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I've been trying out an herb called kratom as an antidepressant for the past week or so, out of frustration with the prescription drugs I've been put on. I was talking about the experiment under a lock, because I've been trying not to post too much in public about my personal gloom-and-doom, on the basis that most people are here for the nerd stuff.
But Tennessee is talking about banning the stuff, which is something of which I really disapprove. I live in Kentucky, so the legislators in question don't really have any reason to listen to me, but I thought I should make these posts public so that they're google-able for Tennesseans doing research. Also, obviously, in hopes of dissuading Kentucky from following suit.
I've read a lot of stories of people who can't afford prescription drugs using kratom to manage depression, chronic pain, and exhaustion - that's why I decided to try it in the first place. And I've also seen stories, like this one on Reddit, of people addicted to dangerous opiates like prescription painkillers and heroin, using it to taper off their use, because it acts like an opiate and helps them with withdrawal symptoms. Its own withdrawal symptoms are comparatively really mild, too.
This is a really big deal, because kratom seems to be nearly impossible to overdose on - as anyone who reads my blog knows, I'm pretty paranoid about taking even over-the-counter meds, so I did a lot of research before ordering the stuff. I really haven't found any stories of anyone hurting themselves with it; the only thing close is a news article about a guy ending up in the ER because he was vomiting. And that doesn't sound like an overdose to me. The stuff's well-known to cause nausea in high volumes.
If kratom is really as safe as it appears to be, and it helps people with addictions to drugs that can actually kill them, banning it would be unbelievably stupid. Opiate addiction, particularly prescription painkillers, is a terrible problem in Appalachia; I've dealt with a lot of addicts through work, and I've seen how hard it is to get off that stuff. Keeping people who genuinely want to get clean from accessing an inexpensive tool to help them would be really irresponsible.
And frankly, barring the stuff without having any good evidence that it's dangerous doesn't make any sense. Louisiana chose to deal with kratom by requiring that it not be sold to people under eighteen; that makes sense to me. A ban doesn't.
Okay, there's enough of me blogging at legislators who aren't reading this. ( Under the cut I'm going to talk a little about my medical history and explain why I've been doing this, as context for people who haven't read my depressing locked posts. )
But Tennessee is talking about banning the stuff, which is something of which I really disapprove. I live in Kentucky, so the legislators in question don't really have any reason to listen to me, but I thought I should make these posts public so that they're google-able for Tennesseans doing research. Also, obviously, in hopes of dissuading Kentucky from following suit.
I've read a lot of stories of people who can't afford prescription drugs using kratom to manage depression, chronic pain, and exhaustion - that's why I decided to try it in the first place. And I've also seen stories, like this one on Reddit, of people addicted to dangerous opiates like prescription painkillers and heroin, using it to taper off their use, because it acts like an opiate and helps them with withdrawal symptoms. Its own withdrawal symptoms are comparatively really mild, too.
This is a really big deal, because kratom seems to be nearly impossible to overdose on - as anyone who reads my blog knows, I'm pretty paranoid about taking even over-the-counter meds, so I did a lot of research before ordering the stuff. I really haven't found any stories of anyone hurting themselves with it; the only thing close is a news article about a guy ending up in the ER because he was vomiting. And that doesn't sound like an overdose to me. The stuff's well-known to cause nausea in high volumes.
If kratom is really as safe as it appears to be, and it helps people with addictions to drugs that can actually kill them, banning it would be unbelievably stupid. Opiate addiction, particularly prescription painkillers, is a terrible problem in Appalachia; I've dealt with a lot of addicts through work, and I've seen how hard it is to get off that stuff. Keeping people who genuinely want to get clean from accessing an inexpensive tool to help them would be really irresponsible.
And frankly, barring the stuff without having any good evidence that it's dangerous doesn't make any sense. Louisiana chose to deal with kratom by requiring that it not be sold to people under eighteen; that makes sense to me. A ban doesn't.
Okay, there's enough of me blogging at legislators who aren't reading this. ( Under the cut I'm going to talk a little about my medical history and explain why I've been doing this, as context for people who haven't read my depressing locked posts. )
