*In 2015, activists with the Weed for Warriors project dumped pill bottles and syringes in front of the White House lawn to drawn attention to the overprescription of opioid drugs to wounded veterans. Then, last May, protesters held a “die-in” at the New Hampshire State House when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price…
In the end, the board members weren’t persuaded that the kratom deserved immediate destruction. The [plant] material — was seized, and heath department personnel wanted to pour bleach over it, rendering it useless. But [the business] management refused to go along with this plan, prompting the DEH crew to issue a cease-and-desist order in regard…
More quietly, women have taken the lead when it comes to drug policy. [It is] the first time ever that two of the most prominent drug-policy reform organizations in America—the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC)—are both headed by women. As it did in the 1920s, America is currently facing a…
In 2017, research published (pdf) in the journal Neuropharmacology concluded that more research needed to be done on kratom, but that available evidence has not shown that any deaths have occurred due to use of kratom alone. Dr. Gottlieb’s far-reaching claims & untested computer models show how desperate they are to influence an outright ban.…
*In November 2017, the Philippine President Duerte said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I sang uninvited, upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the United States,” Duterte said later, according to the ABS-CBN news channel. One of the song’s verses, translated from Filipino, begins: “You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine”. In a…
FDA officials have recommended kratom be categorized as a Schedule 1 drug, which would effectively mean that scientists would not be able to study its effects …“The problem with saying it’s ‘an opioid’ without qualification is that it just paints everything with this broad brush, and obviously carries a negative connotation given what’s going on…
Anti-kratom activists, led by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, are committed to protecting the opioid manufacturers who are raking in billions of dollars every year by hooking honest Americans who are trying to manage chronic pain on highly addictive and potentially deadly opioids. I am not going to mince words, I am frustrated. There is no…
“It’s a unique plant that deserves to remain legal,” Brockler said. “It was green Kratom that I started with,” said Emily Szarak, a user of the supplement. “That has been a lifesaver. I feel like a human again.” Szarak [said] she turned to Kratom after years of taking prescription pills to treat chronic pain. Original…
*Friedrich Bayer ( 6. June 1825 in Barmen-Wichlinghausen; † 6. May 1880 in Würzburg) Unfortunately, this buyout only strengthened… [Bayer’s] lobbying power. Bayer, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, made a deal to buy out Monsanto for $66 billion, even though Monsanto was voted “the most evil company in the world” back in 2013.…
*tent city sign from Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt for illegal detentions of undocumented immigrants, and was subsequently pardoned in August of 2017 by President Trump. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has taken control of the opioids agenda, quietly freezing out drug policy professionals and relying instead on political staff to address…
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