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To whom it may concern, I would like to inform you about the plant-medicine known as Kratom, as it has been extremely

helpful to a diverse group of people and is currently being demonized at an ever-growing rate by an understandably concerned, yet ultimately poorly-informed, media and body of government employees. First and foremost, Kratom is nothing like "Spice" or "bath salts" - both Spice and Bath Salts are entirely synthetic research chemicals, the former being a cannabinoid analogue and the latter being chemically related to MDMA, Methamphetime, and Methcathinone. None of the compounds in Kratom share ANY chemical similarity to those drugs...In fact, Kratom is the pharmacological opposite of Bath salts. "Kratom" is a Thai name for the leaves of the tree Mitragyna Speciosa and has been used safely in south east Asia for quite a long time, first documented in the west in 1834 by a Dutch Botanist, but recorded in Thai folk medicine for at least a thousand years prior as a mild stimulant on par with coffee, a pain reliever and a treatment for diarrhea. It was found to alleviate opium withdrawal during the opium wars and is still used for that purpose today. It is currently being studied as a replacement for dangerous and highly addictive opiate-replacement drugs like Suboxone and Methadone. Now, Kratom is illegal in Thailand (but not elsewhere in Asia), the reasons for this are many but they are primarily because Kratom was a threat to black market, government involved Opium production that occurred in Thailand in the 1940's and prior. No deaths have ever been attributed to plain, un-extracted Kratom leaf alone - either in Southeast Asian history or in the West. There have been a small handful of deaths reported in which the victim had taken large amounts of Kratom with equally large amounts of Benzodiazepines or synthetic Opiates, however the combination of CNS depressants alone is highly dangerous and it's hard to say if Kratom was even a factor, as it has an impossibly high LD50 (dose at which 50% of subjects die) on it's own - rats were fed 1000 times the human dose of pure mitragynine and the only reported effects were drowsiness and decreased appetite. Kratom has 29 different naturally occurring alkaloids in it, of which the following are important to mention. The alkaloids I'll refrain from covering are primarily immuno-stimulants, anti-oxidants, and mild smooth muscle relaxants also found in things like chocolate and green tea. I'll include a full list of the alkaloids present in Kratom and their effects at the end of this email, but lets get to the important compounds first.

Mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, Corynantheidine, Tetrahydroalstonine, and Rynchocephelin:

Mitragynine stimulates adrenaline production to the same degree as caffeine, and is a mu/kappa/delta opioid agonist - it binds to the delta opioid receptors in the body like the OTC anti-diarrheal drug Loperamide, preferring delta-opioid receptors at larger doses. This is important to keep in mind, because delta-opioid receptor agonists cause nausea when over stimulated and while they mitigate pain, they do not effect respiration and heart rate to the same degree as pure mu-opioid receptor agonists. For this reason, people tend to vomit up large doses of Kratom, making it basically ineffective in large amounts and causing nausea that is too unpleasant to enjoy being "high" on. As mentioned, a lethal dose of Mitragynine has not been found, even when administered at 1000 times the

dose found in large quantities of Kratom leaf. Mitragynine is also a 5HT2A antagonist - 5HT2A antagonists have powerful anti-psychotic effects (they are used to reverse LSD intoxication) and partially block addiction responses to morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine. 5HT2A antagonists have anti-depressant effects by moderating serotonin, as well. Tetrahydroalstonine (and Ajmalicine) is an anti-adrenergic compound. This mitigates any overstimulation that might be caused by Mitragynine mediated adrenaline production, but it has also been demonstrated that anti-adrenergic compounds in combination with 5HT2A antagonists (like Mitragynine) effectively inhibit addiction to morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The reason being that anti-adrenergenics and 5HT2A agonists together moderate dopamine release, making it nearly impossible for the body to begin the dopamine-response cycle that creates drug addiction. The moderation of dopamine and adrenaline release is also valuable in inhibiting psychological depression. 7-hydroxymitragynine has an analgesic value 16x greater than morphine and while it does bind to muopioid receptors, it is found in small amounts (2%) in the plant and has an extremely high LD50. Corynantheidine is an extremely powerful opioid receptor antagonist. Unlike agonists (this distinction is vital), Opioid antagonists are used to treat opioid overdose by effectively forcing opioids out of the body's receptors and immediately reversing the dangerous effects of opioid overdose. In plain terms, opioid antagonists like Naltrexone (which Corynantheidine is comparable to) are first line treatments in heroin overdose at hospitals. Corynantheidine is present in small amounts in the plant, however when doses of Kratom that are large enough to cause potentially dangerous effects via opioid agonism are ingested, enough Corynantheidine is present in the user to begin anatgonising opioid receptors, reversing the CNS depressant effects and providing a built in safety mechanism that makes it pharmacologically and physiologically impossible to die of overdose from Kratom. This is probably the main reason why there have been no fatal overdoses caused by plain leaf Kratom alone in recorded history, even though some folks would still be able to keep down their Kratom during receptor-induced nausea. Rynchocephelline has anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects, but it also inhibits addiction to methamphetamine, ketamine, and opiates in cells via NMdA receptor antagonism and calcium channel blocking. This stuff is found in Cat's Claw as well, and it is an amazing compound in its own right. Now, Kratom is an effective anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medicine, primarily because of the synergy between Mitragynine and Tetrahydroalstonine. Together, those two compounds have effects comparable to a combination SSRI (5HT2A antagonism) and SNRI (adrenergic antagonism). Combination SSRI/SNRI's are used as newer-generation anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs (Wellbutrin and Pristiq). No one using Kratom has reported any of the serious side effects associated with Wellbutrin, Pristiq, or other pharmaceutical anti-depressants, and the inclusion of the antipsychotic Rynchocephelline in Kratom is highly valuable in mitigating mania and compulsive behavior associated with the use of synthetic anti-depressants.

