[leggomuhgreggo]

It's incredibly valuable for people with chronic pain (e.g. military veterans) who want a safer and less habit-forming alternative to synthetic opiates -- as well as for people who are fighting opiate addiction.

There've been a couple pushes to get Kratom designated as Schedule 1 by the DEA over the past decade, and -- in a rare episode of democratic counter-pressure actually succeeding -- these efforts have, so far, been thwarted [ref: https://www.mintpressnews.com/dea-delays-unprecedented-ban-o...]

Despite having a very minor risk-profile -- as well as having significant public health utility as a means to alleviate the opiate epidemic -- a number of states have criminalized it.

The campaign against Kratom is very clearly distorted by pharmaceutical interests, who view Kratom as a low-cost competitor to their products.

There've been many reports over the years which illustrate this dynamic, but one of the most damning was unearthed recently through FOIA requests, revealing that the FDA was deliberately misrepresenting data on death/injury [Ref: https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/foia-docs-show-fdas-...]

It is worth noting that, while not technically an opiate, it does bind with the opioid receptors in the brain. So there is a risk of physical dependency and if withdrawal is induced with something like Naltrexone the symptoms are severe enough to register on the COWS scale.

Overall Kratom is very benign, and has been used in south asian cultures for thousands of years.

I've taken it at times as a focus-aid, usually paired with coding, and found it generally agreeable. However I wouldn't suggest making a habit of it, without compelling medical reason.