the US congress is more likely to make Kratom a schedule 1 narcotic than legalize cannabis.

Could they come up with a less ominous name than "Kratom".

@2 - I believe the name is Thai, since that is the first place I ever encountered it.

#3

Ok, I guess that's what a nation that creates such dishes as "Pad Bai Ka Pow" and "Pad Ped Prik Khing" would name a recreational drug!

I think the most obvious answer is rather than push to keep kratom legal, only to have this fight over and over again is to push for legislation that requires studies to be conducted to determine a drug's medical value before it can become a schedule 1 drug. There are plenty of drugs that have medical value that are not immediately available for the public, yet when legislators hear about a "hot new drug" they automatically push for schedule 1.

Legislators could then not invoke the "reefer madness" defense to further their own political careers, making it infinitely harder for scientists to do studies on drugs proving (or disproving) their medical value or even their harmlessness, if we make it harder for legislators to be un- or misinformed.

After serving in multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I found myself suffering from not only physical pain from multiple head injuries, as well as back and knee injuries. I left the Army and was given Oxycodone by the VA to help manage the pain. Despite trying to be careful about the use of this drug, I found myself craving it more and more. I also found that I would have severe mood swings while on it, not to mention the withdrawals if I decided not to take it for a day or ran out. When the Oycodone wore off the pain returned ten-fold, prompting me to take more. After years of using it, the effects lasted less than an hour. I was constantly tired and found it difficult to perform daily tasks. Without the drug, however, I was often in too much pain to go about daily business. The Oxy also did nothing for the migraines caused by the brain injury nor did it help for the neuropathy. Life was pain-filled misery.

A couple of years ago, I discovered Kratom and began substituting it for the Oxycodone. I found that, unlike the Oxy, I could take Kratom for a week or two straight without tolerance issues and then stop taking it without withdrawals. The more I substituted Kratom for Oxy while I was in pain, the less depression and mood swings I experienced. There was no nausea, tiredness, or rebound pain. I didn't crave Kratom or have to take it out of fear of withdrawal symptoms. I can take it on a day when the pain is bad and not take it the next few days or weeks without being sick and agitated like with the prescription drugs given to me by the VA. It demolishes the migraines and relieves pain from the nerve damage even. With no mental cloudiness or tiredness from Kratom, I can go about my life with relative ease and a semblance of normalcy. I have not renewed my Oxycodone prescription since May or June and had stopped taking them long before that.

Kratom gave me my life back. I would really appreciate it if the government and ignorance wouldn't take that away from me again...

Kratom has been the most beneficial thing in my life after a terrible motorcycle accident and getting hooked on pharmaca drugs. I was able to get off the drugs with Kratom and now I can live a normal pain free life. Before Kratom I took ate a entire script in 2-3 days while buying drugs off the street and eating a bottle of Ibuprophen a day to just survive. My family was being ruined. My health was going down. I was dying inside. It effected every single aspect of my life. Kratom has no side effects. I don't know why the government is so ignorant about a natural herb. God made herbs to be used to treat our problems. God did not create herbs to be destroyed by our governments. Out government would much rather send us off to Methadone clinics and have us hooked on evil man made pharmacy. The Bible talks about it alot. In Revelations 22 it talks about the whole world being deceived by Babylon's sorceries. In the Greek the word sorceries is pharmaca. In Genesis Chapter 2 it states in 2 places that God made every green herb for man. If God created the herbs to help us why is the goverment so intent on destroying our ability to use them for pain. Why is the government so intent on getting people hooked on pharmaca. I will honestly be so glad when Karma catchs up with these evil people and they go where they belong. Maybe then the new generation can embrace natural cures as God intended. If the US bans Kratom I for 1 will leave the US and will never be back. I won't trade pharma for my everyday pain! I don't want to be a part of a nation so evil if this happens!

Though Iowa is not a huge market, any state making a move to legislate this further is bad news. Find out if Kratom is legal where you live at http://kratomonline.org/kratom-usa/