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FDA Declares Popular Alt-Medicine Kratom an Opioid (nbcnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the natural-path dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: The Food and Drug Administration declared the popular herbal product kratom to be an opioid on Tuesday, opening a new front in its battle to get people to stop using it. New research shows kratom acts in the brain just as opioids do, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. And he said the agency has documented 44 cases in which kratom at least helped kill people -- often otherwise healthy young people.

"Taken in total, the scientific evidence we've evaluated about kratom provides a clear picture of the biologic effect of this substance," Gottlieb wrote. "Kratom should not be used to treat medical conditions, nor should it be used as an alternative to prescription opioids. There is no evidence to indicate that kratom is safe or effective for any medical use." The FDA released detailed accounts of several of the deaths. The victims often had mixed kratom with other substances, including chemicals taken out of inhalers and found in over-the-counter cold and flu drugs.

14 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. You know, if people want to.... by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    ...voluntarily take themselves OUT of the gene pool, who are we to protect them from themselves?

    Maybe this is just nature at work, and putting some needed chlorine into the gene pool?

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    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:You know, if people want to.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The point is, kratom is not dangerous. This is just government over reach.

    2. Re:You know, if people want to.... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1, Insightful

      FDA has a purpose

      Yes. But probably not the purpose its name implies. When you can't outline PROVABLE facts about FOOD, because only DRUGS (FDA approved) can treat illness and disease. That's why if you get Scurvy, they will PRESCRIBE vitamin C, but if you say Citrus Fruits, strawberry's can kiwis can cure scurvy, you're breaking the law turning food into drugs.

      Once you realize this, then it all makes better sense.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    3. Re:You know, if people want to.... by pr0fessor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you go to a doctor because you have scurvy he will prescribe vitamin c to get you better fast and recommend you change your diet so you don't have a problem with it again.

      if you go to a doctor and he just happens to find a vitamin deficiency that's not causing an illness he will recommend changing your diet because that promotes long term health and only prescribe a supplement if that fails

      If your doctor is having you follow up constantly prescribing medications that you would need to be on for the rest of your life instead of trying to find a way for you live without medication then you are very sick (maybe diabetes) or you need a second opinion.

    4. Re:You know, if people want to.... by rogoshen1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is probably just a fun way to shoe-horn in banning designer drugs (even those that are yet to have been formulated), without having to actually go through all the trouble of specifically banning anything in specific terms.

      Example: there's a ton of different cannabinoids (natural, and synethetic). A precedent like this would allow for the banning of all similar substances (natural or synthetic) because they 'bind to the same receptors as THC'.

    5. Re: You know, if people want to.... by BlueStrat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nigga please. Weed is Sched.1 because its an easy charge to lay on minorities and lefties. Try following the Rightwing Corpratist Agenda instead moran.

      That was the original impetus that drove the creation of drug laws in the US. Chinese-opium, Hispanic/black-marijuana/cocaine.

      Today however both liberals and many, many white middle-aged conservatives use marijuana. At the higher levels the reasons are as I stated in my first post, at street-level cop, it's about having yet another charge on the books available to use as a reason to harass/search/arrest, etc the 'little people' of whatever race or ethnicity if they happen to be guilty of perceived disrespect of cop, or they just need to pad their contact/arrest stats for the next performance review.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    6. Re: You know, if people want to.... by c6gunner · · Score: 4, Insightful

      True. This is why I grow my own willow trees to make willow tea; because aspirin is too damn expensive.

    7. Re: You know, if people want to.... by BlueStrat · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Gotta love these idiotic conspiracy theories. The entire opioid market is worth only about $13 billion annually.

      Opioids are only one of the medications that kratom displaces, not to mention the doctor/health care appointments never made, tests not ordered/paid for, other treatments, specialist fees, medical billing/insurance, etc etc.

      It's always about the money and control. Kratom (and marijuana) threatens that, so it (they) must go.

      Gotta love these idiotic conspiracy theories.

      No conspiracies required, just your bog-standard entities in an industry using the tools at their disposal to protect and grow their incomes as we see in other industries and business sectors on an almost daily basis in the news.

      simpletons like you

      Exsqueeze me? For someone who apparently only looks at issues surface-deep as you've demonstrated by only looking strictly at opioids in this case, you have no room to cast aspersions.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    8. Re:You know, if people want to.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Good lord, do think for a minute. Being classified as an opiate does not mean it's illegal. Even heroin isn't fully illegal, it's used in hospitals under a different name as to not freak people out (something like dymoriphine or something similar). And remember, opiates (codeine) are in prescription cough syrup. Being labeled an opiate simply means it has properties similar to opiates and as such should be treated as such. Certain drugs should be avoided while using it as it could lead to death for example.

      I swear, when people think opiates they only think of the super powerful ones and have no clue that it's an entire class of drugs, some of which are quite common. You just have to be careful with them do to their tendency to suppress various autonomic functions such as breathing and heart rate.

  2. Stupidity rules by nospam007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The victims often had mixed kratom with other substances, including chemicals taken out of inhalers and found in over-the-counter cold and flu drugs."

    So flu drugs and inhalers 'contributed' to their deaths as well as the child laxative used to dilute heroin.
    Best to forbid everything.

    People had taken up to _9_ different things and only 44 cases?
    That's not science, that's anecdotes.

    1. Re:Stupidity rules by NettiWelho · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's not science, that's anecdotes.

      It gets even better; the whole war on drugs is completely unconstitutional.

    2. Re:Stupidity rules by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "Promote general welfare" doesn't mean "provide health insurance /healthcare ". But you can try to claim it does. It also reflects back to the previous statement in the preamble.

      We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

      The Constitution also outlaws slavery and indentured servitude. Which happens to be my view of taking of money from someone and giving it to another, under threat of force. If you think that is Liberty, then you're a great socialist. I happen to think it is evil.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  3. Re:The FDA has zero credibility by sjames · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Definitely the war on drugs. Since doctors DO prescribe marijuana and it is known to have beneficial effects, the DEA (not doctors) claiming it has no recognized medical use is complete BS.

  4. Not Helping Further Public Health by LeftCoastThinker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The first part of the finding, that Kratom acts similarly to an opioid, is a reasonable, scientific discovery. The next step, stating that it is not useful in treating any medical conditions, is complete bullshit. From WebMD: "Advocates say the herb kratom offers relief from pain, depression, and anxiety. Scientists say it may hold the key to treating chronic pain and may even be a tool to combat addiction to opioid medications." https://www.webmd.com/mental-h...

    The FDA has no damn clue if Kratom is medicinally useful. If the FDA were reasonably interested in promoting the general health and welfare of the population, the next step would be to temporarily ban Kratom while THEY perform historic investigation, investigate anecdotal accounts of medicinal properties, and then if warranted perform voluntary double blind clinical trials to validate or refute the historical and anecdotal evidence. I have never heard of this herb, let alone taken it, but many naturally occurring plant components have medicinal properties.

    All drugs have side effects, all drugs can be dangerous. To pull a medicinal herb without any plans to properly study it while giving blanket statements condemning its use is dishonest and fuels the antivaxers and alternative medicine movements that have been steadily growing in the US.

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