IN RESPONSE to “Why is the FDA banning Kratom?”: Thank you for your insightful reporting. Kratom has saved my life. I am 30 years old, and up until I had a major seizure and ruptured two discs in my back, I had never done any drugs.
I was put on a very large regiment of Oxycontin. Following a surgery, I lost my job and health insurance. I couldn’t afford my medication or my doctor appointments. I became homeless and started to go through extreme withdrawals. I regrettably began to use heroin to address the withdrawal and persistent pain.
My life was a mess, and a family member introduced me to Kratom, which she had been using for pain resulting from terminal cancer. It was a miracle. The Kratom works more effectively than even the most powerful opiate painkillers.
Opiates help with pain, but also cause intoxication and euphoria that lead to a diminished quality of life, dependency and addiction. Kratom had none of the effects of intoxication and addiction, while it effectively treats my pain.
This is a move on behalf of the pharmaceutical companies that have caused this epidemic that plagues America today. Please people, let’s not continue to put our nation’s safety and well-being to the side only to preserve the tightening grip the pharmaceutical industry has around our neck.
Tim Speer, Boulder, Colorado
