What is kratom?

Kratom is an herbal extract derived from the leaves on an evergreen tree (Mitragyna speciose) that is grown in parts of Southeast Asia. Its leaves can be chewed, and when dried, powdered kratom can be swallowed or brewed into a tea.

What is kratom used for?

Kratom produces opioid- and stimulant-like effects and is widely used to relieve pain, suppress appetite, increase energy, and improve mood. Researchers at University of Florida have conducted promising research that suggests kratom may be a beneficial treatment for opioid dependency. There are no FDA-approved uses of kratom, and the FDA has warned consumers that because kratom affects the same opioid brain receptors as opium that it “exposes users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence.”

Is there any evidence that kratom has a high potential for abuse?

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, the answer is no. After conducting a survey that included almost 3,000 kratom users, they published their results in the February 3, 2020, issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. They concluded that “the psychoactive compound somewhat similar to opioids likely has a lower rate of harm than prescription opioids for treating pain, anxiety, depression and addiction.”

Are there any studies indicating that kratom is an effective treatment for pain?

Lyophilized Kratom Tea as a Therapeutic Option for Opioid Dependence a controlled animal study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found that that kratom  “delivered significant pain-relieving benefits, reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms and caused minimal respiratory depression.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded University of Florida two multimillion-dollar grants to examine kratom’s individual alkaloids and investigate the different ways it is consumed.

What are the side effects of kratom?

Rare but serious effects including psychiatric, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems have been reported in people who use kratom. Because there are no studies on the long-term use of kratom, long-term effects of kratom use are unknown but most users report side effects are mild.  

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Compared to deaths from other drugs, a very small number of deaths have been linked to kratom products and nearly all cases involved other drugs or contaminants.”

Has the government tried to ban the sale of kratom?

According to Politico, “The U.S. government has twice tried to restrict kratom’s use by classifying it as a controlled substance, arguing it has high potential for abuse and no known medical benefit. But public outcry and pushback from Congress thwarted those efforts.”

To learn more, the Alternative Pain Treatment Directory spoke to Christopher Deaney, chronic pain sufferer and owner of Christopher’s Organic Botanicals. The company sells a variety of organic kratom products that have been vigorously tested. 

Can you tell us what causes your chronic pain?

I was hit by a car when I was eight years old. My legs were broken at the growth plate, so it was hard for my legs to develop properly. I’ve always had issues with my knees dislocating. I was prescribed opiates when I was around eight or nine years old, and I took them for twenty years. 

Did you become dependent on opiates?

Yes, and I got sick and tired of being dependent on something that was harmful. When I stopped taking all of the opiates, I was taking prescription Aleve every day. I was taking about eight a day which is the equivalent of sixteen regular Aleve. I had to do it to help keep the pain down, and I still need to take an Aleve every now and then when things get bad. 

Have you tried cannabis to help with your chronic pain?

Yes, but when you are using cannabis and have a job where you are getting random drug tested, that’s not going to work. 

How did you discover kratom?

It was back in 2015, and I was looking for something natural that I could take that wouldn’t impact my heart. I had a heart attack eleven years ago when I was thirty-six. After learning about kratom, I spent about six months researching it before I started using it.

How has kratom helped with your chronic pain?

I would wake up at a ten (on the pain scale) every day, and it took me down to like a two or a three. When I take kratom at night before I go to bed, I wake up at an eight. Certain types of kratom can help with your sleep, and I no longer wake up in the middle of the night with pain which used to happen a lot. It was horrible.

How long did it take before you started seeing results?

It happened right away. If you take kratom in a cup of tea, ten or twenty minutes later, you are going to be like, "Wow! That’s amazing."

Why did you decide to start selling kratom?

I was buying it on eBay, and it was shipped to me in a Ziploc bag that was labeled with magic marker. They were selling it like it was a bag of weed on the street, and I knew there had to be a better way. I started reaching out to farmers in Indonesia, and they sent me samples of their products. Some of it was garbage, so I spent a lot of money trying to figure out which ones were the best. We found a good group in Indonesia and have been working with them ever since. 

How long have you been in business?

I started in 2016 as a home-based business with a clean room. I couldn’t keep up with the business, and within six months, I found an FDA-approved co-packer (contracted packer). Since then, I’ve been able to focus on the business side of things.

Why have your sales declined over the past two years?

