Krater is a naturally occurring herb which has been used in areas like Southeast Asia for treatment for thousands of years. The medicinal herb has been gaining attention especially in the American recovery field as it acts like an opiate drug. Appearing in pill form, liquid drinks, or bought as powders, Kratom has the potential to be abused like an opiate drug. Krater’s symptoms are also similar to opiate drugs, enduring that hazy euphoric analgesic sensation. As a result, in light of the ongoing and threatening opioid epidemic, the DEA is going to list Kratom as a Schedule 1 substance, right alongside heroin and cocaine.
Though Kratom hasn’t caused any major trouble or significant damage, including overdose deaths, the DEA is making the move anyway because there is no medical use for the drug.
Here are some quick facts about Kratom:
- Pharmacologists regard Kratom as an alkaloid rather than an opiate
- Krater interacts with opioid receptors in the brain the same way opiate drugs like heroin do. However, many other legal and medicinal substance do as well, like wine and yoga
- Krater is not habit forming to the extent that opioids are
- Krater is a natural occurring herb used to help heroin and opioid addicts detox
Drugs like suboxone and methadone come under fire as drug replacement therapy medications because they can become equally as addicting as heroin or prescription painkillers. Though Kratom poses the potential for dependency, it is not as likely. Krater is also not known for causing cravings for more, which is a key indicator for addiction.
Researchers are concerned about the government’s move to classify Kratom as a schedule 1 because of it’s potential for pharmacology. Addiction aside, Krater’s analgesic effects, while being a relatively harmless natural drug, could hold revolutionary potential for treating pain. Government officials and medical professionals alike are searching for the solution to treating chronic pain without the use of opiates.
Professionals in the recovery field, however, are siding with the government’s move. Many treatment centers have began to ban the substance and test for it regularly in urinary analysis. The problem is that in stages after detox, Kratom does act like an opiate. Patients are seemingly under the influence therefore not participating as fully or presently during critical therapeutic sessions. This highlights an unresolved issue in the treatment field regarding abstinence. For many, the fact that a patient stays off of prescription pills or heroin for years on end is the miracle, even if replacement substances, such as Kratom, are used. For most others, however, the ongoing use of substances indicates a mental, physical, and spiritual reliance. That reliance demonstrates a lack of healing an ability to live without the presence of substances.