The DEA has recently placed kratom on its Drugs and Chemicals of Concern list, but has not yet labeled it as a controlled substance. In 2018 the FDA instituted a mandatory recall over concerns about Salmonella contamination of kratom-containing products. There is little to no control or reliable information on the growth, processing, packaging, or labeling of the kratom sold in the US, which adds to the already considerable uncertainty of its health risks. What are some of the problems with kratom? Many people purchase kratom over the Internet, where it is sold 'for soap-making and aromatherapy' to avoid the fact that in 2014 the FDA made it illegal to import or manufacture kratom as a dietary supplement. Kratom can be found in gas stations and paraphernalia shops in most parts of the US, except in the handful of states and cities that have banned it. There can also be grave side effects such as seizures, as well as respiratory and cardiac arrest.

Side effects can include agitation, tachycardia, drowsiness, vomiting, and confusion. Kratom is commonly consumed orally, with added sweetener to overcome its harsh bitterness, made into tea or swallowed as a pill.

Kratom has dozens of active components, which makes it difficult to characterize as one particular type of drug such as 'stimulant' or 'opiate.' The two main chemicals, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, have strong activity at the main opioid receptor, the 'mu' receptor, which is the same one stimulated by heroin and oxycodone. Kratom ( Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical tree from the coffee family native to Southeast Asia, with properties that range from stimulant-like, energizing and uplifting, to opiate-like, causing drowsiness and euphoria. How can the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), medical professionals, and millions of regular kratom users have such divergent views of the same plant? What is kratom?

Depending on what you read, kratom is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical utility and severe side effects, including overdose and death, or it is an accessible pathway out of undertreated chronic pain and opiate withdrawal.

Tales of arise crack status