On November 16, Greene County Circuit Court in Arkansas sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for carrying kratom. Arkansas classified kratom a Schedule 1 substance in 2015, making it just as illegal as heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine. In 2021, Greene County police pulled over Marshall Ray Price, 46. Police claim Price was driving …
Arkansas man sentenced to 10 years for “trafficking” kratom Read More »
Nov 8 2022 Voters in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota today will get to decide on ballot questions that will offer some form of cannabis legalization. In Colorado, a Yes on Prop 122 will decriminalize certain psychedelics. Polling indicates the Maryland initiative is likely to pass, and a majority of Missouri residents …
Cannabis, Psychedelics Reform on the Ballot in 6 States Read More »
The parents of a man who died after ingesting kratom extract are suing multiple kratom companies and the American Kratom Association (AKA). In a 45 page complaint, Dana and John Pope allege their 23 year old son, Ethan, died after purchasing and ingesting “one or more bottles” of OPMS extract from two stores in two …
Another Louisiana parish turned back the clock on rational drug policy and decided to criminalize kratom consumers. On October 10, the Rapides Parish Police Jury (the governing body of the parish, made up of elected officials, much like a county council) voted unanimously to fine and imprison citizens for the possession and sale of kratom. …
Rapides Parish, Louisiana Criminalizes Kratom Consumers Read More »
The conversation around kratom is as complex as the plant itself. For kratom to manifest in our society as a healing plant instead of a perceived dangerous drug, the science of kratom needs to become conventional wisdom. For the millions of Americans kratom has already helped, we can’t afford to spend 80 years digging our …
Why engaging with kratom misinformation hurts more than helps Read More »
A Vancouver drug company announced that it has filed a patent for a deuterated form of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-HMG) called D7-h. The company, Nirvana Life Sciences Inc., intends to pursue D7-h as a pain relieving drug, citing 7-HMG’s partial opioid agonism, and the deuteration process that they say makes the drug last longer. A deuterated drug …
Is it a good idea to make a 7-hydroxymitragynine based drug? Read More »
The audio version of this interview can be found as episode 30 of the Kratom Science Podcast. References to studies discussed are also listed there. Dr. Darshan Singh from the Center for Drug Research at the University of Science in Malaysia. Dr. Singh studies substance abuse, addiction treatment, and harm reduction. He has conducted multiple …
Tom Segura is a super famous stand up comedian. He has four Netflix specials and he’s currently on a massive world tour called “I’m Coming Everywhere“. Segura recently published his first book, I’d Like to Play Alone, Please. “I took some kratom and I was just fucking geeked out of my mind!” said Segura on …
This interview is the text version of the audio episode #66 of the Kratom Science Podcast, posted December 2, 2021. It’s been lightly edited for clarity in reading. Pascal Tanguay is originally from Montreal, Canada and has been living in Thailand for 20 years studying issues around people who use drugs, international and Southeast Asian …
Interview with International Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Expert Pascal Tanguay Read More »
Researchers from Midwestern University recently published an article in the journal Toxics entitled “Public Health Implications and Possible Sources of Lead (Pb) as a Contaminant of Poorly Regulated Kratom Products in the United States”. Based in part on earlier research conducted by lead author and pharmacologist Dr. Walter Prozialeck, several randomly selected kratom products have …
Lead (Pb) in kratom possibly hazardous, say researchers Read More »