My name is Kyra. I'm 48 years old. I'm a professionally licensed massage therapist with 22 years of experience. I'm a productive member of society who helps heal people and take away their pain, tension and other negative effects. Sometimes I even keep them from undergoing needless surgery or taking harmful medication.

I started using kratom in 2016. I was informed about it by a friend who told me how much it helped her. I suffer from depression, insomnia, anxiety and migraine headaches. Kratom has helped me greatly manage these symptoms.

I don't drink or do drugs. I have no need to get high. I use kratom medicinally, and I'm not addicted to it. I take a small amount of it once per day.

I firmly believe that it's my right to decide what goes into my body. People are killing themselves and/or destroying their bodies with alcohol and cigarettes, which are legal and readily available everywhere. I believe that the individual should be punished for any crimes related to what they consume, and not the public. It's very difficult for me to imagine anyone on kratom doing destructive things, as its effects are more like an energy drink or caffeine, things that are obviously also legal and widely consumed.

Banning kratom is something I'm firmly against, and a decision that would hurt millions, both directly and indirectly. I do not want to even think of a life without kratom. It would severely hurt me, and make me less efficient at doing my job, which helps others to also be more productive.

At this point, my life would not even be worth living without kratom. I'd gotten to such a low point in 2016 that I was considering suicide. I then was timely introduced to kratom, which helped turn things around for me and spared my loved ones and massage clients a lot of pain. If kratom is banned, I fear I would go back to the path of potential suicide.

In my opinion, kratom should be readily available to anyone 18 years of age or older. It is a natural leaf, and has a myriad of health benefits (both mental and physical) which I've experienced firsthand. I believe denying it to the public and making productive members of society criminals for its possession is both wrong and unfair.

Thank you for your consideration. I respectfully ask that those involved in decision-making educate themselves about kratom, and review some scientific facts before simply dismissing it without no thought.

Kyra P.