Kratom is the latest go-to, gray market drug for teens and others seeking a 'legal' high. Chronic pain patients are also reporting Kratom as a viable substitute for opiates. As it is thought to bind to the brain's opiate receptors, could the herb prove to the next latest-greatest alternative to narcotics?
This remains to be seen, but some of what we are seeing is not altogether warm and cozy. While most plant therapies carry few, if any, negative side-effects, hospital emergency rooms are seeing withdrawal cases in people who are experiencing devastating side-effects.
Interestingly, the herb's derivation is a tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar or Burma, where it is illegal due to opium-like effects! So, savvy marketers are labeling packages "not for human consumption", instead calling it incense or botanical extract.
What the CBS 11 I-Team Uncovered
The CBS 11 I-team consists of Dallas/Ft. Worth investigative reporters who explore "wrong-doings". When an anxious mother told the team about her daughter's addiction to Kratom, they sprung into action.
Not only did they find plentiful Kratom on the shelves of smoke shops, salesclerks gave it rave reviews. "The liquid is one of the best sellers and one of my personal favorites," said one employee.
In the incident that prompted the investigation, the teen experienced "unusual mood swings". Upon finding 80 empty bottles of Kratom, the family sought medical assistance, fearing, "…it was going to kill her, or ruin her health…"
What do Regulatory Authorities Say About Side-Effects of Kratom?
The FDA is experiencing "major concerns" because the drug is "being marketed as a pain reliever".
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) established Kratom has "sedative and eup...
... middle of paper ...
...article published in Forbes, a reader challenged DiSalvo to try Kratom and write his informed conclusion.
He accepted the challenge and published findings in "The Daily Brain", (DiSalvo's website). He found that following an initial burst of energy, understated energy from the herb lasted 3-4 hours. He did not feel a sudden energy-dive, like one gets from sugar.
He felt relaxed, but not sleepy. DiSalvo described it a balance between energy and calmness. Minimal side-effects were occasional bloodshot eyes that did not affect his vision.
Conclusion: Who ever suspected an herb, kissing cousin to our beloved coffee beans, would stir-up such controversy? Is Kratom the long-awaited, bright promise for pain sufferers? Will benefits outweigh the risks?
Nobody knows. But, we suspect while Kratom is the drug du jour – pleasure-seekers will use and eschew the consequences.
There is then a change in the theme of the documentary. It transitions into a documentary about the negative effects of medical drugs. Gary Null and other “experts” focus on malpractice by doctors. They provide examples such as Alan Yuko’s. The bias in the tone of the parents of baby Yurko, who died of shaken baby syndrome, and the experts involved in the trial is clear. They claim the medical system forces kids to have vaccines. The documentary then focuses on the effects of other diseases. It offers an alternative to drugs– nutrients. The people interviewed ignore the effects of disease, and blame the deaths on only the
that the FDA is too regulatory and picky. However in the process of them not listening to the
...s little information about the possible benefits of the study or the side effects. The side effects proved to be significant (gastrointestinal complains, headache, and an elevation of alanine aminotransferase), while the benefits were minimal. This situation emphasizes the need for a balanced approach when it comes to drug clinical trials.
Even though it is illegal in the U.S. because according to the DEA it contains a schedule 1 drug. Khat That is found in the East African countries and Middle East, it is an organic stimulant. Since the 1920’s bouncing around in the laboratories was mephedrone, since the 1960’s methylenedioxypyrovalerone has been in laboratories.
Some facts about psychiatric drugs for children are that the drugs are prescribed with a false diagnosis. The children that are prescribed are not seriously impaired by their symptoms, they are merely becoming older and showing signs of adolescents; however, pediatricians see a small frustration in a child’s life and convince the parents or legal guardians that they need unnecessary medications to make the children docile and untroublesome. Little do the parents know, the drug given to the children means more money for the pharmaceutical companies and psychiatric research teams and may not even help the children at all.
The placebo effect has been observed in numerous studies spanning a wide spectrum of symptoms and maladies – everything from cancer to baldness and depression to sexual arousal. An early and famous story about the placebo effect is that of Mr. Wright. In Long Beach, California, in 1957, he was diagnosed with cancer and given only days to live. While in the hospital, he heard about a miracle cure called Kerbiozen, which supposedly had been effective in fighting cancer in certain cases. Wright begged to be treated with Kerbiozen in a last ditch attempt to save his own life. His doctor, Dr. Philip West, granted his request and administered an injection of this drug to Wright. Within a few days, Dr. West was amazed to find that Wright up and about, and even joking with his nurses. The tumors had spontaneously melted away. Then, a number of months later Wright read a medical report that claimed that this drug was actually a "quack remedy" with no real medical value. He immediately relapsed. Dr. West reassured him that the medicine was in fact very useful in fighting cancer and administered what he told Wright was a new, super strength dosage of the drug. Again the tumors disappeared, even though Wright had only re...
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Kalant, Harold. “Medicinal Use of Cannabis: History and Current States.” Pain Research and Management 6.2 (2001): 80-94. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
The plant’s therapeutic potential became known in the Western countries during the nineteenth century.(Abel, 1996) From 1840 to 1900, more that one hundred articles on cannabis appeared in European and American medical journals, recommending it as an appetite stimulant, muscle relaxant, painkiller, sedative, and for eliminating convulsions. Since then, marijuana has undergone many tests and thorough analysis for its use as a medical value.
Reinarman, Craig and Peter D. A. Cohen and Hendrien L. Kaal. “The Limited Relevance of Drug
Janssens, Cecile. "How FDA and 23andMe Dance Around Evidence That Is Not There." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
...n Elders, MD "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."(Editorial, Providence Journal)
The talk about prescription painkillers prescribed by doctors are starting to be widely debated whether they’re doing more good than harm. The debate on whether painkillers are good for the human health has came into a mild and somewhat highly discussed topic within the last decade. At first prescribed painkillers were thought to be good, but these prescribed painkillers have always been like a double edge sword usually doing better than bad. The side effects from the painkillers used to be very minimal; for example the common side effects were drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, but since the world is a constantly developing place new painkillers are constantly being developed and so are their side effects” ("Types of Pain Medications on RxList.com." RxList. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.’). Not only are the side effects becoming worst, but people are becoming severely addicted to them and in some cases their addiction is lethal and not only kills them, but it can also tear a family apart or put a family in great financial debt because of one person addiction. Now when something that been created to do good starts to be questioned whether it’s actually still good or not is major problem majority of the time.
Herbal medicines are sold in different ways from tablets, teas, extracts, capsules, powders, and fresh or dried plants. Many consumers believe that these products are safe and free of harm due to the labeling of the product with words such as “all natural.” The downside of taking these “natural” medicines are some ingredients can cause harm to a consumer’s health. According to the U.S .National Library of Medicine, some herbs, such as comfrey and ephedra, can cause serious harm. It is also reported that herbal
Frequently a person believes that herbal medicine is more naturally safe and soothing than drugs. Nevertheless, there’s no reasonable defense about this. Though many consumers trusted herbal medicine much more than the synthetic medicine because it’s safe and effective, but like anything else, it has its own limitations too. There are several hostile issues related to herbal medicine that has been quite alarming. Notwithstanding, majority of the most popular herbs are at least nearly safe.