Anyone Have Experience With Kratom?

[Aleeri]

Sometimes I wish it were illegal, not because I don't think it has value, but simply because it would keep stupid people from taking it like it has no repercussions. It is nearly the most addictive life-changing legal drug I can think of, second to alcohol which is at least something people are a little bit educated on (most sane people know not to get drunk at work or they will get fired).

Most people know not to get drunk at work because alcohol is so harsh in effects that it renders you unable to work or socialize like normal, that's why you get fired.

Sure you can talk about kratom being addictive but guys a quick google search tells you this:

Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years.Jan 3, 2018

Now, how the hell are you going to justify making kratom illegal, a plant that does not kill or impair you from working or living your life? It has medical use, I have yet to see anybody or any hospital in the Western world who still treats their patients with booze.

There are so many more people struggling with alcohol abuse than anyone would ever struggle with kratom.

Like it's all retarded in perspective and that's the problem, people lack neutral perspective looking at this thing.

 

[Aleeri]

So let's please lead the conversation back to discussing the plant rather than discussing it as a drug.

I am interested in kratom for the huge potential it has to save lives if it replaced drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine. That would save countless of lives from ODs and future addiction.

Also, you could treat opiate addicts with kratom, hand it out at clinics etc, it's a cheap plant to mass produce. It could provide poor countries with cheap painkillers that are effective.

I have people in my family with stage 4 lung cancer and I have seen up close what longterm oxycodone does to you during cancer treatments. Kratom being also a source of antioxidants such as epicatechin makes it very favourable as an adjunct during cancer treatments in the same manner as medicinal cannabis, they should research this more.

By the way, Thailand (where kratom grows naturally) is about to pass a law that legalizes cannabis and kratom for medical use and research, so let's hope we will see a lot of research on kratom coming from here in the future.

Thailand has over 1 million people who chew kratom per year.

“There’s never been a single death associated with kratom,” said Pascal Tanguay, a program director with the Thailand offices of PSI, a Washington DC-based global health organization that promotes harm reduction among drug users. “People have been chewing this for thousands of years with no cases of overdose, psychosis, murder, violent crime. Never in all of recorded history.”
Tanguay, who is participating in the Thai government’s legal review of kratom, is confident that the drug’s prohibited status will change. Options include making kratom available only by prescription, decriminalizing small amounts and total legalization.
Kratom has long flourished in Thailand’s humid south, a region largely inhabited by Muslims. The leaf is traditionally regarded as an organic painkiller and pick-me-up for farmers working the fields. Even after the 1943 ban, the kratom prohibition was loosely observed.
“There’s a gentle rush to it but it doesn’t impair your abilities,” said a longtime Bangkok resident who’s used the drug countless times but asked to remain anonymous. “Everything feels a bit rosier. But it’s nothing even close to amphetamine or marijuana. No crash, no comedown. Chewing more doesn’t help: you can’t ever get past a plateau so it doesn’t seem like you could overdose.”

I think kratom has interesting effects on serotonin. It seems like it potentially works like a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist.

"Our previous study demonstrated that mitragynine, as well as the selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, ritanserin, suppressed the 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine-induced head-twitch behavior but not head-weaving behavior or spontaneous motor activity in mice, and that the action of mitragynine was attenuated by the alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonists, yohimbine and idazoxan, suggesting a role of noradrenergic systems in the action of mitragynine (Matsumoto et al., 1996a)."
Source: Dropbox - Matsumoto et al. (1996).pdf
Source for referenced study by Matsumoto et al. (1996a; if you want the full text for this one just let me know, I got lazy :b ):https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091305796003140

 

[cyclops]

I think it could be useful for people coming off opiates or suffering from severe pain, but lots of people are just getting high off it just to deal with life and becoming addicted to something that makes you numb and dull.

 

[Grapelander]

I tried a big dose of Kratom - too much like Vicodin. I found myself getting annoyed easily by others and wanted to be left alone.
I then tried very small dose dissolved in hot coffee. I was impressed by the long lasting stimulant and creative effect.
I did have concerns about the liver effects - so only used 4 times. Have a little stashed away - I do not think it is OK for long term use.
Inhibitory effect of mitragynine on human cytochrome P450 enzyme activities
Cytochrome P450

Maybe Kratom can help with the opioid epidemic or chronic pain?
The Combination of Mitragynine and Morphine Prevents the Development of Morphine Tolerance in Mice

 

[CoconutEffect]

Like caffeine could be a daily drug for tired people; Kratom for neurotic people. It’s been incredibly useful. I’ve been on it steady for 6 months.

 

[Jib]

@Aleeri

Great info. Thanks for sharing.

I've only experimented a little with kratom. Taken maybe 15 or 20 times in amounts ranging from 2-4 grams.

I haven't tested to see if it helps with premature ejaculation yet, but am very curious about that. Have heard many people say that it helps their sexual stamina even in moderate amounts, such as 2 grams.

Did find that it helped me a lot to focus. I had a lot of work to get done over a couple weeks, and taking kratom daily really seemed to give me an edge I didn't have before. I was mostly using the "Fast" white strains.

Mostly had it as a simple unsweetened tea. Dissolves much better in hot water as opposed to cold water or juice.

 

[jamjay]

I've tried it for anxiety and chronic fatigue, while I was less anxious the hours after taking it I ended up having a lot more panic attacks than ever before (on the days I didn't use Kratom).
I throwed it in the trash, had a difficult week and then I was way better.
A quick search on the Reddit thread of Kratom will show a few similar testimonies, worsen anxiety in the long run (even Kratom induced panic attacks in people who didn't suffer from anxiety before Kratom).
Horrible stuff, seems to work for some people but it's not worth the risk IMO.

 

[Thatisvital]

What brands are safe?

 

[Thatisvital]

Do u buy any brands online or do u get it at a smoke shop