Experts warn against recreational drug

As shops specializing in smoke and vape products pop up all over Iowa, a new drug has been introduced to patrons. Kratom is a tropical tree from Southeast Asia. Products prepared from kratom leaves are available in the U.S.

Though Kratom is advertised for self-treating conditions such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, the Federal Drug Administration says it cannot be lawfully marketed in the U.S. as a drug product, a dietary supplement or a food additive in conventional food.

Kratom’s effects are said to mimic that of opioids, a controlled substance not legal for recreational use. The Drug Enforcement Administration says consumption of its leaves produces both stimulant effects (in low doses) and sedative effects (in high doses).

“It can lead to psychotic symptoms and psychological and physiological dependence,” the DEA website states. “Kratom leaves contain two major psychoactive ingredients (mitragynine and 7-hydroxymytragynine). These leaves are crushed and then smoked, brewed with tea, or placed into gel capsules.”

Not only has the FDA not approved the drug, the DEA has it listed as a “drug or chemical of concern.”

In low doses, the drug presents itself as a stimulant, users reporting increased alertness, physical energy and talkativeness. High doses produce a sedative-like effect.

“Kratom consumption can lead to addiction,” the DEA states. “Several cases of psychosis resulting from use of kratom have been reported, where individuals addicted to kratom exhibited psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations, delusion and confusion.”

Mayo Clinic says the safety problems are concerning. “The amount of active ingredient in kratom plants can vary greatly, making it difficult to gauge the effect of a given dose,” their website states. “Depending on what is in the plant and the health of the user, taking kratom may be very dangerous. Claims about the benefits of kratom can’t be rated because reliable evidence is lacking.”

Perhaps the biggest deterrent of Kratom is the unknown long-term effects of the drug. “Because kratom research is relatively new compared to more widely used drugs, there is little evidence to determine how kratom use may affect someone over time,” the National Institute on Drug Abuse states. “Case reports do show regular, long-term, kratom use in large amounts may be associated with serious liver problems.”

According to Mayo, poison control centers in the United States received about 1,800 reports involving use of kratom from 2011 through 2017, including reports of death. “About half of these exposures resulted in serious negative outcomes such as seizures and high blood pressure,” Mayo states. “Five of the seven infants who were reported to have been exposed to kratom went through withdrawal.”

The DEA adds nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, tachycardia, vomiting, drowsiness and loss of appetite as side effects.

With these adverse effects and its sedative-like impact in mind, users can be cited for driving while on the drug if it is impairing their ability to operate a motor vehicle.

Legislation

In 2016, the DEA published notice of its intent to place kratom as a Schedule I drug which would have criminalized possession of kratom and made distribution a felony. However, after receiving numerous comments from some members of Congress and advocacy groups, DEA withdrew that notice.

Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have banned the buying, possessing, usage or selling of the two ingredients in kratom. The drug is also banned in Australia, Finland, Denmark, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Lithuania, Latvia, Myanmar, Russia, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and New Zealand.

Federally, access to kratom has been protected despite groups advocating against its usage.

In October 2023, members introduced essentially identical bills in both the House and the Senate to “protect access to kratom.” These bills would neither ban kratom nor impose new regulations on kratom. Instead, the bills would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to gather information about kratom and would limit the secretary’s authority to impose regulations on kratom.