I understand that you are sponsoring House Bill 5707, which would make the medicinal herb, Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) and/or its constituents Mitragynine and 7-hydroxy-mitragynine, Schedule V in your state. I ask you to make an informed decision by educating yourself on the safety of this plant compared to coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs, and I urge you to research the medicinal potential that this plant has ALREADY displayed. Consider reasonable legislation that would restrict its use to 18+ like other states. The following are important facts for your consideration:

Kratom is a plant, not a synthetic chemical or a “Street Drug”

Kratom is in the same family as the coffee tree (Rubiaceae)

Kratom is no more habit forming than coffee

Kratom has been safely used for thousands of years as a medicine

No one has ever died from taking Kratom

It is impossible to over dose on Kratom

Tens of thousands of Americans can attest to the beneficial properties of Kratom

Furthermore, Kratom and its 30+ active alkaloids show tremendous medical potential. The legislation, as it currently reads, would place Kratom and its alkaloids in the scheduling category, schedule V. Making this plant and its constituents schedule V, this is not a sensible approach to regulating this plant.

Current peer reviewed studies on Kratom and its constituents have shown that Kratom has no acute toxicity, displays powerful antioxidant and antibacterial properties, assists with drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, contains several oxindole alkaloids which have exhibited potent immunomodulation properties, and even contains constituents that have exhibited anti-cancer properties! A brief search in any scholarly database will present hundreds of peer reviewed studies and clinical trials that can attest to the medical potential of this plant.

A few more facts for you to consider when making your informed decision:

Kratom has never caused a single recorded death and as is about as addictive as coffee.

According to the CDC, cigarette smoking causes 440,000 deaths in the United States every year; about one of every five deaths in this country are caused by cigarettes!

Alcohol causes more than 1.2 million emergency room visits and 2.7 million physician office visits due to excessive drinking each year!

Pharmaceutical drugs are one of the leading causes of death in this country, killing one American every 19 minutes!

Prescription opiate pain killers account for more than 475,000 emergency room visits annually.

Over the counter pain relievers such as Tylenol send over 56,000 people to the emergency room each year with liver related complications.

The Mayo Clinic has reported a 28% increase in overall mortality in people who drink 4 cups of coffee per day.

If you insist on regulating Kratom, please regulate to 18 and over. This would ensure only responsible adults have access to this safe and mild herbal alternative and allow researchers to continue to develop valuable medicines that would benefit MILLIONS of Americans.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at 954 234 5677

David

10 Pennslyvania Ave Harbor Springs MI 49740

Thank you for your consideration,