Feature

Is kratom the answer to the opioid crisis?

Publish date: March 23, 2018

 

The Mitragyna Speciosa tree, from which the drug kratom is produced. ThorPorre/commons.wikimedia.org

The Mitragyna Speciosa tree, from which the drug kratom is produced.

The pharmacologic makeup of the botanical product includes alkaloids similar to other opioid-antagonists, including mitragynine, mitraphylline, and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. In small doses, kratom has been known to boost energy; in larger doses, it has a sedative, pain-relieving effect. Some people chew fresh kratom leaves for stimulant and analgesic effects, said Oliver Grundmann, PhD, clinical associate professor at the University of Florida, in a presentation about kratom posted on YouTube. Dried kratom leaves can be ground up into powder preparations, he said. Still others consume kratom in the form of a pill, incense, or as a liquid extract, all of which are available online and at some smoke shops.

Dr. Grundmann conducted an anonymous survey last year about kratom and found that most users are white, married or partnered, and employed for wages. Dr. Grundmann’s survey of 8,049 kratom users also found that a majority of users reported having some college. However, the survey found an inverse relationship between years of education and the tendency to use kratom (Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Jul 1;176:63-70).

“The more education somebody has, the less likely they are to use kratom for prescription medicine dependency or for an emotional or mental condition,” Dr. Grundmann said.

Anecdotal evidence

One study conducted by David Galbis-Reig, MD, president-elect of the Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine, followed a 37-year-old woman who experienced kratom addiction.

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