The DEA is trying to classify another plant as Schedule 1

Kratom, a mild opiate like plant that has been legally and openly used throughout the country for years, is now being made Schedule 1 as of September 30, 2016. This move comes after 1 possible attributable death.

To put this in perspective, 18,883 people died from an overdose of pain relievers in the US in 2014.

Many people use this plant in lieu of dangerous prescription drugs, and even to get off of heroin completely.

Apparently there are pharma companies currently attempting to patent the active alkaloids contained in the planet, and many view this ban as active collusion by the DEA with Big Pharma. (I've not confirmed this)

As of September 30th it will be considered a felony to possess this plant that people have been regularly using for years.

The DEA is stating that further research is necessary but the mere act of making it Schedule 1 will make research illegal.

TLDR: Freedom and democracy are getting sold away to people with profit in mind.

Still, advocates for the drug say the research that has been done shows that kratom's effects are mild compared to opiate painkillers, and say that the plant has helped many people kick dependencies on hydrocodone, oxycodone and other powerful prescription painkillers.

Kratom has helped "millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions," the American Kratom Association says. A fact sheet published by the group says that "today Americans use kratom for things like fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, PTSD, to ease themselves off opiates and to help manage addiction." Much of the evidence for this comes from testimonials from the group's own members, as published research into kratom use is rare.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/15/the-dea-wants-to-ban-another-plant-researchers-say-the-plan-is-insane/

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/52z1k8/the_dea_wants_to_ban_another_plant_researchers/

Kratom Ban Creates Outrage, "People Will Die."

http://reset.me/story/dea-kratom-ban-creates-outrage-people-will-die/

EDIT: Here is the white house petition against it. Please sign it if you care about personal freedom.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/please-do-not-make-kratom-schedule-i-substance

 There's money to be made, you shouldn't be growing it yourself or getting it from a local herbalist, How Dare You !!

Is a maker of deadly painkillers bankrolling the opposition of Arizona marijuana legalization?

http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/09/12/arizona-marijuana-insys-therapeutics/62986/

It's just disgusting

Look at fucking Trump nearly making it to the highest echelons of our political institutions.  Why can't one reasonably intelligent, non-greedy, technically minded (as opposed to fucking greedy and bigoted) person do this, just once?

Why can't we have an engineer or scientist for a President and hope they make good use of executive orders?  Jesus fucking Christ, a mathematician or physicist, that would be heaven.  That is what we fucking need not another lawyer or businessman.  

Independent secular engineer environmentalist humanist statistician for President please #2020

Kanye is running for president in 2020 though

if you've ever done kratom you know how ridiculous this is, there's barely a high with kratom. pretty much the exclusive reason people do kratom is seek some relief during withdrawal or trying to wean off heroin,etc. it's not hard to see the real reason it's being made illegal.

Yup, I bought a good bit of it, but will be cycling off of it soon. I was thinking, if I were addicted to ANY of the schedule 1 drugs (well cept pot), I'd be freaking out wondering where I'm going to get my high. Instead with kratom... I mean it's upsetting but I wasn't planning on taking the stuff forever. 

It was amazing for my depression, basically made it go away, allowed me to live my life like I did before the depression.

BTW, this whole thing is because some pharma company has synthesized the 2 main alkaloids in kratom, and then now it's magically getting a ban. Check out the kratom reddit, there's good info about various things there.

Also the DEA initially said there was no medicinal value in kratom, but just half a month later is saying there is. Ergo, they're being manipulative and are preparing to make pills of the alkaloids, and very badly being sneaky about it.

They either think we're idiots, or just don't care because they KNOW they're going to get away with it.

 

  On 9/17/2016 at 3:38 AM, Zeffolia said:

It's just disgusting

 

Look at fucking Trump nearly making it to the highest echelons of our political institutions. Why can't one reasonably intelligent, non-greedy, technically minded (as opposed to fucking greedy and bigoted) person do this, just once?

 

Why can't we have an engineer or scientist for a President and hope they make good use of executive orders? Jesus fucking Christ, a mathematician or physicist, that would be heaven. That is what we fucking need not another lawyer or businessman.

 

Independent secular engineer environmentalist humanist statistician for President please #2020

Why be a middle man when you can work for ExxonMobil or Raytheon and run the country for real?

Or why waste all that time in education to become a bureaucrat.

  Quote

 

 

Why be a middle man when you can work for ExxonMobil or Raytheon and run the country for real? 

Unfettered Capitalism is a double edged sword :-\

  On 9/17/2016 at 5:45 AM, orangebattery said:

if you've ever done kratom you know how ridiculous this is, there's barely a high with kratom. pretty much the exclusive reason people do kratom is seek some relief during withdrawal or trying to wean off heroin,etc. it's not hard to see the real reason it's being made illegal.

I'm drinking kratom now and I feel relaxed and ready for bed lol

  On 9/17/2016 at 6:07 AM, Brisbot said:

 

  Quote

 

 

Why be a middle man when you can work for ExxonMobil or Raytheon and run the country for real? 

