We parents have quite the challenge on our hands these days. When it comes to drug use, no longer can we concern ourselves with simply teaching kids about the dangers of illicit substances and how to avoid them.
Now we have to dive headfirst down the rabbit hole to pro-actively inform them about legal drugs that they (and ourselves) may benignly encounter under legitimate, seemingly safe, scenarios. Kratom is one such substance that is proliferating like wildfire, threatening unsuspecting consumers – and children – with its little known addictive effects in the process.
What is Kratom?
Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia. It contains the substance mitragynine, which is a powerful psychoactive alkaloid.
Not surprisingly, in this part of the world, kratom is popular as a recreational drug.
Kratom Tea
Prepared as a dried and ground herb, kratom tea is a deep green powder that looks strikingly similar to matcha. It is promoted as helpful for anxiety and pain, making those seeking a lifestyle boost particularly vulnerable.
Fans of kratom say it is safe because it has been used in Asia as natural medicine for centuries. Further, they claim that dangerous side effects only potentially occur when mixed with alcohol or drugs.
Here in the North America, this herb is unregulated with dried and crushed versions commonly taken in pill form or brewed into tea.
Even more worrisome, many places that serve kratom tea spike it with CBD oil, increasing the synergistic dangers for a psychotic episode.
One of the first to address the problem, New York City recently banned edibles and drinks containing CBD in bars and restaurants. As of this writing, however, it has taken no action on kratom. (1, 2)
Popular at tea bars where young people like to hang out, kratom is popular for triggering an opioid-like effect. Depending on the dose, those who consume it may experience stimulant like effects or even mild euphoria. Hence the aggressive marketing to “naturally” treat anxiety and pain.
Kratom is Unregulated
Currently, there are no age restrictions on kratom use. This means a minor can order it on their own, and it is frequently available in places where no alcohol is served giving the false impression of safety.
This substance is already the subject of at least one lawsuit, by the parent of a teenager in my local area.
Kratom is suspected of causing brain damage in a 19 year old who drank it frequently starting at age 15 at several tea cafes near her home.
Then, out of the blue, the young woman began to suffer from “psychotic episodes and hallucinations so severe that she was confined” to a nursing home. Her physician made the connection between kratom and her brain injury. The suit alleges that the tea bars failed to warn about its dangerous side effects, making them liable for damages. (3)
Disability from kratom seems to be the tip of the iceberg.
The Food and Drug Administration has linked kratom to dozens of deaths in the United States over a nine-year period. To date, however, the agency has taken no action on prohibiting or regulating its use, saying only that:
There are no FDA-approved uses for kratom, and the agency has received concerning reports about the safety of kratom. FDA is actively evaluating all available scientific information on this issue and continues to warn consumers not to use any products labeled as containing the botanical substance kratom or its psychoactive compounds, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. FDA encourages more research to better understand kratom’s safety profile, including the use of kratom combined with other drugs. (4)
Kratom Effects
Fans of kratom claim that its effects are beneficial and can help wean people off deadly opioid abuse. While potentially true (more research is needed though – see below), it doesn’t justify easy kratom availability to minors.
What about people who don’t or have never even used opioids?
According to the FDA, kratom “affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, [and] appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence.” (5)
Does this seem like a substance that a 15 year old girl as described above should be able to freely consume at a local tea bar?
Short Term Symptoms
One or more symptoms typically appear within 5-10 minutes of consuming kratom. They usually last between 2-5 hours. The complete list of short term side effects from consuming kratom in tea or capsule form include: (6)
- Skin: Itching, sweating, dry mouth
- Excretory: Constipation, diarrhea, increased urination
- Cardiovascular: Fast or fluttering heartbeat, panic attacks
- Neurological: Feelings of agitation, irritability, or uneasiness, drowsiness, loss of muscle coordination in arms or legs, hallucinations, seizures
- Gastrointestinal: Loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, liver damage
Long Term Dangers
Kratom dependency is documented in the scientific literature in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependency. More than half of users who consumed kratom for six months or longer develop severe dependency problems. The other half show moderate addiction.
