SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @06:52PM (3 children)
Also consider homeopathic and other supplements. If they're a "supplement" and don't do much of anything, we're ok with manufacturers making all kinds of crazy health claims and swindling people (just as long as they put an FDA disclaimer in fine print).
But if the supplement does actually do something, then it needs to be schedule 1! Because big pharma can't make mad duckets off something you can grow yourself.
Speaking of, if the D team gets congress, we're going to see a bill to deschedule cannabis in the next two years, right? Right? Especially given that it'll be shot down by Trump. So we're going to see an attempt by your right-wing capitalist wall street cocksucking party to at least give the appearance of trying to do the right thing, right???
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @06:55PM (2 children)
Oops, meant to reply to that capitalist cocksucker DeathMonkey, whose party had control of congress and the presidency for two fucking years and gave us the insurance company corporate welfare subsidy called the Affordable Care Act.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @07:03PM
I got you fam
(Score: 4, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 06 2018, @07:44PM
Biting criticism coming from the guy who can't figure out how to use the 'Reply to This' button.
In other news, I've been called a capitalist AND a communist in one single day. Impressive.