I know I have somewhat abandoned this blog. I intend to bring it back in the future. There’s a lot I’d like to do with it. So, stayed tuned for that.
However, right now, I want to talk about something really important.
On August 30th, the DEA sent out a notice of intent to ban a fairly benign medicinal plant called kratom. It goes into effect on September 30th. Kratom will be classed as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no medical uses and has a high potential for abuse. It’s in the same legal category as heroin, LSD, and marijuana. It’s the most restrictive schedule. However, the DEA’s decision is based on extremely bad evidence, and subject to no scientific or public review. This decision was not up for a vote, nor is there any legal or executive oversight in the decision.
Why is this important? Many tens of thousands of people rely on kratom to treat opiate addiction, alcoholism, severe chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Without kratom, these people, including myself, will suffer. Some may even die, either through relapse or suicide. These people have turned to kratom as a relatively safe alternative to extremely dangerous pharmaceuticals. No, kratom is not necessarily 100% safe. Nothing is, not even coffee, a plant that is closely related to kratom. However, placing kratom on Schedule 1 is beyond an overreach of power, and if history is any indication, this will completely halt all scientific studies into its possible medical benefits. The anecdotal evidence for its medical value is overwhelming, and it should be studied. Schedule 1 is almost always a nail in the coffin to any potentially therapeutic substance.
As much as I’d like to share my own story, it’s simply too difficult for me to talk about at length. I’ve already done so through other outlets, and I don’t think I can go through it again. The short version is that I used to suffer from anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation. When I was a teenager, I got into a habit of abusing pills (mostly opiates) and alcohol to cope with my clouded mind. When I started taking kratom, I was able to overcome my anxiety and depression enough to go to college and get two degrees as a first generation student who grew up in a broken and impoverished home. I quit using pretty much all drugs, cigarettes, and cut my alcohol consumption down to healthy levels. I attribute my success to kratom. It’s *my* medicine, and it saved my life. I have been able to manage my anxiety for the better part of six years.
There has been a very strong resistance to the ban from the kratom community. The American Kratom Association is seeking multiple avenues for fighting the ban.
This is an emergency of epic proportions. Yes, if this ban takes effect, people will die. People who suffer from severe chronic pain will have to live in agony or resort to dangerous addictive drugs. Moreover, this decision is a monumental step backwards for the fight to legalize marijuana, which has proved successful in a few states already. If we allow the DEA to ban other benign psychoactive or medicinal plants on a whim, then what chance does marijuana have to become legal? If you support marijuana legalization, this issue should be important to you. Our community needs people who sympathize with our cause to help us. We need as many people as possible on board.
You can start by signing our petition, which has already garnered over 80,000 signatures in 7 days:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/please-do-not-make-kratom-schedule-i-substance
You can also help by donating to the American Kratom Association, the organization leading the fight to stop the ban:
https://americankratomassociation.nationbuilder.com/donate
Here’s some other ways you can help out:
http://www.americankratom.org/national_call_to_action
If you’d like to learn more and get the real facts on kratom, go here:
http://www.americankratom.org/facts
http://www.americankratom.org/science
And here are stories from people whose lives depend on kratom as a medicine. It’s important that we let their voices be heard:
http://heavy.com/news/2016/09/i-am-kratom-ban-twitter-photos-stories-addiction-pharmaceuticals-dea-iamkratom/
I don’t mean to come off as preachy here. I have always felt passionate about social and political issues, but as a professional intellectual, I usually don’t focus on the activist side of things. But because this affects me so deeply and personally, and this issue is so urgent, I have no choice but to bring out the activist in me. We simply cannot allow the DEA to dick around and do whatever the fuck it wants when so many lives are at stake. The DEA has an excessive amount of power, and we need to strip it from them.
Everyone… This is the United States of America. We’re supposed to be free. We all have a right to our own bodies and minds. As far as I’m concerned, this is not only a blatant violation of civil liberties, it’s a violation of basic human rights. If you can’t control your own health, then what control over your life do you have? How can we call ourselves free? This affects us all.
Thanks for hearing me out. Fare thee well.
