[A] nationwide ban on kratom… [would] be deadly
*Senator Stabenow of Michigan meets with representatives of the Kratom Rally in June 2018.
The FDA just approved a new opiate (Dsuvia) that is 8-10x stronger than fentanyl. Basically, this says that a plant proven to treat opiate withdrawal [kratom] is more of a threat to public safety than one of the strongest opiates known to man, during an opiate crisis … Basically, the state is showing it would imprison innocent people or let them die before costing the pharmaceutical industry a few bucks. They are fighting the [whole plant botanical kratom] solution, not the problem … It is painfully obvious whose interests these agencies are serving, and it’s not the American people.
In 2015, the prescription painkiller industry generated $24 billion in sales. Drugs like Methadone and Suboxone, which help addicts withdraw from opioid addiction, also generate hundreds of millions in sales annually. With Kratom gaining popularity as a cheap and effective substitute for both pain management and opioid withdrawal treatment, it threatens to burn a hole in the pockets of those who profit off the opioid crisis …Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is… into isolating kratom alkaloids to manufacture new synthetic opioids, making them patentable and profitable. But the drug companies can’t monopolize and charge exorbitant prices for the potential treatments kratom alkaloids offer without the state first banning the plant. Some may say that this is just another failure of capitalism. However, what is going on now is the opposite of the free market playing out. It, rather, is a failure of allowing government agencies to regulate what we can and can’t use as medicine. When the state can pick winners and losers, the most powerful interests will take advantage of it. Generally, this comes at the cost of everybody else.
Original Article (71 Republic):
[A] nationwide ban on kratom [would] be deadly
Artwork Fair Use: Senator Stabenow
_(28720547188).jpg){kind=link}