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.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:51PM (3 children)
I believe you mean that cocaine and heroin were widely available and were advertised to cure everything from baldness to impotence. Back in the pre-FDA days, manufacturers of "patent remedies" could and did make all sorts of claims which were usually untested and almost always wrong in an effort to boost sales. This is no different from the supplement and alternative medicine industries today.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday September 06 2018, @05:55PM (1 child)
You seem to have the misconception that advertising might contain untrue information.
I read it on
Reader's DigestThe Internet, so it must be true.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 Friday September 07 2018, @07:16AM
(Score: 2) by dry on Friday September 07 2018, @04:42AM
Well, heroin was originally advertised as a cure for morphine addiction, and sure enough, it did work for that as once addicted to heroin, morphine wasn't good enough.