We reached our sales peak in 2019, but then a lot of other companies started getting into the industry. There are now a lot of people out there selling what I consider to be low-quality kratom. They are selling it for very cheap, but a lot of these sellers don’t care about quality. After the market became flooded with this junk, our sales began to drop drastically.

What factors affect the quality of kratom?

It has to do with two main factors—the age of the tree and the drying process. The tree has to be older to produce quality kratom, and It should be dried on a rack like tobacco for four or five days. I have a kratom tree at home, and I’ve learned a lot by harvesting the leaves myself. I have to bring it inside during the winter, but it flourishes in the hot and humid days in Jersey in the summer. 

Do you do any sort of lab testing on the kratom that you sell?

Yes, and we were one of the first to do that. Americankratom.org lists all of the vendors that are considered Qualified Vendors—those who have completed annual independent third-party audits to ensure compliance with the high standards of the qualified vendor program. We are one of only about forty Qualified Vendors, and we were one of the first ten. We are also one of the very few—there may be one other--that provides all of our lab tests on our web site for everybody to read. We have spent a lot of money on SOP’s (standard operating procedures) and on training. We are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality products, and that is what sets us apart from our competitors. I stand behind all of our products, and my own mother uses the products that I offer to customers.  

How has the oversaturation of the kratom market impacted the industry?

A lot of people have gotten into selling kratom simply to make money. They negotiated dirt cheap price with suppliers in Indonesia, and now the farmers are suffering. That’s why they are working towards fair trade to help clean all of this up. I think we’re headed towards a tariff tax. 

What do you recommend kratom be used for?

Due to the law, I can’t recommend kratom for any specific medical uses. I’m only allowed to say that people are using it for mood and energy. I can’t say that they are using it for pain or anxiety. I can tell you that I have customers that are using kratom to help get off opiate pills. Most of my customers are in their 40s and 50s. My mom is 85, and she occasionally uses for her arthritis. She would use it more often if she didn’t hate the taste of it. 

Does kratom taste bad?

If it’s real kratom, it has a bitter bite to it. If it doesn’t have that bite, it’s not the real thing. For people who can’t stand the taste, we do make capsules. But capsules don’t work the same way because they dissolve differently. Some people put the powder in their mouth and swallow it with water, but I suggest making it as a tea. It doesn’t mix well, so it’s more of a suspension. 

When did you become a self-described kratom activist?

In 2016, about six or nine months after I started using it, the FDA said they were considering making kratom a Schedule 1 drug. My initial thought was, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. I finally found something that is working and now you are trying to ban it.’ That’s when I became an activist. I never thought I would be in a position where I was doing something like this, but here I am. While attending a pro-kratom protest in Washington D.C., my wife and were interviewed for a kratom documentary entitled A Leaf of Faith which you can watch free online.  I have also spoken to all of my local senators and congressman, and my New Jersey congressman Jeff VanDrew and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker are behind us and are working on the Kratom Consumer Protection Act which has been passed in eight states and will be in New Jersey as well. It basically says that kratom can’t be sold to anyone under eighteen or twenty-one (depending on the state) and that it has to be properly packaged and tested. 

Is kratom addictive?

Kratom doesn’t get you high, and in my experience, it’s not any more addictive than coffee. I drink coffee, and if I don’t drink my coffee, I might get a headache or be irritable. There’s science to back this up--The American Kratom Association hired an independent company to conduct an 8-factor analysis on kratom. In the 70-page report that they issued, they concluded that kratom carries relatively low abuse and health risks and that there is no evidence that it poses a threat to public health. 

What prompted the government to push for kratom to be classified as a Schedule 1 drug?

This is something you will never read on Google, but the reason kratom got a bad name is because there was a brand that came out in 2011 called Krypton. It was coming out of Sweden, and they were adding tramadol (a synthetic opioid) to it to enhance it so that people would get high off it. Eleven people died from a tramadol overdose, and they blamed it on kratom. It wasn’t until years later that they found out it was the tramadol. 

Should consumers take your word for it when it comes to the safety of kratom?

As I mentioned earlier, I spent six months researching kratom before I took it myself. I recommend that people educate themselves before putting any substance into their body. For those who do their research and want to try a product that they can trust, I hope that they will consider ordering from Christopher’s Organic Botanicals. I started this company because I wanted to help others like myself—chronic pain sufferers who have struggled with dependence on opioids and other pain relief products.  

Christine Graf is a freelance writer who lives in Ballston Lake, New York. She is a regular contributor to several publications and has written extensively about health, mental health, and entrepreneurship.  

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