Friday, Aug. 4, 2023 | 2 a.m.
An increasingly popular drug has been flying under the radar of the public, law enforcement and even much of the medical community. Kratom is a powerful drug that derived from the leaves of a plant native to southeast Asia. It is turned into a powder and can be consumed as a liquid or taken in capsule form.
Kratom is legal and made from a plant, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. It interacts with the opioid receptors in the brain and once you experience euphoria, you are at risk for addiction. It may also result in liver toxicity, breathing difficulties, seizures and death.
Although banned in dozens of countries worldwide, kratom is legal in all but six U.S. states. It is available in smoke shops, online, and even at some service stations and health food stores. Users claim it can help them get off opiates, but kratom itself is addictive.
Kratom is unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration or any other government body. There is no way to tell what substances are in a batch. Significant levels of lead, nickel and various opioids have been found in samples of kratom. The FDA recently announced the seizure of over 25,000 dietary substances containing kratom. It also cited a 10-fold increase in calls to poison centers involving the drug over a five-year span.
While some may argue that kratom has potential benefits, there are better alternatives that have proven much safer.
