Acting Administrator Dhillon:

As one of nearly 5 million kratom supporters in the United States, the undersigned each respectfully requests that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) immediately return the 8-Factor Analysis submitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and reject their recommendation to schedule kratom as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The cloud over kratom needs to be removed immediately.



We ask the DEA to Follow the Science to protect access to kratom by those Americans who exercise their freedoms to safely use kratom as a part of their personal health and well-being regimen. The claims of deaths “associated with the use of kratom” made by the FDA have been discredited and now requires a complete reanalysis of actual risks that may exist for the use of kratom.



The DEA cannot allow the FDA to recommend scheduling of the natural plant kratom with shoddy evidence that demonstrates only that kratom products are potentially harmful when they are contaminated or adulterated with other dangerous substances, or the active alkaloids in kratom are concentrated or refined to dangerous levels.



The FDA’s claims that kratom use is a gateway to the use of opioids, or the contributor for addiction to opioids, has no credible science to support that claim. In fact, the science and survey data on kratom use by those who consume kratom as a safe alternative pain management option, directly contradicts the FDA’s claims. The FDA should be required to provide real evidence, not opinion, speculation, or unsupported guesses.



We urge the DEA to Follow the Science.

Respectfully submitted,