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posted by CoolHand on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the more-science-needed dept.

Dr. Steven Novella has an article on the current state of the science on kratom and its potential as a source of new medicines. He gives an overview of the current state of the scientific study that has been done on kratom so far, and concludes that it is very promising but the scientific research done on it as of now is woefully insufficient. However, recent attempts by the FDA and DEA to schedule it on the one hand, and its continuing use as an unregulated supplement on the other may serve to stifle serious scientific research.

You may never have heard about kratom (though if you're a regular reader, you probably have), but there is already a thriving market for this Southeast Asian herb, and groups dedicated to the business of selling kratom. Kratom has also come onto the radar of the FDA and DEA, who would like to regulate it (it currently is essentially unregulated, except as a supplement). This has sparked a controversy over whether and how kratom should be regulated, fueled partly by a lack of clear scientific studies.

[...] I do not think that kratom should be classified as schedule 1, which the FDA and DEA did try to do two years ago, but had to back off due to public and political backlash. Schedule 1 is for substances with abuse potential but no legitimate medical use. The problem with this categorization is that it will frustrate scientific investigation, and that is exactly what we need right now.

It may be too late because it is already widely available as an herbal supplement, but kratom should be considered an investigational new drug, and properly scientifically studied. We desperately need more options in treating pain, especially chronic pain, and any addition to our toolkit is extremely welcome.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:47PM (4 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:47PM (#731418)

    The scheduling system is unscientific. And the simplest demonstration of it is that cannabis was until quite recently Schedule I, even though there were lots of studies suggesting a bunch of medical uses. In short, it was more illegal at the federal level to have a bit of pot than it was to have PCP.

    And even nuttier are the drug warrior types who argue that drugs are dangerous because they're illegal, and of course also advocating that drugs should be illegal because they're dangerous. With circular reasoning like that, I have to wonder what drugs they're on!

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:58PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:58PM (#731426) Journal

    You say it's circular reasoning. They say it's no loose ends. :-)

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @06:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @06:35PM (#731447)

    cannabis was until quite recently Schedule I,

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act [wikipedia.org]

    You'll find that it is still a Schedule I controlled substance.

    - t

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by urza9814 on Thursday September 06 2018, @07:07PM

    by urza9814 (3954) on Thursday September 06 2018, @07:07PM (#731471) Journal

    The scheduling system is unscientific. And the simplest demonstration of it is that cannabis was until quite recently Schedule I, even though there were lots of studies suggesting a bunch of medical uses. In short, it was more illegal at the federal level to have a bit of pot than it was to have PCP.

    Personally, I find the most damning evidence to be the fact that the US federal government has themselves been distributing medical marijuana to a small number of patients since 1975, and I believe they continue to do so for the few surviving patients even today. That was through the former NIDA Compassionate Investigative New Drug program. So one arm of the feds says that medical marijuana cannot possibly exist, while another arm spends four decades distributing medical marijuana. Yet somehow the courts believe that isn't a contradiction...

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday September 06 2018, @10:19PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday September 06 2018, @10:19PM (#731536)

    In the practical world, drugs are very dangerous because they are illegal - just like moonshine was dangerous during prohibition.

    In the rational world (aka not ours), the question should be about risks/benefits absent any legal concerns - remember: we're talking about elected officials, rational concerns are so far down their list as to be negligible.

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