Kratom: Fear-worthy foliage or beneficial botanical?

Depending on what you read, kratom is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical utility and severe side effects, including overdose and death, or it is an accessible pathway out of undertreated chronic pain and opiate withdrawal. How can the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), medical professionals, and millions of regular kratom users have such divergent views of the same plant? What is kratom? Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical tree from the coffee family native to Southeast Asia, with properties that range from stimulant-like, energizing and uplifting, to opiate-like, causing drowsiness and euphoria. Kratom has dozens of active components, which makes it difficult to characterize as one particular type of drug such as “stimulant” or “opiate.” The two main chemicals, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, have strong activity at the main opioid receptor, the “mu” receptor, which is the same one stimulated by heroin and oxycodone. Kratom is commonly consumed orally, with added sweetener to overcome its harsh bitterness, made into tea or swallowed as a pill. Side effects can include agitation, tachycardia, drowsiness, vomiting, and confusion. There can also be grave side effects such as seizures, as well as respiratory and cardiac arrest. Kratom can be found in gas stations and paraphernalia shops in most parts of the US, except in the handful of states and cities that have banned it. Many people purchase kratom over the Internet, where it is sold “for soa...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Pain Management Vitamins and supplements Source Type: blogs