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Senate passes bill removing kratom from narcotics list

The Senate on Tuesday approved an amendment bill removing kratom from the narcotics list in its third reading, a step closer to households being allowed to grow up to three kratom trees each for daily use, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday.

Mr Somsak said the next step is for the Senate speaker to forward the bill to the House speaker, who would submit it to the cabinet. The cabinet send the legislation to His Majesty the King for final approval. He did not give details of how the Senate voted in approving it. 

The bill will become law 90 days after it is published in the Royal Gazette.

Mr Somsak said supplementary laws would regulate the cultivation, possession, use and sale of kratom. The draft regulations were being considered by the Council of State, the government’s legal advisory body.

Keep reading at Bangkok Post.

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California to consider decriminalising LSD, ketamine and magic mushrooms

Psychedelic drugs such as LSD, ketamine and magic mushrooms could be decriminalised in California amid a wave of drug liberalisation that is sweeping across the US.

A proposed law put forth in the California senate last week would make it legal for anyone over 21 to carry small amounts of eight substances including DMT and MDMA, as well as expunging many criminal convictions.

The bill, introduced by San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener, says America’s war on drugs has inflicted “overwhelming financial and social costs” while ignoring the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

It is only the latest example of US states turning against decades of harsh drug enforcement, chiming with momentum to federally decriminalise cannabis in Washington DC.

Continue at The Telegraph.

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Kratom could soon be illegal for those under 21 in SD

South Dakota is one step closer to restricting the availability of kratom in the state to people over the age of 21. Our KELOLAND News Investigation last fall looked into the dangers of kratom, which comes from Southeast Asia and has mild altering effects.

According to a CDC report, the substance has been linked to overdose deaths across the country. Kratom is banned in at least six states and several cities.

Last year, Aberdeen Representative Carl Perry, introduced a bill to ban kratom in South Dakota, but that attempted failed.

This year, Perry came back with a bill to restrict its use to 21 and older, which has now passed the state House.

Continue reading at Keloland.

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Missouri House approves plan to regulate kratom

The Missouri House endorsed legislation Thursday requiring more regulations for kratom products.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, will bar the sale of the product to anyone younger than 18, as well as require sellers to ensure that their products do not contain dangerous substances.

Kratom is a plant grown in Southeast Asia that affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine. It is often used as a dietary supplement for pain relief and a natural alternative to treat opioid withdrawal, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other health conditions.

While there are stores that specialize in selling kratom — as powder, in capsules, taffies and extracts — it’s also available to buy online and at convenience stores that sell items that are supposed to be consumed in moderation.

Continue at stltoday.com.

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The Mushroom Moment Manifesto

Contemporary psychonauts are looking for insight, relief, fun, escape, and a million other things to make their lives more interesting and bearable.

The Saturday after voters in Washington, D.C., and Oregon voted to loosen legal restrictions on magic mushrooms, my girlfriend and I celebrated in the most appropriate way possible. We each ate almost 5 grams of the stuff, ground up and stuffed into capsules. This was a Venti-sized, mind-blowing “heroic dose” in the parlance of the late Terence McKenna, the Johnny Appleseed of hallucinogenic fungi, and we tripped for a good chunk of the afternoon and early evening.

Journeying to the center of our minds via vision-inducing drugs (variously called hallucinogens, psychedelics, and entheogens) is perfectly suited to a world that is hyper-polarized, literally and figuratively locked down, and increasingly a little too close to an Edvard Munch painting for comfort.

Keep reading at Reason.com.

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The legal and illegal ways people are turning to psychedelics as the drug regulator rejects reclassification bid

In Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, down the hall from the cancer day unit, there’s an unassuming room known simply as “The Retreat”.

This is where a select few volunteers are offered a unique opportunity: to confront their deepest fears under a heavy dose of a psychedelic.

Terminally ill patients spend three to four hours here under the influence of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms”.

The participants are supported by therapy before, during and after their psychedelic experience.

“We go to a lot of trouble to make sure that it doesn’t look like a hospital room, but it looks more like a really chilled, really comfortable and inviting atmosphere,” clinical psychologist Marg Ross said as she walked around the room.

Keep reading at ABC News.

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American Kratom Association: HHS Rescinds Scheduling Recommendation For Kratom But FDA Failed To Notify The Public For 2 ½ Years

Congressman Mark Pocan (WI) and Congressman Morgan Griffith, in exercising their oversight responsibilities over the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), discovered that on August 16, 2018 HHS had rescinded the request for the kratom to be classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

In the HHS letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) HHS recommended that “mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine not be controlled at this time, either temporarily or permanently, until scientific research can sufficiently support such an action.” The FDA had made a recommendation for scheduling of kratom on August 31, 2016 that was subsequently withdrawn by the DEA on October 13, 2016 for insufficiency of evidence to support the scheduling under the CSA, and FDA submitted its second recommendation on October 17, 2017 that has been withdrawn by HHS because the scientific research did not justify the scheduling.

More at PRNewswire.

