FROM THE AMERICAN KRATOM ASSOCIATION
President-elect Trump:
Your promise to end excessive government regulations and restore the limited role of government in the lives of Americans is the reason that we are appealing to you today.
The three-five million Americans who choose to use the natural herb kratom to maintain their well-being desperately need your help. We are concerned that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may soon choose to curb access to this herb. If such an "eleventh hour" step is taken during the waning days of the Obama Administration, we ask that you reverse it upon taking office. If the DEA has not acted by January 21st, we ask that you put an end to regulatory proceedings targeting kratom.
The DEA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have openly declared war on kratom consumers, and these agencies are blatantly abusing their powers to criminalize both those who produce and sell kratom products, and those who purchase and consume them. These federal regulators are doing all they can to deny American consumers their freedom to make individual choices on the safe products they want to use to maintain their health and well-being.
Despite credible evidence proving kratom is no more addictive than a cup of coffee, and its use presents no threat to the public health, the DEA and the FDA are continuing their efforts to classify kratom as a dangerous drug - with the same classification as heroin or cocaine.
Who are we?
We are veterans ... and lawyers ... and factory workers ... and school teachers ... and health care professionals. We are mothers and fathers ... and grandparents and senior citizens.
We are the real face of America. Our choice to consume kratom does not make us "drug abusers" any more than drinking a cup of coffee would.
Consider these facts.
- Kratom is a coffee-like herb. It is not an opioid. A world-leading drug addiction expert has concluded kratom is no more "dangerous" than nutmeg or St. John's Wort.
- Kratom is not addictive. It creates about as much "dependency" as caffeine.
- There are no documented deaths tied solely to kratom consumption. High-energy sports drinks have been linked to deaths, but kratom has not.
- A recent survey of EMT and emergency room health professionals found that not one of them supported a ban on kratom, and none had encountered any serious medical emergency involving kratom. There simply is no evidence of an "epidemic" of kratom abuse.
- A bi-partisan group of 51 Members of Congress, and 13 Senators signed three different letters that told the DEA and the FDA that the proposed regulatory ban on kratom was wrong.
- The Poison Control Center gets hundreds of times more complaints about such common items as laundry detergent pods as it does about kratom.
- When kratom consumers were given the opportunity to provide public comments on the proposed DEA ban on kratom, 22,310 did so. The overwhelming number of those comments were positive and advocated for the freedom of consumers to use kratom.
Unfortunately, this regulatory nightmare for millions of Americans could get worse. If kratom is effectively banned, the door will be open for the DEA and Food and Drug Administration to go on a "regulatory jihad" to prohibit hundreds of products and substances - such as nutmeg, hops, St. John's Wort, and chamomile -- now widely used by Americans. If the DEA and FDA ban kratom and take no action on other products and substances of equal or greater concern than kratom, they will be singling out kratom consumers in a grossly harsh and unbalanced manner.
A Trump Administration order for the DEA and FDA to cease the unwarranted persecution of the millions of consumers who choose to consume the botanical herb kratom would be a declaration that individual liberty will be respected in America, that consumers will have the freedom to make informed choices, and that powers of government should be restrained and used only when absolutely necessary.
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