While it has long been used in Southeast Asia, Kratom is still relatively a new herbal supplement in the United States. While some are proponents of this amazing plant, some are not quite ready to support it as there have been reports of overdosing or adulteration of its other consumption variants.
As it is Kratom is not native to western countries and may need to be imported from the tropics. The transport, plus adulteration has stirred mixed reactions especially from those who have heard about claims of side effects following ingestion of kratom in adulterated forms.
Another concern that makes Kratom quite controversial is what some quarters tout as risk of addiction. Given that its use has been banned in Thailand, where the plant is native, some quarters believe that it has potential for drug abuse. This was one of the things discussed in one of the studies published by the United States National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health.
“The possession of kratom leaves has been illegal in Thailand since 1943. Kratom is also controlled in a few other countries in the region (Malaysia and Myanmar) and elsewhere (Australia, Bhutan). In parallel, kratom-related arrests more than doubled between 2007 and 2011 in both Myanmar and Thailand. To control its widespread abuse, ketum was banned in Malaysia.”
Read the full study here.
Kratom and the US FDA
The US Food and Drug Administration also has it thoughts on Kratom use, and this was shared by Psychology Today in one of its write-ups on Kratom use. The same web article also featured the pros and cons of using Kratom.
“According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we should take care using Kratom. FDA warns Kratom can be deadly, though almost all of the 47 deaths cited by the FDA involved the use of multiple drugs, meaning it’s not clear if they died from Kratom or another substance. The FDA doesn’t point to any clear correlation between a known property of the botanical and the manner a person died.”
Check out the full write-up here.
Kratom Plus
The website Psyche Plus meanwhile mentioned that Kratom may have been notorious because of its effects on users who may have combined it with other substance, overdoses on it or abused the use of the otherwise helpful herbal supplement. In their blog post on Kratom, they explained about the dangerous combinations that can be made with kratom. Botanical Education Alliance
“There is evidence that the combination of kratom with other compounds can be dangerous and even deadly. This is the case with the product called “Krypton” to which 9 deaths are attributed in Sweden. This compound contained kratom and another substance called O-Desmethyltramadol, an analgesic opioid. The presence of this same compound has been documented in other products available on the internet.” The continuation of the post can be found here.
It is indeed best to consume kratom within the bounds of its intended use.