Politics

Big acid

The only model I can see is one that, presumably through tax incentives, facilitates development of small, not-for profit membership organizations that have both (a) the ability to monitor use by individual members and (b) the ability either (1) to cultivate/manufacture their own ‘products’ [I use that term deliberately] or (2) the ability to purchase…

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Politics

Even without the rider that protects medical marijuana, a pot crackdown is unlikely

*Dark Green: Use of cannabis permitted, no doctor’s recommendation required / Green: Use of cannabis permitted only with a doctor’s recommendation / Light Green: States with low-THC, high-CBD laws in place / Grey: No medical cannabis or low-THC, high-CBD laws Most Americans think marijuana should be legal, and an even larger majority, including most Republicans,…

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Politics

The FDA wants to stop Americans from using a popular but unapproved [by them] opioid alternative

Scott Gottlieb, the FDA’s commissioner, called for external studies on the substance, as well. “I encourage you to conduct the research that will help us better understand kratom’s risk and benefit profile, so that well-studied and potentially beneficial products can be considered,” he said. (There was no clarification on how anyone in the US should…

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Politics

FDA Kratom advisory unfounded, FOIA docs show [opinion]

Though it won’t come as much surprise to anyone in the kratom community, it turns out, wonder of wonders, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory was pulled completely out of nowhere, according to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) material released by Muckrock. ​ The FDA made multiple false claims regarding kratom itself, the way…

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Does Kratom really kill? Officials aren’t telling us the whole story.

Scientists say there’s scant evidence that mitragynine causes fatal overdoses, and many kratom advocates claim that overdosing on the substance alone is impossible. Although authorities have come forward with reports of deaths supposedly related to kratom, all of the cases they’ve cited publicly have involved the presence of other, often more dangerous drugs, making it…

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What’s Kratom, and why are States banning it?

The American Society of Addiction Medicine argued in comments to the DEA last year that the whole botanical product … should be made illegal to prevent people with addictions from trying to use it to recover … Animal studies have shown that kratom use may lead to addiction. But user surveys indicate that although the…

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Politics

Feds prepare for a new war on Kratom, an herbal … many swear by

Although the FDA’s statement does nothing to officially change kratom’s legal status, it suggests that the federal government could once again be thinking about prohibition … At least one pharmaceutical company is currently working to develop a medication that targets pain with a semi-synthetic compound derived from kratom. Last year, researchers at Columbia University published…

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Politics

Can Kratom be patented?

Prior to their expiration, the two patents gave Smith Kline & French during the 1960’s [U.S. Patents 3,256,149 (“Compositions Compromising an Alkaloid of Mitragyna Speciosa and Methods of Using Same”) and 3,324,111 (“Speciofoline, an Alkaloid from Mitragyna Speciosa”) the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, and importing certain alkaloids isolated from kratom, but…

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Politics

What to do about Kratom?

Kratom offers something that other drugs to treat addiction do not – the ability to treat oneself in anonymity and to receive treatment without involving the health care system or law enforcement.​ In the U.S., kratom’s safety profile – at least compared to other opioids – led people as far back as 1836 to recommend…

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