ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

KRATOM

Interview with Mac Haddow,

Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the American Kratom Association

It was an unseasonably cold February night in 2018 when I found myself in one of Alaska’s roughest neighborhoods. Indistinct shouting and blaring police sirens cut through my anxiety as I approached a wooden lean-to lit by only a neon green sign that read “Smoke Shop.” When I opened the creaky front door, I was greeted by dim fluorescent lights and a slew of unsavory characters who were probably just as confused by my presence as I was. But we were all there for the same thing: kratom.

Derived from the Mitragyna speciosa tree that is native to Southeast Asia, kratom has been consumed for centuries. An herbal cure-all of sorts, kratom is said to treat everything from impotence to stomach bugs, as well as ease pain and anxiety. While the plant has a rich history in

Eastern medicine, it is relatively new to the Western consciousness.

First introduced to Europe in the early 19th century by Dutch botanist

Pieter Korthals, the plant has yet to gain wide acceptance in the United States, in part, because of misinformation. So, why has this humble plant become so demonized in Effects Suppose Haddow is correct in his assertions, and kratom can wean those addicted to prescription opioids of their affliction. Why is the United States? Used in small doses, kratom currently classified as a Schedule I drug alongside Cannabis,

According to Mac Haddow, a Senior Fellow on Public kratom works as a heroin, LSD, ecstasy, meth and peyote?

Policy at the American Kratom Association, the answer is stimulant – similar to In this, Haddow is succinct. relatively straightforward. drinking an energy “[The FDA] has expansive power, and they disseminate

“It’s probably an outgrowth of the [FDA] bias against drink. In large quantities, propaganda about [kratom]. They infect the whole discussion from all-natural products. They hate homeopathic products, kratom can have an a public policy standpoint by citing a string of deaths that were and they hate plants and anything that doesn’t require a analgesic effect as it previously attributed to kratom, but have since been refuted,” says

‘New Drug Application,’” says Haddow. binds to the body’s Haddow.

The problem, Haddow believes, is akin to the natural μ-opioid The most damaging narrative to come from the FDA concerns the

FDA’s response to vitamin supplements in the ‘90s. In receptors death of nine Swedes in 2010. Two years later, the original cause of 1991, the Nutrition Advertising Coordination Act was death was redacted by The National Board of Forensic Medicine in introduced, in which the FDA would have the power to Sweden. While kratom was detected in the systems of the deceased, tighten the regulations regarding supplement labeling. The Act was shot the Board determined that it was not the primary cause of death, but rather, it was down and replaced by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act the adulteration of the consumed kratom. (DSHEA) in 1994 during the Clinton Administration. Under the DSHEA, “Kratom in its pure state is not dangerous,” insists Haddow. a dietary supplement cannot be approved or authorized for investigation Just like Cannabis, the problem is not the plant itself. It is the mismanagement as a new drug, antibiotic, or biologic unless it was marketed as a food or of the product by smoke shops and other entities that saw the analgesic effect of dietary supplement before such approval or authorization. kratom and thought, “Maybe we can mix it with some things.”

This distinction becomes important when it comes to the ability of On this, Haddow and the FDA agree. kratom producers to market or advertise their product as being able “As we work to combat the opioid crisis, we cannot allow unscrupulous vendors to treat illness. More importantly, it stifles one major sector of kratom to take advantage of consumers by selling products with unsubstantiated claims consumers: those trying to beat their opioid addiction. that they can treat opioid addiction or alleviate other medical conditions,” wrote

When used in small doses, kratom works as a stimulant – similar acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D., in a June 2019 press release. to drinking an energy drink. In large quantities, kratom can have an Without tight regulations and rigorous testing protocols, consumers can be analgesic effect as it binds to the body’s natural μ-opioid receptors putting themselves at risk by consuming kratom. But that doesn’t mean that we (MOR). Unlike prescribed opioid drugs such as Tramadol and Percocet, should throw out the baby with the bathwater. As a 2020 Johns Hopkins led the bond kratom forms to the MOR are weak – reducing the likelihood of survey of 2,798 adult kratom users in the United States revealed, kratom is worth forming an addiction, making it a possible answer to the opioid crisis. the investment of creating stringent regulations. In the survey, 87 percent of those

“The difference is significant because kratom doesn’t give you that consuming kratom to treat opioid dependence reported relief from withdrawal reinforcing high, so therefore, it doesn’t have addiction liability. What symptoms. Even more remarkable, 34 percent of addicts were free from opioids happens with traditional opioids is that they go to your respiratory system, after a year. and that’s what accounts for the “It’s just like the FDA’s response to supplements. The solution was not to ban majority, or the vast majority, of them. The solution was to make sure that they were regulated properly. And that’s

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT KRATOM AND THE COMPANIES BACKED BY THE AMERICAN KRATOM ASSOCIATION, VISIT AMERICANKRATOM.ORG. opioid overdoses. You literally suffocate. Kratom has no significant impact on your respiratory system,” explains Haddow. what kratom needs, which is why we advocate at the state level right now for the kratom Consumer Protection Act, which essentially says you cannot adulterate it; you can’t synthesize the alkaloids, you have to manufacture properly and label it properly,” says Haddow.