As Marion County considers a ban on kratom products, multiple individuals have written in to share opinions about the matter, including activists seeking to make key distinctions between the plant in its natural form and artificially elevated products.
Here are a few of those letters:
“I read with concern about Marion County’s consideration of a ban that could include the possession, sale, and distribution of kratom. I hope readers and county leaders will understand that the products currently causing alarm are not all the same. Traditional natural leaf kratom should not be treated as interchangeable with highly concentrated, enhanced, or artificially elevated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products. I know this distinction matters because I am one of the people who would be affected by a blanket ban. I am a former registered nurse who has lived with severe chronic pain for 25 years. For nearly two decades, I was treated with prescription opioids (300 MME per day), along with high dose gabapentin. Those medications provided pain relief, but they also came at an enormous cost to my quality of life. I experienced severe gastrointestinal complications that resulted in multiple hospitalizations, as well as profound fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, and changes in my ability to function and be present with my family. About six years ago, with the involvement of my pain management physician, I transitioned away from those medications and began using traditional natural leaf kratom. Kratom does not make me intoxicated or euphoric. Natural leaf simply reduces my pain enough to make my life more manageable. I remain disabled and I still live with pain every day, but I regained mental clarity, wakefulness, independence, and much of the person my family had lost during years of heavy prescription medication. That is why the possibility of a possession ban is so troubling. There is an enormous difference between protecting the public from potentially dangerous concentrated products and criminalizing an adult for possessing a traditional botanical she has responsibly used for years. I support strong consumer protections. Require age restrictions. Require testing, accurate labeling, ingredient disclosure, and responsible manufacturing. Restrict synthetic, adulterated, or dangerously concentrated products. Hold companies accountable when they market products irresponsibly. But please do not mistake prohibition for consumer protection. People living with chronic pain have already had to make difficult choices about medications, side effects, risks, and quality of life. Many of us came to natural leaf kratom only after years of experience with the alternatives. We deserve to be part of this conversation rather than being portrayed simply as a public health problem. Marion County has an opportunity to address the products creating legitimate concern without taking traditional natural leaf kratom away from responsible adults. I hope it chooses regulation based on evidence and meaningful distinctions rather than a blanket ban.” – Dana Avedisian, Greenup, Kentucky…