Kratom Needs to be Researched Before It ’s Listed as a Schedule 1 Drug

Kratom Needs to be Researched Before It’s Listed as a Schedule 1 Drug
In August of this year, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced that kratom, an herbal supplement sold in headshops and mixed into drinks at trendy bars, would be reclassified as a Schedule I substance, making its use or possession illegal and stopping any research into legitimate medical uses for the drug. While the DEA considered this appropriate given the supplement’s similarities to opioids, kratom users, addiction treatment researchers and even elected officials are pushing back against this ban.
In our system, current users have a right to weigh in on a potential ban before it becomes official government policy. Typically, when considering the reclassification of a drug, the DEA follows a thorough but time consuming process that seeks input from the public as well as critical agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before determining what, if any, restrictions should be placed on a substance.
But the DEA did not follow this protocol when suggesting its latest ban on kratom. Instead, citing an increased number of calls to poison control centers as well as the urgent need to meaningfully curb the number of overdoses related to opioids, the DEA sought unilaterally to ban kratom without consulting other agencies or concerned citizens.
Although they weren’t able to participated in the DEA’s decision-making process, the public’s response to the DEA’s proposed ban h...

Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 12, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Constance Scharff, PhD Tags: Abuse Addiction Recovery Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcoholism Behavioral Addictions Current Events Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Mental Health addiction treatment center drug abuse Source Type: blogs