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Tag: kratom opioid withdrawals

  • Kratom For Pain And Addiction Treatment: Is It Safe?

    Kratom For Pain And Addiction Treatment: Is It Safe?

    A new study explored the side effects and deaths linked to kratom.

    A recent study by a team at Binghamton University in New York found the drug kratom to be a threat to public health. The researchers looked at cases reported to the National Poison Data System—the data warehouse for the 55 poison control centers in the U.S.—and found 2,312 “kratom exposures” that led to toxicity.

    Of those, 935 cases involved just kratom, and negative symptoms reported included agitation, rapid heartbeat, vomiting, hallucinations, and coma.

    What Is Kratom?

    Kratom is a drug derived from the leaves of the Southeast Asian tree of the same name. The substance appears to interact with the opioid receptors in the brain, resulting in some pain relief properties similar to opioid drugs like heroin or OxyContin. It can also produce some stimulant and psychotropic effects.

    Kratom is still legal in the U.S. and has been increasingly marketed as a supplement that can relieve pain and even treat opioid addiction. 

    This marketing has led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to send official warnings to companies making these claims. Though it is legal, the FDA has not approved kratom for any treatment and considers the substance to be potentially dangerous.

    Toxicity Cases

    According to the Binghamton University study, four of the toxicity cases reported to the National Poison Data System resulted in deaths that were primarily caused by the kratom. This was potentially due to the fact that the drug acts like an opioid, the researchers say, therefore making it possible to experience dangerous overdose symptoms such as respiratory arrest.

    “Although it is not as strong as some other prescription opioids, kratom does still act as an opioid in the body,” said William Eggleston, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton. “In larger doses, it can cause slowed breathing and sedation, meaning that patients can develop the same toxicity they would if using another opioid product. It is also reported to cause seizures and liver toxicity.”

    Of the reported cases, 6.1% included seizures, 4.8% included hallucinations, 2.3% involved coma, and 0.6% involved cardiac or respiratory arrest. The study concluded that “kratom is not reasonably expected to be safe and poses a public health threat due to its availability as an herbal supplement.”

    Eggleston believes that kratom could be involved in treating opioid use disorder in the future, but his team concluded that more research is needed and it is not currently safe for use as an herbal supplement.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FDA Issues Warnings To Two Kratom Companies Over False Claims

    FDA Issues Warnings To Two Kratom Companies Over False Claims

    This is not the first time the FDA has had to issue warnings to companies about their sale and marketing of kratom.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on companies that sell the herbal supplement, kratom, with claims that it treats conditions it has not been proven to treat, including opioid addiction and withdrawal.

    In an official news release, the FDA named Cali Botanicals of Folsom, California, and Kratom NC of Wilmington, North Carolina, as the companies it warned “for illegally selling unapproved, misbranded kratom-containing drug products with unproven claims about their ability to treat or cure opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms.”

    According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), kratom is the name of a tropical tree found in Southeast Asia. The leaves of the kratom tree contain a substance that has “psychotropic (mind-altering) effects” and is not currently illegal in the U.S.

    However, the FDA notes that kratom “is not legally marketed in the United States as a drug or dietary supplement” and claims that the substance may have “opioid properties” that could be addictive.

    The FDA Doubles Down On Its Warnings

    This is not the first time the FDA has had to issue warnings to companies about their sale and marketing of kratom, and it sounds like they’re fed up with being ignored.

    “We have issued numerous warnings about the serious risks associated with the use of kratom, including warnings about the contamination of kratom products with high rates of salmonella that put people using kratom products at risk, and resulted in numerous illnesses and recalls,” says Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, MD. “Despite our warnings, companies continue to sell this dangerous product and make deceptive medical claims that are not backed by science or any reliable scientific evidence.”

    It’s not uncommon for herbal supplements and other products to be sold with false claims of treating addiction and withdrawal to opioids as the epidemic rages on in the U.S. The FDA is concerned that companies like Cali Botanicals and Kratom NC are taking advantage of desperate people, especially as there continues to be a lack of addiction treatment resources in many parts of the U.S.

    A study published in early 2019 found that only 6% of treatment centers carried all of the three approved medications for treating opioid addiction.

    The FDA has given the named companies 15 working days to respond, and further warned that “failure to correct violations may result in law enforcement action such as seizure or injunction.”

    “Selling these unapproved products with claims that they can treat opioid addiction and withdrawal and other serious medical conditions is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” the agency stated.

    View the original article at thefix.com