Helpful Herb or Toxic False Hope: New Concerns and Lingering Confusion over Plant-based Kratom (Part 2)

Lack of Regulation & Legal Limbo

Kratom use is rarely life-threatening when used on its own, but in Thailand where the plant is grown – and increasingly in the U.S. and Europe – the substance is being combined with other intoxicants like benzodiazepines, alcohol, or sedatives.

A signature and popular concoction in Asia’s drug culture is a narcotic drink called “4X100” where the leaf is combined with cough syrup, soda, tranquilizers, and marijuana.

And, while fatalities related to kratom consumption still seem to be the exception rather than the rule, there have been noted instances in which users became particularly confused or agitated or suffered from increased depression and ended their lives.

Of primary concern to many is the potential for addiction and dependence and the increased evidence of toxicity, which has prompted six U.S. states (Alabama, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana, and Arkansas) as well as countries like Thailand, Australia, and Ireland to ban the substance, with many other governments restricting it in some significant way. Efforts are also currently underway to make it illegal in Florida and New Jersey.

For now at least, in other states and localities, kratom’s status remains in a kind of limbo land. The substance remains unscheduled under the controlled substances act, but the DEA considers it a “drug of concern” and says there is “no legitimate medical use for kratom in the U.S.” The CDC calls the increase in kratom use in the United States “an emerging public health threat.”

The FDA issued an import alert in 2014 that allows kratom shipments to be detained and destroyed without inspection. Still, on the whole, it isn’t difficult to purchase kratom. A quick Google search turns up several results. And many online retailers who are becoming savvy to FDA seizures are finding ways to avert attention by marking shipments as “not intended for human consumption.”

Some believe that recent restrictions, without much scientific study on kratom, its interactions with other drugs, and/or benefits may summarily shove to the side a promising drug that hasn’t seen the benefit of adequate research or discussion of controls.

Whatever position one argues, few can deny that the drug has disturbing impacts upon misuse, or when cut with other substances, which is occurring with increasing frequency. As a spokesperson for the FDA stated recently,

“Serious concerns exist regarding the toxicity of kratom in multiple organ systems. Consumption of kratom can lead to a number of health impacts, including, among others, respiratory depression, vomiting, nervousness, weight loss and constipation. Kratom has been indicated to have both narcotic and stimulant-like effects and withdrawal symptoms may include hostility, aggression, excessive tearing, aching of muscles and bones and jerky limb movements.”

Sure doesn’t sound too pleasant, or like a silver bullet in the battle against opiate addiction to us…