That’s funny, 200 people have died (which is BS), there’s been millions of deaths over alcohol in one month, a million over cigarettes, prescriptions, etc. I’d like them to prove kratom can cause an OD…. they cant.
Sadly people will die because of this ridiculous overreaching scheduling. People will overdose on prescription drugs. People won’t be able to deal with the pain and they will also die. Don’t be fooled the reason this is happening is money. Donors, PACs, and super PACs are lining the right pockets. Welcome to America, we don’t give a damn about people ony money, now move along.
Kratom must not be scheduled at all. This has to be a mistake. Synthetic poisons (Spice/Bath Salts) Those are terrifying. They need to be scheduled.
Kratom has helped people for centuries, with no deaths recorded. It has helped me deal with facial reconstruction/Radical Nephrectomy pain, as well as anxiety from Scoliosis bracing/Surgery. I think this plant holds many benefits for Humanity. I fear that myself, my Family, my friends who take this plant, and those that haven’t needed it’s help yet, will be harmed by a misguided move intended to help us. It will not. Scheduling Kratom will hurt Americans, now, and we in the Future. Thank you for your time. God bless!
I was on prescription pain relievers for 11-plus years when my pain Dr retired. Six months later I’m still on waiting lists trying to get into a pain management clinic…and NO other Dr wants to help me because they say the DEA is cracking down on prescription drugs. THANK THE LORD I discovered Kratom to help me with pain I have with a crippling birth defect. I actually feel normal for the first time in 11 years. I don’t want to go back to feeling like a zombie and ever dependant on pills again. Please take a look at how Kratom has helped me at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/339306613078315/permalink/345350272473949/
Thank you! #iamkratom #kratomsaveslives
States don’t need the D.E.A.or F.D.A. These groups with their secret courts and loyalty purges have become a haven and stronghold used to fund their Authoritarian police regime along with their greedy puppets placed in political office.You don’t need them, I don’t need them. Nobody needs the D.E.A. and F.D.A..Nor these and the other gangs of Federal and state drug enforcement thugs. we do not need them. Their foul nest needs to be cleaned out and the entire area fumigated. Marijuana and pain medication are just the tip of the iceberg of hundreds of examples of their incompetence and abuse of power. Instead of using these positions to aid and protect the world citizen, they are using them as a base and stronghold to fund and build their Authoritarian regime.The way to control the drug problem is to get the D.E.A., The F.D.A. and the other law and order thugs out of the picture. It is they who have created and manufactured the problems.Other country’s that allow its citizens access to pain medications and marijuana have no serious drug problem. It is these law enforcement Authoritarians and their political puppets along with law enforcement thugs who are using drugs as an excuse to wage war on the American Citizen and especially as an excuse to strip away everyone’s Civil and Human liberty’s. These renegade law enforcement groups are striping and plundering, bilking the social grant funding resources like a pack of hounds through a garbage can..All;to fund their drug war against everyone except themselves. Hundreds of millions of dollars, billions nationwide. This plundering and pilfering from the grant system and robbery of Americans must stop.
Buddy you sound like you just want the DEA out of the picture so you can feast on drugs and not get arrested. No one said to get rid of the DEA but not to ban kratom. People like you are the reason why this is happen people who are looking to just get a high. Peole who actually need kratom aren’t looking to get high but from the benefits. These people who need kratom aren’t looking to get rid of the Dea but not to see their life lines disappear.
I keep up with what’s being said and done everyday with this Kratom ban. I discovered Kratom a year ago and it has totally wiped out my addiction to opiates. I literally don’t crave it nor think about it. I use Kratom 3-4 times daily and I take it responsibly. I don’t get “high”. I’ve never felt “high” while taking it. I owe this plant for saving my life cause I was really headed down a dark road. I pretty much lost everything when I was addicted to those awful pain pills. I recently sprained my ankle really bad. The dr was going to prescribe a pain pill but I said “No thanks”. I just used my Kratom and I have been able to not miss a day of work cause of my sprain. If my sprained ankle would of happened a year ago, I would of gladly welcomed that prescription from my dr. Knowing I wouldn’t have to get them off the streets. My total way of thinking is due to Kratom. I am a law abiding, hard working, 41 yr old wife and mother. I am able to spend quality time with my family now and not wondering when and where I’m going to get my next pain pill. I’m so over that lifestyle and I’m so grateful for Kratom. It brings tears to my eyes to know it may be banned. There are responsible adults who really needs it to help with their pain. I can’t believe that we live in the land of the free, home of the brave and our right to deal with pain should be in any way we choose to. We aren’t harming anyone. We aren’t even harming ourselves. If anything, taken all these medications that are prescribed would harm us. I know people that have lost their lives due to overdosing. I hope they reconsider this ban. I hope the DEA isn’t just stringing us along with the whole “reconsidering” attitude that has been taken. Cause ultimately they’re playing with people’s lives.
