Kratom: The plant that is being used widely in place of opioids

by Rasha Haynes

With the widespread increase in opioid addiction many former users are turning to Kratom, a plant grown in Southeast Asia and used as natural energy booster and pain reliever, to detox from prescribed pain medication.

Excluding a small number of states, the plant is mainly unregulated and sold both online and in many gas stations and local smoke shops. Approximately five million Americans are known to be using kratom with increasing popularity.

It is believed that the leaf of the plant was initially chewed by field workers in Asia to provide energy throughout the day. Now kratom is banned in many of the Southeast Asian countries native to the plant.

Furthermore, with the increased production, kratom may not be as safe as many believe. Authorities have mentioned that kratom can actually be more harmful than users seem to understand. Side effects have reported to include hallucinations, seizures and symptoms of severe psychosis.

However, users of the plant are saying the complete opposite with 26,000 Americans asking President Trump to keep kratom legal. Benefits from the plant are said to include relief for minor pain and a promotion of health and a sense of well-being.

Opioid addiction is something that more and more Americans find themselves trying to deal with. The crisis has to be handled one way or another and unfortunately people are trying to ease the stress of detox on there own with the use of kratom.

For several years kratom has been on the watch list for potential concerns. Then, in 2016, the DEA announced that it was moving kratom to the list of controlled substances under Schedule I. Schedule I controlled substances are drugs that have no accepted medical use and pose a high risk for abuse, addiction and dependence.

Even though concerns seem to be high, zero deaths have been reported due to kratom alone. Patients that did overdose while using kratom were found to have other opioids also in their systems.

As for dependency, The American Kratom Association has said kratom has no more potential for “substance use disorder” than caffeine or nicotine, which are both legal in the US despite the negative effects associated with them.

The only proven, effective way to stop using opioids safely is through professional, medical treatment programs. Medical rehabs that use opioid replacement therapy under the direction and supervision of licensed medical professionals, combined with therapy and counseling is the best way to treat opioid addiction.