Hello,

As someone who lives one state south of Virginia and has frequently driven through it, I am deeply concerned about the petition to ban kratom. My story is one of many, many others like it.

I suffer from chronic auto-immune pain and thankfully found kratom before finding anything dangerous. I found it in 2016 when the DEA's attempt to ban it rightfully resulted in a large public backlash. I was experiencing increasingly intolerable pain and wondered if kratom would help. It sure did, and sure has since then. I don't believe I'd be functional without it now due to pain. The best part is that kratom isn't a dangerous opioid, and it gives no high. I can honestly say that caffeine gives me more of a "high" than kratom, which is a relative of the coffee plant.

I started taking kratom for pain but found it has additional benefits. Anxiety and insomnia have been my "friends" for life, and kratom helps with both. I've yet to hear anyone else say it helps restless leg syndrome, but it sure does for me. And that affects my sleep.

All that said, I am not at all opposed to regulating kratom, establishing age limits, and taking measures to stop unscrupulous vendors who adulterate kratom in harmful ways. A number of states have adopted legislation that protects consumers and their right to use safe kratom. The American Kratom Association has developed good manufacturing practices and vendor certification toward this end.

Please consider these alternatives to bans. The quality of many people's lives depends on keeping kratom legal. My symptoms are only some that kratom helps. Others report kratom helps with opiate withdrawal, and our veterans find relief from PTSD. 

A ban on kratom would be immeasurably hurtful to many people. It would create criminals out of everyday, law-abiding citizens.

Thank you,

Jennifer Durham