-I have been married for 23years, father of 5. Professional Firefighter/paramedic for 17 years and I have spent all of that time in Montgomery and Greene County Ohio. Ground zero for the opioid crises. I am intimately familiar with drug abuse.
-I have revived countless people that have overdosed on narcotics and dealt with abusers of all manner of illicit drugs. I have also been present when countless others were not revived. None of them has ever been due to Kratom
-Pure leaf Kratom has never been proven to cause significant harm.
-My wife and I discovered Kratom approx 7 years ago in a search to treat the symptoms of her genetic disorder. I have watched her try all manner of prescription drugs and OTC drugs and supplements with no real benefits that outweighed the side effects of most of those medications. As a stay at home mother to 5, her quality of life has been improved greatly due to Kratom.
-I don’t have any chronic pain issues, but I have used to somewhat regularly to help with sleep disorders that come from a 24 hour work schedule.
-Additionally, I also use it to help with energy from time to time, and I have never noticed any physically addictive properties or any withdrawal symptoms when I have gone any length of time without it. It has never impaired my ability to function or operate any equipment. I don’t have experience with any illicit drugs, but I have never experienced what I would consider to be any so-called "high" from Kratom.

-The proposed ban of Kratom is grossly disproportionate to any proven or even anecdotal public threat. The DEA did not even include a Kratom in their 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment. Based on what I have seen in my personal life experience, this appears to be an over-reach of authority that will unfairly harm and/or possibly criminalize tens of thousands or more citizens with no concrete benefit to the Public Interest.