These open comments always brings out the well funded anti-Kratom propagandists who lie about deaths and other health problems caused by Kratom. These false claims must be ignored for the greater good of the people. Kratom saves lives and has been used for hundreds of years without any deaths attributed to Kratom alone. Kratom has been used safely in the United States for decades. The deaths we see where they claim Kratom was the cause of death ALWAYS involves fentanyl or other deadly drugs. Or it involves someone with serious pre-existing health problems.

The FDA has been unable to prove for over a decade that Kratom is dangerous. The DEA sees no valid reason to ban Kratom. Even the WHO with a lower threshold agreed there’s no reason to ban Kratom. 

Kratom helps 15-20 million Americans every day with pain, depression, anxiety, PTSD and a variety of health problems. It doesn’t cause health problems. It treats and even cures them. For me personally, Kratom gave me my life back. I suffered a serious back injury and was bedridden for months. I became addicted to prescription pain medicine and SSRIs that I was prescribed to deal with the depression that was a result of my injuries.

I have no doubt that Kratom saved my life. It helped me get off of the prescription pills. It gave me a positive outlook on life that allowed me to get through my therapy and recovery process. My depression was crippling because I was a father of 2 young boys and I was physically and mentally unable to participate in several of their early years. I could barely get out of bed. I considered taking my life because I felt like an absent terrible father. But Kratom changed all of that. Kratom gave my kids their father back. Kratom gave me my life back. I’m now about 90% recovered from my injuries. I take absolutely no prescription medicines now. I use a teaspoon of Kratom in a cup of tea or coffee about 2 to 3 times a day. It’s truly been a miracle tea leaf and saved my life. 

Please understand there is a sinister agenda to ban Kratom so big pharma can make Kratom based drugs. The reason big pharma and the fda wanted to ban Kratom is because it prevents them from creating synthetic versions of Kratom compounds and profit from them. The anti-Kratom efforts are all about money. The anti-Kratom lobbies are well funded. The efforts to ban Kratom have absolutely nothing to do with health or safety. Kratom is a threat to their profits. Pharma is already working on synthesizing Kratom compounds in hopes it gets banned some day. Once you understand this profit driven motive, you understand that Kratom really is a safe and effective plant medicine.

Please don’t make the same mistake we’ve made with things like cannabis. Kratom has many medical uses and is safer than any pharmaceutical drug. A ban on Kratom will force many to seek dangerous drugs and even illicit street drugs to treat their problems. Those that have used Kratom to get off of drugs like fentanyl and heroin will have no choice but to start using these drugs again. Chronic pain patients are not being treated in America anymore. This has added to the opioid drug crisis. If Virginia bans Kratom, the state will see an enormous climb in drug overdoses and deaths. Please do not ban Kratom. It will prove to be a deadly miscalculation by legislators. People deserve to have access to this safe and effective natural remedy. Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story.

Respectfully,

An 11 year Kratom consumer