One of the arguments DEA is making, is that 14 people have allegedly died from kratom intoxication. Not one of those deaths have been proven to be directly caused by kratom. It’s important to have this information ready and written down if necessary so when we make the call tomorrow, we’ll have that knowledge and a cogent response if asked about it. The 14 cases all involved other drugs in the systems of those so affected. But DEA is cherry picking the kratom that was found which is bad science. Like saying that thousands of people had coffee in their systems when they died from alcohol-induced liver failure and so, coffee must have had something to do with it. And while we’re on the subject of liver failure, tylenol directly causes 150 deaths per year in the United States from that condition. But not only is tylenol legal nor a “drug of interest”, you literally stumble over boxes of this poison in seemingly every shelf aisle, in every store or supermarket you visit. Hypocricy? Yea, I’d say.
The God given plant kratom has been used in my life for the last yr. In this yr I have finally stayed away from alcohol. Kratom removes my craving for it. I was a severe alcoholic and tried many times to sober up only to become a binge drinker and every couple of months I’d drink myself back into a hospital bed…extrememly sick and detoxing. After getting out of the hospital last october i started seriously taking kratom as my daily medicine. And low and behold the cravings stopped, the chronic depression ceased, I became active and PRODUCTIVE in my life again. The debilitating anxiety that kept me locked in my house and away from ppl melted away and I started seeking out ppl to be around. I have spent 13 yrs trying every man made pill known to man to fight my issues. All to no avail. They only caused more issues than the ones already at hand. I take kratom like my medicine, my medicine that actually WORKS. If this ban takes place I fear returning to the darkness I just got out of. I hope to God this plant is not banned, and that those who have all this power to destroy lives in the palm of their hands, realize the lives that are using the plant as intended r the ones they are ultimately destroying. Please don’t take my medicine from me!
One other thing the DEA is missing that I haven’t heard brought up in this forum or in too many articles. The economic consequences of there decision will be felt by thousands of employees and business owners alike. As the CEO of a chain of stores throughout the PNW that sales Kratom, I can say without a doubt the impact is going to cost around 30% of my employees there livilhood.
At the very least a 3-6 month extension could allow businesses to prepare for the lost and allow staff that will have to be laid off ample time to find a new job or career.
You guys already nailed everything else. Let’s not give up on this fight!!!
There is only one reason for this ban ~ MONEY! If the Big Pharma arm of our corrupt government can’t make money from something that works for so many people, they will ban it to take control of it. Surely a patented synthetic version will be available soon, with all the side effects and wealth draining properties of their other pain killers (and $ lining the pockets of those who push this through) They don’t care ANYTHING about YOU. Until humanity gets off their knees and rejects their corrupt governments, this will be just one of the troubles in our lives. One day of an American country-wide “day off” would prove to all of those who are afraid to act, all the power we need to stop the ruling psychopaths, that it is obtainable! Good luck to everyone.
I am a recovering Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and tramadol addict. I have stopped using these Dr. Prescribed drugs by using KRatom bali. I cried when I found out about the ban on this plant and major fear and depression as now become another part of my life. I dont drink alcohol or smoke but do take Kratom, three times daily, for a period of 2 years. I now have to find another Dr who will be willing to help me manage my Chronic back pain. This is a sad day for me, I was working regular 50 hours a week now I will be out of commission for God only knows how long. Thanks DEA, now I will have to resort to a way of life I thought I recovered from.
NO YOU WONT!!!! please dont give up. I was in the same boat… screw it .. ill tell my story
Stsy dtrong my friend
Kratom is to Heroin as Caffeine is to Cocaine. Both Coffee and Cocaine activate the Dopamine receptors, but caffeine to a much lesser degree. Kratom activates the Opioid receptors to a much lesser degree than Heroin and pain medication. Imagine how ridiculous it would be to ban coffee beans!
The letter I wrote to the congressman .
My name is Lyssa and I am trying to do my part and help a community that I an part of. While many people have not heard of Kratom before this last year, Kratom saved my life when my own doctor would not. I am here to tell a story. I need to be heard by Mr Johnson.
PLEASE. make sure he gets this request. It is so important for everyone in power to understand what they are signing off on.
Mr. Johnson, I am a 49 yr old woman that was dying. I can honestly tell you that Kratom saved my life.
