A person with symptoms of depression or anxiety may benefit from antidepressant medication or psychological therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Speak with a healthcare professional who can offer further guidance. The NIDA state that people may take kratom as a pill, capsule, or extract. Others may chew kratom leaves or brew them as tea, while individuals can also smoke the leaves or add them to food. Not many people have overdosed on kratom alone without some other substance or some type of underlying health condition at play.
- If someone experiences any of the symptoms listed above, or any other concerning effects after taking kratom in any form, they should immediately see a doctor or attend the emergency room.
- This article also offers alternatives to the drug that someone could consider.
- Mitragynine may also obstruct neuronal calcium channels (30).
- Currently, there isn’t any reliable evidence to support it being used for that reason.
- While kratom is currently legal in the U.S., the Drug Enforcement Agency list it as a “Drug of Concern” due to several potential safety issues.
Why a kratom overdose is different
In higher doses, of 5–15 g, kratom can have a sedative effect. This is similar to the effects of opioids, which cause users to feel tired, calm, and euphoric. Kratom is an herbal extract that comes from the leaves of an evergreen tree (Mitragyna speciosa) grown in Southeast Asia.
Long-Term Effects of Using Kratom
It has been described by experts as an “atypical opioid” because of the pathways through which it interacts with the brain. Kaitlin Sullivan is a contributor for NBCNews.com who has worked with NBC News Investigations. She reports on health, science and the environment and is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York. Until it is tested like any other drug and shown to be safe and effective, Gottlieb said the FDA would work to keep marketers from selling it. Kratom has been reported to cause low potassium, but researchers don’t know much about how and why it affects potassium levels.
Kratom is safe
It’s not the first time that authorities have seized kratom, which is considered a “drug of concern” by the Food and Drug Administration. The incident, however, highlights the ongoing demand for the 5 types of alcoholics according to the niaaa drug, even as the FDA continues to warn about its potential dangers. Kratom can make you feel “high” or euphoric, similar to the effects of opioids or THC in marijuana when taken in high doses.
Is It Safe to Use Kratom?
Claims about the benefits of kratom can’t be rated because reliable evidence is lacking. People commonly use kratom leaves in tea or grind them into a powder. In some states, including California, Colorado, Florida and Mississippi, kratom is legal under state law but banned or controlled in some individual cities, towns and counties. In other states, various kratom legislation is still pending. StimulantLower doses of kratom have been traditionally used for its stimulating effects. The relapse rate for substance use disorders is between 40-60%.
Treatment for Addiction to Kratom
Opioids are drugs that doctors often prescribe to treat pain. Opioid receptors play a role in pain, mood, stress, reward, gastrointestinal functions, and respiration. Drug addiction or substance use disorder and drug dependency are different. Both may result in withdrawal symptoms from efforts to reduce use or stop entirely. Dependency is when your body adapts to the substance and reacts to it being taken away. Your body and brain will need to readjust to functioning without the added substance.
Currently the DEA considers it a “drug of concern,” and it has no approved medical use by the FDA. Leaves of the plant, consumed raw, in capsules, or tea, are known to produce mild stimulant and opioid-like effects. The plant has been used traditionally for centuries as an analgesic and substance that can be misused in places like Thailand and Myanmar.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists it as a Drug and Chemical of Concern. There is a real concern there that there needs to be some caution,” said Spiller. Last week, U.S. marshals seized an estimated $3 million worth of kratom that was being sold as a supplement by an Oklahoma-based company.
Kratom is an herbal supplement known to have both stimulant and calming effects. It may also have pain-relieving properties similar to opioids. However, kratom online therapy for addiction cannot be used as a substitution for prescription pain medications, because studies on its safety or usefulness in humans have not been conducted.
It’s very unlikely for anybody to want to keep drinking kratom past this point. As we mentioned earlier, the numbers of kratom-related deaths were just 91 people in barbiturate withdrawal a period of 18 months. Also, you should keep in mind that kratom was considered a “contributing factor,” not the cause of death in the majority of these cases.
But kratom’s safety and effectiveness haven’t been well studied. A 2021 animal study involving morphine-dependent mice found kratom compounds may have some clinical value in opioid withdrawal treatment. Mice treated with kratom compounds experienced significantly fewer symptoms of withdrawal than expected and than the control group. Of course, animal studies are not an exact one-to-one with human outcomes. Not much is known about what’s in kratom, how it may affect a person in the short and long term, and whether it can be used as medicine. The FDA hasn’t approved kratom for pain relief, anxiety, depression, or as a treatment for withdrawal from opioids or other substances.