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Psychedelic Mushroom Bills Filed In Florida And Connecticut As Movement Expands To Multiple States

Lawmakers in Connecticut and Florida have filed new bills to reform state laws on psilocybin mushrooms—the latest in a trend of psychedelics proposals to emerge in 2021.

Rep. Michael Grieco (D) filed the Florida legislation on Thursday, which would establish a legal psilocybin model for therapeutic use in the state, similar to an initiative that Oregon voters approved in November. It also seeks to deprioritize criminal enforcement against a wide range of psychedelic plants and fungi.

The Connecticut bill, sponsored by Rep. Josh Elliot (D) and four other legislators, would simply create a task force responsible for studying the medical benefits of psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms.

The main objective of the broader Florida legislation is to promote mental health treatment with the help of psilocybin.

Keep reading at Marijuana Moment.

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Thai MPs vote to remove kratom from narcotics list

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday (Jan 27) to remove kratom (mitragyna speciosa) from Thailand’s narcotics list and classify the herb as a controlled substance.

The draft Narcotics Act proposed by the Justice Ministry was passed by 319 votes to seven with three abstentions.

If approved by the Senate, the draft will be published in the Royal Gazette and become law within 90 days.

The Cabinet in March 2019 approved the plan to align the law with widespread consumption of kratom, especially by farmers and labourers in the South.

The draft allows production, import and export of kratom by those granted permission by the Narcotics Control Board.However, sale of kratom to people under 18 or pregnant women is prohibited, as is hiring or allowing people under 18 to sell kratom.

Violators face up to two years in jail and a maximum fine of Bt200,000.

More at The Star.

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A Perspective on the Rise of Kratom Use in America

Kratom Powder

The popularity of Kratom as a natural energy booster is growing quickly in the US and it can be purchased online easily. Like CBD, it works in a similar way to overcome pain and other health issues.

CBD has gained a wide level of popularity and the demand for total legalization is still under consideration by the US government. Same time, Kratom is enjoying its own share of popularity and health industry pundits are already terming it as the next CBD.

Patients with chronic pain and unable to afford costly pain meds often use natural herbs to get into a sedative state easily. Nearly 0.8% of the US people use Kratom and 8% of the total adult population uses CBD for getting relief from pain and stress.

Kratom in the US

Kratom originated from the Southeast Asian countries and entered the US through various immigrants who started living here, while hemp was in use since ancient times.

Continue the story at mySA.

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Regulations Are On Hold as Kratom Debate Rages

Walter C. Prozialeck, PhD, a professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL, has analyzed about 100 studies on kratom up until 2016 and now consults with other kratom researchers.

He says unscientific reports suggest kratom is less addictive than opioids, but he says many companies in the U.S. advertise it as a legal high. Several Southeast Asian countries have outlawed it.

“By any measure, kratom would be less harmful and less addictive than something like heroin. If you look at the evidence, you have to conclude that,” Prozialeck says. “But kratom can induce a state of physical dependence.”

“It is probably addictive, but its addictive equivalent is something like coffee, which isn’t surprising because the leaf is in the coffee family,” says Christopher R. McCurdy, PhD, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Keep reading at WebMD.

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Thailand to remove Kratom from narcotics list after recent unlocking of marijuana and hemp

Following the unlocking of marijuana and hemp for medical and commercial purposes, preparations are being made to remove Kratom from the narcotics list.

Minister of Justice Somsak Thepsutin, as chairman of the committee considering amendment to legislation criminalizing narcotics, declared this week that a report is being compiled for the House of Representatives that will call for the decriminalization of Kratom to be placed on the government’s agenda. The move will be made at the end of this month and appropriate use of the plant could be decriminalized in 90 days after a decision is made in Parliament. The committee will review relevant drafts during the proceedings.

Democrat Party MP Thepthai Senpong, who is a member of the body, indicated a positive decision would allow Thais to utilize the plant legally for any purpose except as a narcotic.

Continue at Pattaya Mail.

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Kratom Legality 2020: What Is The Legal Status of Kratom In The US?

The issue of Kratom legality is still a debate in few of the states of the US. The picture has become a bit clear from 2016 till today.

Most of the US states have legalized the usage of Kratom due to its medicinal properties, but there are still few states which are barring the people to either sell or buy it.

What Is Kratom?

What is KratomMitragyna Speciosa also known as Kratomis a natural plant that grows in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea. It is a tropical evergreen which belongs to the coffee family and mostly found in Southeast Asia.

Primarily it’s grown in the southern or central regions of Thailand and it has been historically used as an opium substitute. Various American folks are interested in developing their own plants from the seeds, to save the cost as well as to control their supply.

Keep reading at Kratom Guides.

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Board of Supervisors approve ordinance banning Kratom, synthetic opioids in Lafayette County

After the City of Oxford banned the sale of Kratom and other synthetic opioids 16 months ago, those products are also banned in Lafayette County.

During their first regular meeting of 2021 on Monday, the Board of Supervisors approved a new ordinance, prohibiting the use, purchase, possession, distribution, sale or offering for sale of synthetic opioids or other synthetic products.

