ladyjade3
10-12-2016, 12:24 PM
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-12/dea-withdraws-kratom-ban-opens-public-comment-period
Yay! We were heard! ---
"Caving to an energetic pressure campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday said it will drop a proposed emergency ban on kratom, a Southeast Asian tree leaf product that consumers say treats pain, addiction and a long list of other conditions.
The DEA now will open a public comment period ending Dec. 1, after which it will decide whether or not to move forward with a ban or some other restriction on kratom, which generally is brewed as tea or consumed in pills.
“Based on the response we’ve gotten over the last month or so, we believe it’s the prudent and reasonable action to take,” DEA spokesman Russ Baer says. “We want to make sure this is a transparent process. We want to have an open dialog with the public.”
It’s a big win for kratom users, who burned up the phone lines of the DEA and Congress, where dozens of lawmakers signed letters asking the anti-drug agency to reconsider.
"Today we are thankful to the DEA for listening to the voices of consumers, congresspeople and research scientists studying this plant," says Susan Ash, who corralled the backlash, including a well-attended White House protest, as leader of the American Kratom Association consumer group.
"We still believe no scheduling is necessary because it’s been used safely here in the U.S. for decades and across the world for millennia," Ash adds. "While we are very thankful that our voices are heard today, we still have a lot of work cut out for us."
RELATED CONTENT
Several protest attendees brought their own bottle of kratom tea Tuesday to the White House. Those who did not were offered a Solo cup.
Kratom Advocates Sip Tea and Seethe at White House Rally Against DEA Ban
The DEA initially surprised and enraged consumers in August with a sudden announcement that it would make two compounds in kratom – mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine – Schedule I substances, effectively banning the plant with as little as 30 days' notice.
More than 2,000 kratom consumers, the vast majority opposed to the ban, proceeded to call the DEA and share their stories.
“They have claimed individually that kratom has given them medical value,” Baer says, “that it has medical utility ranging from migraine headaches to chronic pain, to Crohn's disease, to anxiety, depression, opioid withdrawal – these are all conditions that medicines usually try to alleviate. ”
Though scientists are only beginning to understand its effects, consumers tout kratom as a natural painkiller without the fogginess of pharmaceuticals, as an energy-boosting mood elevator, and as a way to stay away from addictions, particularly to opioids.
But the DEA points to assertions that it can sometimes become addictive and claims 15 deaths in the U.S. are associated with its use. Kratom advocates say many people don’t experience withdrawal after regular use and that they believe most if not all deaths featured other drug use.
Among those who campaigned to keep kratom legal were researchers such as Andrew Kruegel, an associate research scientist at Columbia University. He had to rush to complete a research project before the ban took effect and had to boil in alcohol his stash of kratom to convert the active compounds into non-scheduled analogs ahead of Sept. 30, the initial day the ban could have taken effect..."
Yay! We were heard! ---
"Caving to an energetic pressure campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday said it will drop a proposed emergency ban on kratom, a Southeast Asian tree leaf product that consumers say treats pain, addiction and a long list of other conditions.
The DEA now will open a public comment period ending Dec. 1, after which it will decide whether or not to move forward with a ban or some other restriction on kratom, which generally is brewed as tea or consumed in pills.
“Based on the response we’ve gotten over the last month or so, we believe it’s the prudent and reasonable action to take,” DEA spokesman Russ Baer says. “We want to make sure this is a transparent process. We want to have an open dialog with the public.”
It’s a big win for kratom users, who burned up the phone lines of the DEA and Congress, where dozens of lawmakers signed letters asking the anti-drug agency to reconsider.
"Today we are thankful to the DEA for listening to the voices of consumers, congresspeople and research scientists studying this plant," says Susan Ash, who corralled the backlash, including a well-attended White House protest, as leader of the American Kratom Association consumer group.
"We still believe no scheduling is necessary because it’s been used safely here in the U.S. for decades and across the world for millennia," Ash adds. "While we are very thankful that our voices are heard today, we still have a lot of work cut out for us."
RELATED CONTENT
Several protest attendees brought their own bottle of kratom tea Tuesday to the White House. Those who did not were offered a Solo cup.
Kratom Advocates Sip Tea and Seethe at White House Rally Against DEA Ban
The DEA initially surprised and enraged consumers in August with a sudden announcement that it would make two compounds in kratom – mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine – Schedule I substances, effectively banning the plant with as little as 30 days' notice.
More than 2,000 kratom consumers, the vast majority opposed to the ban, proceeded to call the DEA and share their stories.
“They have claimed individually that kratom has given them medical value,” Baer says, “that it has medical utility ranging from migraine headaches to chronic pain, to Crohn's disease, to anxiety, depression, opioid withdrawal – these are all conditions that medicines usually try to alleviate. ”
Though scientists are only beginning to understand its effects, consumers tout kratom as a natural painkiller without the fogginess of pharmaceuticals, as an energy-boosting mood elevator, and as a way to stay away from addictions, particularly to opioids.
But the DEA points to assertions that it can sometimes become addictive and claims 15 deaths in the U.S. are associated with its use. Kratom advocates say many people don’t experience withdrawal after regular use and that they believe most if not all deaths featured other drug use.
Among those who campaigned to keep kratom legal were researchers such as Andrew Kruegel, an associate research scientist at Columbia University. He had to rush to complete a research project before the ban took effect and had to boil in alcohol his stash of kratom to convert the active compounds into non-scheduled analogs ahead of Sept. 30, the initial day the ban could have taken effect..."