I want to be fair, so you should know that there have been 3 instances of Kratom being attributed to intrahepatic coleostasis (liver dysfunction), but liver function returned to normal within 3 days of ceasing Kratom use. There were also instances of two tonic-clonic seizures associated with Kratom use in combination with Modafinil and an unnamed SSRI - this was very likely a result of the indicated pharma's effects in addition to Kratoms own anti-depressant effects; combining anti-depressants has a known side effect of increasing seizure potential ("lowering seizure threshold") in susceptible individuals, however many people take Kratom and still use prescription anti-depressants without ill effetcs. Only one death has been attributed to Kratom use in the USA but the victim had maximum therapeutic doses of Klonopin and Temezapam as well as standard doses of Dextromethorphan and Diphenhydramine in addition to roughly 10 times the normal dose of Kratom, the toxicology report is linked in my list of citations and if you calculate the serum concentrations, the young man in question was on roughly 20mg Klonopin and a double dose restoril in addition to 60 grams of Kratom extract.... Nine people in Sweden died of a combination of Kratom and O-desmythaltramadol (sold as "Krypton), however the O-desmythaltramadol was ruled as the cause of death (it is a potent synthetic opiate). The reported LD50 of whole Kratom leaf was ~5 gram per KG of body weight in rats, which works out to almost a pound of Kratom in a human being and any person attempting to eat that much Kratom would vomit long before the body could absorb all of it due to delta receptor activity. The LD50 for extracts of Kratom was roughly half an ounce in rats - that would be an intentional suicide attempt for all but the least aware, and vomiting would occur before the body could absorb a lethal amount and again, no humans have died from ingesting Kratom extract alone. This means that Kratom is less toxic than Coffee, Tylenol, Aspirin, Benadryl, Pseudofed and any number of other OTC or prescription medications. So, out of the 10's of thousands of people in the USA and abroad who use Kratom, only 6 have demonstrated seriously negative side effects from Kratom, and those were ONLY in combination with other substances - that ratio of side effects to safe use in Kratom is significantly better than ANY pharmaceutical drug on the market, making it statistically safer than Tylenol and Benadryl, etc. Kratom is about as dangerous as coffee, and alone is simply incapable of killing someone through pharmacological action. I wish there was more information on the recent death in Longview, WA. Although, I would be willing to bet money that Kratom was not the only drug used, as Kratom alkaloids are destroyed by high-heat so it is not effective when it is smoked and a glass pipe with residue was found near her body. In regards to the woman with the baby and the hammer in Kelso, it is highly unlikely that Kratom was the cause given the presence of an anti-psychotic in the plant, and the fact that there is no actual evidence she used Kratom, just heresay from a concerned father which is likely based on seeing her use Kratom in the past, nor has there ever been psychosis from Kratom use reported in the 1000+ years of use in Asia or the last 10 years of use in the USA and abroad. In summary, Kratom is a safe and effective pain reliever, stimulant, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety herb that naturally contains compounds which not only block the negative effects - like serious addiction and overdose - associated with synthetic pain relievers (oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone), but also inhibits the side effects of anti-depressants by moderating serotonin and dopamine as well as acting as an anti-psychotic. It even moderates its own stimulant effects by counteracting overproduction of adrenaline, something that can't be said for coffee/caffeine. The reported deaths and other symptoms associated with Kratom use have only been in combination with other drugs and any psychosis or odd behavior reported in the media is highly suspect. It is less toxic than Coffee. Kratom has proven to be an invaluable tool for people addicted to illicit and prescribed narcotics, as

well as for those people with untreated pain, anxiety, and depressive disorders. A multitude of testimonials can be found in the links provided at the end of this letter, so too can research to support the claims I have made be accessed in full via medical journal databases where necessary. I respect your integrity as a journalist and ask that you do the same by reporting on this plant in an informed and rational matter, Thank you List of source material: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-addicts.html (anti addictive qualities) http://keepkratomlegal.org/testimonials (kratom petition with submitted testimonials) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1556-4029.12009/pdf (kratom and benzo associated death in former heroin addict) http://www.mitragyna.com/en/kratom-paper-1 (ld50 data) http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+7901 (toxicity info, note the presence of co-drug use) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20736055 (rynchophelline info) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23206666 (mitragyna info) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23109863 (mitragyna pain killing effects) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22205946 (evidence that mitragyna can hasten opioid withdrawal, potentially blocking and reversing opiate addiction) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20869223 (antidepressant effects) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19924042 (antibacterial and antioxidant effects) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18482427 (seizure from use of Kratom and Modafinil, also demonstrates mu/kappa/delta crossover) http://bitnest.ca/external.php?id=%257DbxUgY%255CC%251A%2506%2503%257Cgw %2503%2501VCY%250AM%2540w%257Cb%2514Hj (overview) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4379809

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