The American Kratom Association is an advocacy group concerned with fighting for the continued availability of the plant kratom, a botanical product used safely as a folk medicine for hundreds of years. The AKA has recently announced a "virtual march on Washington" that is planned for November 28 between 8 am and 4:30 pm ET.



The kratom community is just a year out from their historic win against the attempted extra-legislative ban of the plant kratom. Related to the coffee shrub, kratom was used as a folk medicine for centuries in its native South East Asia, but recently has become more and more popular worldwide. When the DEA attempted to shut down kratom use via regulatory overreach, they were halted by the coordinated effort of the kratom community, bipartisan support from both houses of Congress and the support of some very vocal and very brilliant scientists, medical professionals and researchers.

Kratom advocacy groups have kicked into high gear in recent months, especially since the FDA issuing an advisory warning against the use of kratom. FDA Commissioner Steve Gottlieb is intent on painting the plant as a dangerous and addictive opioid analogue, but his opinion is a stark removal from the opinion of addiction expert and Johns Hopkins professor, Dr. Jack Henningfield, molecular biologist and biotech patent attorney, Dr. Jane Babin and other experts and authorities in the field of pharmacology, forensic toxicology and other pertinent fields.

Kratom is used for a variety of reasons. It has been theorized to be an effective and safe anti-depressant, painkiller, mood booster, energizer, and anxiety reliever as well as having other stand-alone medicinal benefits like lowering blood pressure and immuno-stimulant qualities. If it is determined that kratom is an opioid analog it could fall under the jurisdiction of a proposed new law that would take aggressive steps to halt the importation and trafficking of opiate and opioid analogs.



In their call to action, AKA noted that a leading DEA official had admitted they felt "The FDA duped us into doing their dirty work."



It seems the FDA may be engaging in more of the same sort of "dirty work" has very quietly released an 8-factor analysis to the DEA claiming kratom is responsible for 36 deaths. It is interesting to note that a Reuters reporter, when asked for more information about these supposed deaths, was referred to appeal to the Freedom of Information Act. Go fish, anyone?

During Tuesday's Virtual March, the AKA encourages consumers to call acting DEA administrator Robert Patterson at 202-307-8000 and ask him to test the FDA's findings against the 8-Factor Analysis previously put together by Dr. Henningfield.

On Wednesday, 11/29, AKA will be holding a live press conference from Atlanta beginning at 11:00 AM ET. Part of the press conference will be discussing the pledge drives and encourage concerned citizens to sign the Open Letter to Patterson. Thursday, 11/30, AKA asks those concerned with the state of kratom (or legislative and regulatory overreach in general) to please contact their legislators.



For millions of people, kratom has been an absolute lifesaver but despite the expert opinion of authorities and experts, it seems that the FDA has it in its crosshairs.