Unfettered Capitalism is a double edged sword :-\

 

 Double edged swords, going for cheap, buy 'em now, rust proofing only 10% extra, Call in the next half an hour and we'll add this exclusive swords maintanance package and a second sword absolutely free. What a deal. two swords, a maintenance package that you'll be telling all your fellow gladiators about and security of knowing that you've bought with the best, ductar & qvackenstein assured tempered steel incorporated.

  On 9/17/2016 at 6:03 AM, doublename said:

 

  On 9/17/2016 at 3:38 AM, Zeffolia said:

It's just disgusting

 

Look at fucking Trump nearly making it to the highest echelons of our political institutions. Why can't one reasonably intelligent, non-greedy, technically minded (as opposed to fucking greedy and bigoted) person do this, just once?

 

Why can't we have an engineer or scientist for a President and hope they make good use of executive orders? Jesus fucking Christ, a mathematician or physicist, that would be heaven. That is what we fucking need not another lawyer or businessman.

 

Independent secular engineer environmentalist humanist statistician for President please #2020

Why be a middle man when you can work for ExxonMobil or Raytheon and run the country for real?

 

Or why waste all that time in education to become a bureaucrat.

 

 The people running the country are the bankers, everything else is in thrall to them via extensive shareholdings. When you can print money out of thin air, it kind of gives you the ultimate edge to pick winners and losers in the rough and tumble of captitalism. You can even afford to bet on both, and the government and the media and academia.

My brother has been ranting about this for weeks

  Quote

 

 

My brother has been ranting about this for weeks 

I'd be mad too if I still had depression. Or needed it for chronic pain. I used it for my back but that's gotten better over the past few months to where I don't really need kratom.

I mean it's the perfect solution, great painkilling without making you wanna go to sleep. No one can tell you're on kratom. Can you tell when your brother is?

Yeah I heard about this, it's a scandal.

Too bad that white house petition won't do anything, the DEA will reschedule it on the 23rd I believe, that's too soon for anything to prevent it.

It's doesn't even interact with the mu-opiod receptor (or if it does it's very minimal, I believe the delta receptors are more affected). Lacks addiction potential because withdrawals are incredibly mild. Can't take too much really, because it has other alkaloids that will make you puke before there is any respiratory suppression. Grows naturally and is a hearty plant that needs little to no upkeep or finicky nutrient program. Weans people off opiates better than sub's or fucking methadone...

So yeah, I can totally see why this is banned...

I've used kratom every once and a while because it provides a great little buzz that accentuates the day without impairing you. With this news, a few friends placed biiiig orders.

The US government really needs to reconsider about half the drugs that are schedule 1 - in the very definition of what they consider when placing it to said scheduling, most don't apply because they have valid medical uses and low addiction potential (psychedelics, cannabis, kratom, entactogens)

This DEA is bullshit, it's like Obama is TRYING to piss everyone off in his last months in office. Cannabis not moved to schedule 2, then this. I'm about to say fuck that guy, and I voted for him twice.

We have effectively a cure for depression, PTSD, and anxiety (and not merely a drug that masks the symptoms) and it (psilocybin) is illegal...

For me, that sums it all up

been using kratom for a couple of years on and off for energy/concentration boosts, it's great stuff.

This is fucking dodgy news, hope it won't amount to anything or affect anyones kratom consumption too much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmmhmKIW7rs

  On 9/17/2016 at 9:31 PM, Audioblysk said:

Lacks addiction potential because withdrawals are incredibly mild.

i didn't get this, what is the relation between addiction and withdrawal?

  On 9/17/2016 at 10:17 PM, eugene said:

 

  On 9/17/2016 at 9:31 PM, Audioblysk said:

Lacks addiction potential because withdrawals are incredibly mild.

i didn't get this, what is the relation between addiction and withdrawal?

 

Withdrawal is a contributing factor to addiction for a lot of substances, namely heroin, painkillers, and alcohol. As you can see from the FWP thread benzos are easily categorized this way as well. Many people will use whatever it is they are using simply to avoid the pain of coming off it.

I thought they already pushed this through a couple weeks ago, actually.  There may still be hope, they ended up not scheduling Salvia Divinorum because of the research that was already underway, I guess there's enough potential for it to be monetized as an antidepressant or something, it was quite a while back.

I wonder if I'll live to see the day when I don't feel like I have to constantly apologize for my country's government.   Doubt it, especially not once the tech sector finishes displacing the energy sector and really starts pushing to turn the world into the Randian hellscape they're already steering us toward.

  On 9/17/2016 at 10:30 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

  On 9/17/2016 at 10:17 PM, eugene said:

 

  On 9/17/2016 at 9:31 PM, Audioblysk said:

Lacks addiction potential because withdrawals are incredibly mild.

i didn't get this, what is the relation between addiction and withdrawal?

 

 

Withdrawal is a contributing factor to addiction for a lot of substances, namely heroin, painkillers, and alcohol. As you can see from the FWP thread benzos are easily categorized this way as well. Many people will use whatever it is they are using simply to avoid the pain of coming off it.

 

oh ok, i thought there's some chemical relation or law or something, but it's just this cascading effect of simply using more of the drug and multiplying the chance of addiction.

thought on the hand if a drug doesn't cause any withdrawal pain and makes you feel awesome wouldn't this make it more desirable and thus more potentially addictive too?

yeah that or the fact that withdrawal becomes a serious health risk in and of itself