Did you get that?
Nearly 100% of people using kratom for 6 months or longer were addicted – either moderately or severely.
Those who consumed 3 or more glasses per day had a higher risk of developing severe addiction. These individuals were also likely to experience uncontrollable kratom cravings and withdrawal symptoms which included: (7)
Physical
- Muscle spasms
- Pain
- Insomnia
- Watery eyes/nose
- Hot flashes
- Fever
- Decreased appetite
- Diarrhea
Psychological
- Restlessness
- Tension
- Anger
- Sadness
- Nervousness
The journal Addiction Biology also warns of the “evidence for an addiction potential with cognitive impairments for mitragynine [kratom], which suggest its classification as a harmful drug”. (8)
The Effects of Kratom – Bottom Line
The current scientific literature on kratom summarized above is certainly ominous.
However, much more research needs to be done on the effects of kratom.
The best information we have at present is what doctors have observed about dependence in a clinical setting from individual patients experiencing addiction and/or withdrawal symptoms.
In the meantime, savvy parents will take the initiative to warn their children to avoid this herb when frequenting cafes and restaurants with their friends.
I certainly love a good natural remedy as much as anyone, but just because something is natural does not make it safe!
Just Say No … to Kratom!
References
(1) New York City bans CBD in bars and restaurants
(2) Legality of Kratom in New York
(3) Lawsuit says Kratom Tea Caused Teen’s Brain Damage
(4, 5) FDA and Kratom
(6) Kratom Side Effects
(7) Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) dependence, withdrawal symptoms and craving in regular users
(8) Abuse potential and adverse cognitive effects of mitragynine
Let’s keep in mind that other pharmaceutical pain medications are unsafe. It isn’t just opiate medications that kill. For instance, Vioxx killed thousands. It likely killed up to half a million people. Drug companies do not adequately test medications for safety. Kratom, on the other hand, has been used without verifiable serious side effects in other countries for centuries.
You don’t understand. No “function physician ” is going to tell anyone to take Kratom. Not so long as the FDA demonizes it. Pharmaceutical companies can’t patient a plant nor the chemicals in it until said plant is made illegal. That’s why Scott wants to make Kratom schedule 1. Understand this, when Keaton is finally made illegal to possess , there will suddenly be made available from your doctor a new amazing drug. Containg Metragyna Speciaosa. Then you will all applaud the remorseful drug companies.
I have been taking Kratom for almost a year and it helps me tremendously with chronic muscle and nerve pain. I order from a reputable vendor who abides by specific testing encouraged by The American Kratom Association. I do not experience any type of high feeling at all. What I do experience is a decrease in my pain. The only adverse side effect that I have felt with this is constipation and that is because it is fiber and you must drink plenty of water while using it. I have also experienced a slight headache on the days when I don’t need to take, which I would compare to not having coffee for a day. There are many people who sell this product and do not test it or store it properly or purchase it from reputable farmers, and that is why some people could receive a contaminated product. Recently in the news, romaine lettuce has been contaminated, but that does not mean we need to stop eating romaine lettuce forever. It means we need to get to the source of that particular problem and correct it. Luckily, when I first started investigating using kratom, I came across a Facebook page that listed reputable vendors to purchase from. So after much research and investigation, I chose a particular vendor who happens to have a shop in Colorado and is one of the best in the business for this particular product. I would much rather use this product for reduction in my pain then take all the various narcotics and nerve medicines that you can get prescribed by a doctor. Which of course we know that there are many side effects to those medicines. This is an alternative to that and it is much safer and quite honestly way more effective. There are thousands if not more people using this product that feel the same way as I do. Please investigate further and do not publish information that is not totally accurate on this product. Thank you very much for your consideration and I hope that you will indeed continue to research this amazing God given tea leaf that can be used to help people.
