Biography/Memoir

FDA withdraws request for White House permission to study kratom and psychedelics risks amid criticism

[Friday, August 9, 2024] “…it is time for Commissioner [Robert] Califf to exercise direct oversight and order the Agency [FDA] to reassess its biased attacks on kratom and psychedelics,” Mac Haddow, senior fellow of public policy for American Kratom Association… August 12, 2024; The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn a request for White…

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Science

…kratom extracts

History has shown that developing enriched natural product elixirs or purified active agents, as with cocaine from the coca shrub and morphine from the opium poppy, can be both a blessing and a curse. Concentrated kratom extracts are analogous to these historical examples. Though the extracts may provide benefits to some, they may also result…

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Science

What does kratom do?

While there is always room for more research to be conducted, as of now, studies have shown that kratom has many benefits… kratom leaf has been chewed for at least 150 years in Southeast Asia… Kratom has been shown in studies to have antidepressant and appetite-suppressant properties. In one animal research, researchers discovered that kratom…

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Politics

WHO Panel finds insufficient evidence to review kratom

An advisory committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded there is insufficient evidence to recommend a “critical review” of kratom, which potentially could have lead to international controls on the herbal supplement used by millions to treat pain and other medical conditions. “It is a great victory for kratom consumers, for science and…

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Spirituality

World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence [ECDD] recommends against critical review

“The Committee concluded that there is insufficient evidence to recommend a critical review of kratom.” While the decision was based on a scientific review of the risk of dependence, abuse potential and therapeutic applications of kratom, advocates also touted the fact that about 80,000 people submitted comments to the panel, sharing their perspectives and experiences…

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Medicine/Healing

FDA’s kratom ban would harm the public and damage the agency’s credibility

If the FDA secures a global kratom ban, countless people could die by suicide and unintentional overdose… why does the FDA vilify [whole botanical] kratom when so many stakeholders identify deficiencies in its arguments? Could it be that drug companies are commercializing synthetic versions of kratom and banning the plant would protect their interests? Companies…

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Anthropology

Kratom… [coffee family] CBD… [cannabis family]

Thailand deleted kratom from its narcotics list on August 24 and a draft law to allow imports and exports of the coffee-like shrub… …much like cannabis, decriminalization [of kratom] will lead to growing acceptance of [the plant], Sowcharoensuk, an Analyst at Krungsri Research, told Bloomberg, “Decriminalization will not only benefit farmers but will create a…

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