Is kratom the next miracle cure for all manner of ills including addiction? No. The experts have all weighed in on the matter, but this, of course, has not stopped the “alternative medicine” fanatics from continuing to promote it as such. And there is no way to know exactly what the dosage of kratom is when taking it, whether as a pill or when adding it to something like tea.
Kratom is a tree species that grows in Southeast Asia. Its leaves have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes, including to relieve pain, reduce anxiety and treat withdrawal. However, kratom is also a potential drug of abuse, and it can cause serious side effects, including addiction, hallucinations, and psychosis.
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The Mayo Clinic explains kratom is believed to act on opioid receptors. At low doses, kratom acts as a stimulant, making users feel more energetic. At higher doses, it reduces pain and may bring on euphoria. At very high doses, it acts as a sedative, making users quiet and perhaps sleepy. Some people who practice Asian traditional medicine consider kratom to be a substitute for opium.
Some people, says the Mayo Clinic, take kratom to avoid the symptoms of opioid withdrawal because kratom may be bought more easily than prescription drugs.
In the U.S. the FDA has not approved any prescription or over-the-counter drug products containing kratom or its two main chemical components. The FDA says kratom is not appropriate for use as a dietary conventional supplement. The FDA has concluded from available information, including scientific data, that kratom is a new dietary ingredient for which there is inadequate information to provide reasonable assurance that such ingredient does not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury
If you are considering using kratom, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with it. You should also talk to your doctor about whether kratom is the right choice for you.
“When you take something that is essentially a drug, and you essentially don’t study that drug, and you don’t advertise anything except, ‘Oh it’s a plant product, therefore it’s safe,’ you create all sorts of problems,” Dr. Rif El-Mallakh, the director of the Mood Disorders Research Program at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, told the New York Times.