I’ve been taking kratom for 10 mts. After being on morphine and perchot for 14 yrs. The withdrawals from those Prescribed drugs from my doctor were excruciating. Since taking kratom I have been better able to manage my pain. I take 1 tsp in a glass of o.j. 3x a day. The key to anything and everything is finding your moderation.
The big pharmaceutical companies don’t want kratom on the market because they don’t get paid for it. Don’t be fooled by the people lobbying for big pharmaceutical companies.
So I take it you would not recommend any Western medicine as well?
My son passed out at a local restaurant with us after taking some Kratom pills! It was so scary!! Eyes rolled back, then his head flopped backward. He was on a barstool and could easily have fallen and hit his head. When he “came to” he asked us to take him to the emergency room as he thought he was having a heart attack. Kratom is nothing for anyone to mess with!
Needless to say, he threw away the pills when he got home. He had no idea the effect would be so scary. He just wanted to try something that would make him relax.
It’s all about big Pharma and the threat Kratom is to their Trillion dollar legal but lethal drugs that they prescribe to us daily. When reading the side effects to all the drugs that are prescribed legally no one would take them if they actually took the time to be well informed of what they’re ingesting on a daily basis and the long list of side effects that cause other health issues. Kratom is safe and just like anything natural when taken too much you will get sick and have other health issues to contest with.
This article is about common sense … this drug needs to be regulated just like alcohol and medical marijuana.
I have been using over 10 years….No addiction I run out and take 2 months of breaks…This article is complete nonsence
Those deaths that the FDA are claiming, have been proven to be false, and they only reached their conclusion by using junk science. I’m honestly surprised that anyone actually believes anything the FDA says anymore! They are just big pharmas bodyguard, nothing more. Kratom is dangerous to big pharma, because of all the money they stand to lose.
Is kratom harmless? Of course not, nothing is. It’s it as dangerous as this article, and the FDA claim it to be? Absolutely not.
Everything in life is what you MAKE it. People lose their composure about guns, but you can kill a person with a hammer. You can also build things with a hammer.
I personally reduced my Adderall dosage by 60% using kratom for about 90 days, and it keeps my perspective positive so I see opportunities, instead of adversities. When I HAVE stopped using it all at once, negative “withdrawal” effects -I don’t describe it using that word, as it isn’t a true drug, and I didn’t feel PHYSICALLY addicted, but psychologically- I call it a “hangover”: about 4 days, of being moderately tired, unstimulated and a little “droopy” and “muh”. Others I have spoken with seem to concur 4 days is the timeframe, leading me to believe it may have something in common with timeframe of other substances staying in your bloodstream for 90 hours.
In any case, as someone who has had their life changed by this plant, I always tell others; “It’s like anything else- even coffee- it’s its own monster-nothing is too good to be true. And Its not for everyone. But It has changed my life and it could do the same for you, if you take time to learn your body’s relationship to it, be respectful and be responsible.”
So it hurts me to see people posting negative-perspectived propaganda about how bad kratom is- those same folks, usually being ones supporting the use of harmful chemical, unnatural, and HIGHLY addictive pharmaceuticals.
There simply isn’t enough education about Kratom happening, once I was gifted a 1g scoop from a friend, I was a bit upset that my store- a smaller, REPUTABLE tested store- didn’t offer tools like this to learn proper usage. I learned 6g a day is a bit much for my body, kratom does NOT mix well with others, though you can train your body for it, which I feel is the only dangerous of it physically. I was outraged when I was told , and shown, there are counterfeit products cut with fentinol, (spelling).
This is why I recommend finding a “mom and pop” shop whose testing is documented, as not only the confirmation of purity is there, but you want someone who intensely cares about their product to ensure the testing’s legitimacy. I also recommend knowing the facts, being responsible, along with co-developing and stacking positive life-habits. The results can be staggeringly beautiful.