RFK Jr launches crackdown on kratom, ‘legal morphine’ often found in smoke shop products
In 2022, the NIH released a study warning that nearly a third of kratom users met the diagnostic criteria for “kratom use disorder,” such as increased use, tolerance, withdrawal, and craving. I am a mother of 4 and have anxiety, depression, acute back pain, and I am an opioid addict. “Kratom is the one thing that has kept me from using opiates and other illegal substances.
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“It’s still an opioid and can cause tolerance, dependence, and addiction.” While six states have banned the plant, four states (including Utah) have created regulations under the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). In some jurisdictions its sale and importation have been restricted, and several public health authorities have raised alerts. Kratom has been used for managing chronic pain, for treating opioid withdrawal symptoms, or for recreational purposes.
- Real Botanicals remains committed to providing safe, lab-tested, naturally extracted 7-OH products in compliance with state and federal law.
- Kratom leaf companies have tried to distinguish themselves as wholly different from 7-OH manufacturers, who disagree with such delineations.
- After years of demonizing kratom as an addictive, opioid-like substance with no approved medical use, federal health officials are finally acknowledging the herbal supplement could actually be used to treat opioid addiction.
- It is a joint effort among the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the attorney general’s office, the Department of Forensic Sciences and local police departments to get the dangerous drugs off store shelves.
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In Tennessee, where Clarke spent his entire NBA career playing for the Grizzlies, kratom is sold openly in smoke shops and corner stores. In the same botanical family as coffee, kratom has been used for centuries in Southeast Asia. She also sees the FDA's announcement as a silver lining, though she's skeptical kratom will ever disappear entirely. Since going to rehab, Maloney hasn't had kratom in the past year. Lucy, a mother in rural California who asked her last name be withheld to protect her child's privacy, has been on and off kratom for about four years.
The new NIH study means the government has come full circle on kratom’s therapeutic potential. “Further, the unproven treatments could cause patients to sids 2014 forego or delay FDA-approved treatments for opioid addiction or withdrawal.” However, these products have not been determined by FDA to be safe and effective,” warned one letter.
Below you'll find information on the questions you raised in your email along with links to third party studies on natural kratom leaf. CDPH continues to take action to remove products or raw materials containing kratom or 7-OH from retail facilities selling to consumers for consumption and from locations where these products are manufactured. Both 7-OH and kratom may carry high risk of addiction, especially for those already struggling with substance use disorders.