The ordinance was proposed by Lafayette County Sheriff Joey East and Alex Fauver, commander of the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit.

In August 2019, Oxford’s Board of Aldermen approved a similar ordinance proposed by Oxford police chief Jeff McCutchen.

Since the City prohibited the selling of Kratom and similar synthetic products, East said stores in the county have begun selling those products in the last few months.

Read more at oxfordeagle.com

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A ruling is imminent on the legality of a controversial drug that’s used to treat addiction — but some have called it a ‘dangerous opioid’

A final decision on the legality of a controversial drug is expected imminently from the US government.

The drug, called Kratom, has pitted government regulators against scientists and advocates. The Food and Drug Administration has called it a dangerous opioid and sought to ban it by making it a Schedule 1 drug like heroin or ecstasy. Some advocates say it’s helped them end their addiction to opioids, and scientists want to keep exploring its potential as a medical treatment.

Right now, researchers at the DEA are evaluating the two main components in kratom. They will either rule the same for both ingredients, effectively banning all forms of kratom nationwide, or they will ban one and make the other potentially available as a medicine at a later date. That’s according to Melvin Patterson, a spokesperson with the Drug Enforcement Administration who described the ruling as forthcoming.

Keep reading at Business Insider.

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Feds Want Help Finding Evidence On Marijuana And Kratom’s Role In Treating Pain

A federal health agency is conducting a review of studies to learn if marijuana and kratom could potentially treat chronic pain with fewer side effects than opioids.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is asking the public to help identify research that specifically looks at the risks and benefits of cannabinoids and kratom, a type of plant known for its analgesic effects. The agency said the rise in opioid prescriptions and overdoses necessitates exploring plant-based alternatives.

The public is invited to submit studies on how these substances impact chronic pain until the January 4 deadline.

“Some data suggest that cannabinoids may have analgesic properties, though research in this area is mixed,” AHRQ, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a notice, adding that THC “has demonstrated analgesic properties, though its psychoactive effects and abuse potential increase its risk and suitability as an analgesic.”

Keep reading at marijuanamoment.net

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What is Kratom and Why is it Illegal?

Kratom isn’t presently an unlawful substance and has been anything but difficult to arrange on the web. It is at times sold as a green powder in bundles named “not for human utilization.” Here the details about what is kratom and “is kratom illegal”

It is additionally some of the time sold as a concentrate or gum. A great many people take kratom as a pill, container, or concentrate. A few people bite kratom leaves or mix the dried or powdered leaves as a tea.

In some cases, the leaves are smoked or eaten in nourishment. Kratom can cause impacts like both narcotics and energizers.

Is Kratom Illegal?

Two mixes in kratom leaves, mitragynine and 7-α-hydroxymitragynine, collaborate with narcotic receptors in the cerebrum, delivering sedation, delight, and diminished torment, particularly when clients devour a lot of the plant.

Continue at Halt.org

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FDA warns of using kratom as alternative treatment for pain and mood disorders

In our modern age people often look for something that gives them comfort.

An herbal (tropical plant) alternative “treatment” called kratom has been being used by some people for pain, mood disorders, and even opioid withdrawal without any supervision from a licensed physician who knows about kratom.

That is why the FDA is warning consumers not to use kratom, or mitragyna species, which grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

At least until a lot more is known about how it affects humans.

The main things the FDA is warning people about is trifold.

“FDA is concerned that kratom, which affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence,” the FDA information page on the plant states at fda.gov.

Keep reading at wmicentral.com.

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Buy Kratom In Texas – Legal Status & Top Kratom Vendors

Kratom or Mitraygyna Speciosa is not a discovery. It has been used in South-east Asia, especially Thailand, for the longest time.

Kratom leaves were initially chewed raw by farmers and laborers to boost focus and productivity by alleviating fatigue. Simultaneously Kratom has also been historically used to treat various medical conditions such as morphine dependence in Thailand.

Today Kratom is no longer just relevant in South-east Asia as its use has spread all around the world. As more and more people recognize Kratom’s potential benefits, the demand grows, which results in more vendors springing up to cater to that demand.

The Lone Star State of Texas and its people have a history of never compromising civil liberties and basic freedoms. Even today, in the times of Covid-19, it is the hotbed for protests against a lockdown. Consequently, it is no wonder that Kratom is not only legal in Texas; its market is growing rapidly.

Keep reading

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What Is Kratom And Is It As Dangerous As People Say?

Over a decade ago, a new plant Kratom, grabbed the attention of the world. Today the world should be thankful to the botanists who discovered Kratom from dense Asian forests for the world to see. The status of Kratom is still controversial. The high alkaloid count makes it helpful to get multiple effects. However, it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The most common reason behind this is that “FDA & DEA has identified Kratom as a drug of concern,” but they lack the scientific evidence that proves it is more dangerous than the relevant species plant: caffeine.

This ban is not over the entire USA, but only a few states have it. Many Kratom centers are running in the major cities and online vendors that provide the delivery at the doorstep.

Keep reading