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Lawsuit Slams Kratom Industry; Antihistamine Combined with Kratom Extract May Have Caused Death

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 …

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Rapides Parish, Louisiana Criminalizes Kratom Consumers

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. …

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Why engaging with kratom misinformation hurts more than helps

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 …

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Is it a good idea to make a 7-hydroxymitragynine based drug?

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 …

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Interview with International Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Expert Pascal Tanguay

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 …

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Lead (Pb) in kratom possibly hazardous, say researchers

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 …

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NIDA is rolling out a massive nationwide study of regular kratom consumers

QR Code link https://enroll.drugabuse.gov/kratom-nida/ From the research team: About The KEMA Study We are conducting a new study on kratom entitled “Real-world momentary assessment of kratom use accompanied by product assays: A natural history study toward an interdisciplinary characterization of kratom use and pharmacology”! That is a long name, so we typically refer to it …

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Possible causes of kratom-related liver toxicities and deaths

Herb-induced liver injury (HILI) is “a rare adverse reaction associated with the consumption of herbal products”. A review published in 2020 found 12,068 cases of herb-induced liver injury worldwide, as well as 46,266 cases of liver injury induced by the use of drugs (Teschke et al., 2021). Herbal and dietary supplements contribute to 20% of …

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