I will come forward and share my story without fear of being judged . I have had enough of that. My thoughts count. My right to live pain free without poisoning myself with narcotic pain medications.
I will answer any questions about how this ban in Kratom will affect thousands of Americans who were only seeking one thing- to get help for pain or anxiety . We were let down by our doctors and fed medications that caused more problems than cures.
Making Kratom a Sched 1 drug will accomplish nothing to help stop opiate abuse . My doctor ( pusher) introduced me to pain meds and kept me on them for close to 14 yrs. I was prescribed 200 pills a month for over a decade. I quit – cold turkey – alone- without my doctors help.KRATOM helped me prepare for what was sure to be an onslaught if painful withdrawals. I begged my Dr to help me quit… when I told her I was going to use Kratom- She had never heard if it . I expected her to ask what it was- she didn’t. What did do ? she severed the relationship by registered mail 10 days after I told her.
I quit by sipping Kratom tea. And I didn’t have ONE symptom. I had very very mild cravings – it was my body wanting it not my mind . I knew my dependency was physical . I was not an addict . I was dependent on it to function pain free . 10-12 Norco a day for 14 yrs .
Mr. Johnson, I dont know you and you dont know me, you may never understand what its like to live in pain, but to live in pain , alone.. as a Trypanophobic ( phobia of all medical and dental procedures that are invasive ) is scary. We die of curable diseases because the fear we have prevents us from seeking help.
I can tell you that had it not been for Kratom , I may bot be here today . I am a good person. I dont drink , I dont use drugs. I am without a family and have been since the age of 17. I am a normal person that has never taken a stand against anything unrelated to animals before.Yet I am willing to open up about my life and my struggle to get help for chronic pain and at times depilating anxiety.
There is not a lot if time left .
I am pleading with you ask Mr. Johnson to read over the Polcan / Salmon Dear Colleague Letter .
Please do not ignore this request.
Lets face it. Its not the DEA .. its BIG PHARMA BUYING THE DEA. Doctors- Pharmaceutical Companies .. They are not in the business of keeping us healthy . Where would they be ? Keeping us sick= their pay .
And im not referring to surgeons , nurses and such. I am referring to ALL the GP’s and so calked “specialists.
All the dentists that INSIST you need a root canal. THATS one of the biggest ( and profitable ) procedures .. works for all ages .
There are some great and important testimonials here on how dangerous and reckless this scheduling may be. I really hope you guys have called or at least emailed your personal stories to the DEA and/or at the very least your congressman. Venting is great but please let’s get this info to the people who can make a difference.
Don’t roll over and watch it happen. Be heard and keep fighting the good fight.
I dont know if you are speaking to me. If you are then understand this.. I have made over 120 calls , sent out versions of my story to everyone that could possibly take this issue as seriously as we do. I assure you , I am not using this site to “vent” . When I read a users comment about having to go back to a lifestyle they thought they were over, it upsets me. We all have a story and if reading just one from a stranger motivates one more reader to take a stand ;then thats all that metters.
As its now 9/27/2016 I feel there is little more anyone can do.. I signed the petitions, shared, begged my social media “friends” to do the same.. Wrote the requested letters, called the #s, did everything possible in MY personal power to do.. Thousands of others did the same.. here it is four days away from losing the only thing that gave me back a life.. The YEARS of prescription use, combo of high level painkillers & ADD medication now loom ahead, again.. What kratom has done for me I have recanted to everyone I was told would listen.. Except they did listen.. But never heard what I was telling, along with so many others.. I wonder now if perhaps I had told them what my life was going to be from Oct. 1st on? Would have made an impact? As my bday is Oct. 2nd, how ironic it will perhaps mark the day of my return to my loss of a life I enjoyed drug/pain/narcotic free for years.. I wonder if the DEA had someone close to their hearts whose life was changed in such a positive direction by what they fear by the uninformed nature of the ban? Would their be such a resistance to excepting what positive changes Kratom HAS made? Regardless, its done.. Now let them count the rising on the charts of deaths caused NOT by Kratom, but by the loss…
Look kratom is the best in the world it has many uses. Saves a lot of life’s from hardcore street drugs and relieved people’s pain. I’ve been on Ativan for many years and for many years I felt a dark cloud over me. I felt controlled by big pharm. companies, now that I’ve been using kratom I’m enjoying life again, my life is wonderful no more black cloud, I hated the feeling of Ativan. There is a such thing as a kratom over dose but it’s not like what the dea says it is. It’s more like drinking to much coffee. You get shaky maybe vommit but that’s it. I know I’ve been there done that. Is it deadly no. Banning kratom will solve anything. Is it a gate way drug? How?