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I'm always surprised that Kratom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa) doesn't come up more in the

I'm always surprised that Kratom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa) doesn't come up more in these conversations. In addition to being a powerful painkiller, it helps manage opioid withdrawals. I believe it's still somewhat legal for consumption in the U.S., though other countries have been moving to ban it to varying degrees, since it can be used recreationally, though it isn't known to produce the same intensity of euphoria as opioids, and can also be addictive, though I don't believe it to produce as severe withdrawals as opioids. All in all I think it's a sadly understudied and underutilized medicine, which is the unsurprising result of pharmaceutical companies having less incentive to study plant medicines

StochasticLi 1y ago
Because it's an opioid?
- pcthrowaway 1y ago
  It's not though
  - ac29 1y ago
    From your link "Kratom contains over 50 alkaloids—primarily mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine—which act as partial agonists at μ-opioid receptors"
    - pcthrowaway 1y ago
      Cheese acts on opioid receptors also... we wouldn't call it an opioid
      - StochasticLi 1y ago
        You don't get withdrawals from cheese, and the cure for these withdrawals isn't Suboxone
  - ultimafan 1y ago
    The addiction is the kicker there. Kratom withdrawals/dependency isn't as bad as traditional opioids/opiates. But it's a magnitude of an order worse than nicotine/caffeine/etc. dependency and withdrawals for some people. And the full safety profile of people taking concentrated kratom extract for long periods of time isn't really known yet. I'm really of the belief that the only reason kratom exploded in popularity the way it did was because it was a legal alternative to opiates. Not necessarily because it's an upgrade (or even sidegrade. ) If morphine could still be purchased in every corner store and pharmacy over the counter kratom extracts would never have blown up the way they did.
  - StochasticLi 1y ago
    Johns Hopkins: "Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa): Pharmacology and use of a naturally occurring atypical opioid."

StochasticLi 1y ago

Because it's an opioid?

pcthrowaway 1y ago
It's not though
- ac29 1y ago
  From your link "Kratom contains over 50 alkaloids—primarily mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine—which act as partial agonists at μ-opioid receptors"
  - pcthrowaway 1y ago
    Cheese acts on opioid receptors also... we wouldn't call it an opioid
    - StochasticLi 1y ago
      You don't get withdrawals from cheese, and the cure for these withdrawals isn't Suboxone
- ultimafan 1y ago
  The addiction is the kicker there. Kratom withdrawals/dependency isn't as bad as traditional opioids/opiates. But it's a magnitude of an order worse than nicotine/caffeine/etc. dependency and withdrawals for some people. And the full safety profile of people taking concentrated kratom extract for long periods of time isn't really known yet. I'm really of the belief that the only reason kratom exploded in popularity the way it did was because it was a legal alternative to opiates. Not necessarily because it's an upgrade (or even sidegrade. ) If morphine could still be purchased in every corner store and pharmacy over the counter kratom extracts would never have blown up the way they did.
- StochasticLi 1y ago
  Johns Hopkins: "Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa): Pharmacology and use of a naturally occurring atypical opioid."