Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ryneandal 2289 days ago
Yeah, I see the issue with relying solely on anecdote.

Re: safety of kratom itself: AKA (https://www.americankratom.org/) has had independent physicians look into each reported death involving kratom in the US, and all have involved various other substances of abuse, none have been exclusively cause by kratom.

When taking powdered leaf itself, OD is pretty much impossible since you end up vomiting. There are many extracts and such on the market, but most people I know partake of (including myself) are wary about strength and clarity of said extracts.

I'd love to see more of a push for some legitimate research, I think it's something that could be very effective in this space. Good luck with licensing and I'll be sure to share the service with ones I know are currently trying to kick opiods.

1 comments

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm interested to see how kratom fits into the longer-term solution. An issue right now is that its formulation is not standard, so there are different brands with different concentrations, which makes it difficult to "prescribe" as medicne. Another problem is that it's sold at smoke shops along with vape pens and paraphernalia, so people who aren't already using opioids are trying it out of curiosity and becoming accidentally dependent.
Are you implying that you think kratom should not be available otc? If so you’re completely going against your mission of helping people get off opiates. I can add to the pile of anecdotes that I personally know 10-15 people who’ve used kratom to kick serious years-long addictions to oxycontin.