Dr. Fabian Pitter Steinmetz is a toxicologist from Germany who in 2021 testified for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 44th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD). There, Dr. Steinmetz gave the case for why kratom should be kept legal. As a member for the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD), he is …
Coffee is a tropical evergreen plant originating in Ethiopia but now grown worldwide. Two species, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, are predominantly sold as a recreational stimulant. Referred to “joe”, “java”, “brew”, “mud”, “liquid cocaine”, “espresso” and “go juice”, coffee is a drug of abuse, primarily used for its psychoactive and stimulant effects, similar to …
Last week we told you about a study published in September 2021 that showed cognitive impairment in high-dose mitragynine (MG), the main alkaloid in kratom. The study was also the subject of Kratom Science Journal Club #26. Researchers discovered that very high doses of MG, like THC and morphine, attach to CB1 receptors and cause …
Dr. Lance McMahon is Chair of the Department of Pharmacodynamics at University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Dr. McMahon is involved in pioneering kratom research that looks at the various kratom alkaloids, how they function on our brain receptors, and how that creates kratom’s complex effects on our bio. We talk about this research, where …
A comprehensive and detailed study in mice from University of Science, Malaysia revealed mitragynine in very high doses is an agonist (binds to and activates) cannabinoid receptor Type 1 (CB1). Mice administered with high-dose mitragynine demonstrated similar reward-seeking behavior and cognitive impairment as mice administered with morphine and THC. Mice that received high-dose mitragynine, morphine, …
Note: This content is the result of (1) Brian Gallagher’s interview with Mr. Suhairi Ery, Daily Chairman of PPHI and kratom farmer Mr. Jamaluddin Junaid, translated by Mr. Fadli Ashari, (2) Correspondence between Mr. Ashari and Brian Gallagher via email. (3) Questions written by both Brian Gallagher and Mr. Ashari and agreed upon before the …
Interview with Representatives of PPHI, an Indonesian Farmers’ Co-op Read More »
By guest writer Nina Ajdin I’d like you to imagine having third degree burns from head to toe. Your entire body is on fire, yet can no longer regulate temperature. Even in 90 degree weather in the middle of a hot summer, you are shivering, wrapped up in several blankets. Your skin is releasing a …
You are strongly encouraged to take the time to read this entire document, then submit a polite comment explaining your kratom story and asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to please keep kratom legal. You have until August 9, 2021. Please select the option to receive a confirmation email and tracking number …
Let’s look at the possibility of international controls on kratom Read More »
On July 20, the House Committee on Appropriations released summaries of seven appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022, which runs from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. One of the bills, HR4502 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill, includes a report, 117-96, that includes language that would direct the …
House Appropriations Committee bill HR4502 could direct HHS to Keep Kratom Legal Read More »
A pharmacologist today may regard traditional and plant medicine as primitive, and may entirely disregard thousands of years of use and thousands of modern-day testimonies of positive outcomes because it has not been through the rigors of hard science. On the other hand, the massive spread of anti-science misinformation has cast sometimes unreasonable doubt on …
Combining traditional plant medicine with modern medical technology Read More »