Editor’s Note: The Nisqually Valley News agreed to keep the name of the letter writer anonymous as she feared repercussions for her family.
I read the Nisqually Valley News article, “Kratom Not the Cause of Yelm Woman’s Death,” and I wanted to thank you for covering this important issue.
Kratom supplements and the controversy around them don’t get enough attention and it’s just really nice to see journalists following up on some of these purported kratom linked deaths. While Kratom is not a dietary aid that people inject, I sincerely appreciate how clear you were that was the widower’s belief. He’s trying to make sense of his wife’s death and no one can fault him for that.
I also saw that you corrected the error in the number of kratom linked deaths and I want to thank you for that as well. There is some question as to whether or not all 36 deaths were in the United States as the FDA never specified the location of these fatalities. Nick Wing with HuffPost and the American Kratom Association submitted FOIA requests to obtain the FDA’s supporting data but they’ve provided little to no valid information.
In combination with mental health and medical treatment, kratom supplements helped my husband, a veteran, to rebuild his life while overcoming opiate addiction. He suffers from severe chronic pain and anxiety related to his service. His healthcare providers support his use of kratom herbal tea as one component in a multifaceted approach to opiate addiction recovery and chronic pain management.
