If You Care About Kratom, Let the DEA Know

The American Kratom Association wants to get 10,000 comments submitted by December 1st. To date, there have been about 5,400 comments submitted. I submitted my comments a few weeks ago, and it only took about ten minutes of my time. If you haven't posted your comments, yet, you have two weeks. Get to it!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/with-2-weeks-to-go-american-kratom-association-urges-kratom-community-to-speak-up-now-and-get-10000-comments-in-to-dea-300365196.html

Some Samples from GetKratom.com

The kind folks at Getkratom.com recently sent me some samples to try. Here are my thoughts on each of them:

Green Vein Kali

The Green Vein Kali provided some energy, but not as much as I expected for a green vein. This could have been a problem with me because at the time I was healing from a head cold. As you know, colds can kill your energy, and I've often found that kratom doesn't help my energy levels if I'm suffering from an illness. I would have to buy some more of this (which I probably will along with the Bali), to get a more accurate gauge of the type of energy boost it provides.

Bali

The Bali was great. I took it in the evenings and found that it really tempered my anxiety. It was a nice clear-headed sort of calm, so I continue to function as I normally do, but without the cloudiness/loopiness of a synthetic anxiolytic like clonazepam. Even during the day at work, the stress seemed to get to me a little less, and the kratom didn't make me feel groggy. I am considering buying this strain for evenings to unwind, and to take during acute anxiety episodes at work.

Overall, I was happy with the products and the customer service. Please give them a try yourselves!

A Temporary Victory. Also, You Are All Amazing People!

The community of kratom consumers is amazing. I know this is a temporary victory, and perhaps only postpones something inevitable, but I am overwhelmed with happiness (and a bit misty-eyed). Thank you for your passion, energy, and commitment to this cause. I don't have an overabundance of words, but here's a great article by the Washington Post: https://www.readability.com/articles/kvkjkhjm

Some Thoughts on the DEA and Kratom

I expected to be rife with things to write about after August 30th, 2016. I was full of anger, resentment, and a sense that my government was betraying me. However, much of that passion went into writing congresspeople and the Assistant Secretary of Health, signing petitions, and educating my friends and family about what a DEA ban on kratom would mean for people across the country. I've gotten some of that anger out of my system, but lest some of you mistake my lack of posts here for apathy, I can assure that's not the case.

I've been working on acclimating to a possible life without kratom, and have not taken a dose since last Friday morning, which is about four days. After a day of minor yet annoying withdrawal symptoms, I'm fine, but am reminded of the reasons I've been taking kratom for four and a half years:

• It eliminated any trace of acid reflux; no more antacids!
• It gave me the energy I was lacking to pursue a healthy lifestyle which included weight lifting!
• It helped ease my depression (though not my anxiety, which unfortunately seems to require pharmaceuticals).
• The aforementioned energy and mood boost helped me be a more engaged father and a more productive professional.
• It helped with other G.I. issues that I don't really need to disclose here.

Without kratom, I'll survive and be able to live a somewhat normal life. There are many others, though, whose lives will change drastically and who will suffer greatly. I have enduring sympathy for those people. They are people:

• with chronic debilitating pain. Some of them regular people like me, and some of them are veterans who sacrificed their well-being so that we could be free. They are now living pain-free lives.
• who have used kratom to wean themselves off of drugs like heroin or pharmaceutical-grade pain relievers (oxycontin, etc...) and are now able to lead normal, happy, drug-free lives again.
• with debilitating depression, anxiety, or PTSD that can feel happy and at ease again.

Those are the people whose lives will be decimated by the DEA's actions. Some of them might not survive. This blog is for those people. My family and I will be fine, but my heart aches for those who will truly face dire consequences at the hands of the DEA. I will continue to give what time I have to write and educate.

#IAmKratom

#WeAreKratom

I Ran Out! OMG!

I ran out of kratom last week and was unable to drink my usual concoction of kratom and chamomile for a couple of days. I'd like to say that this is going to be an interesting -- dramatic, even -- post about what happens when one has no access to kratom temporarily. The first day was mildly annoying. My stomach felt a little off, and I had some restless leg issues at bedtime. The second day, however, I felt like my normal self. In fact, I felt so much like my normal self that the thought crossed my mind that perhaps kratom is an ingredient that I can do without!

More Misleading Journalism

Please politely tell the author about your positive experiences with kratom: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/kratom-gateway-to-opioid-abuse/article_f18ee886-7c95-513b-895f-af9bef947f0f.html

I've grown so frustrated with the misinformation/bias that it's difficult not to tune these articles out. It's unfortunate the journalists only appear interested in presenting one side of a story. It's the same tired formula:

1. Someone dies
2. Investigators find traces of kratom in the bloodstream of the deceased
3. Kratom is to blame; print "kratom is evil" article
4. Throw longtime responsible kratom consumers under the bus

Objectivity, my friends, isn't a moneymaker. Disinformation and sensationalism, however, are what bring the ad clicks. I don't blame a publication for trying to make a buck, but I am certain there's a way to go about making money without sacrificing integrity.

Is Kratom Legal in My State?

I recently received this question through my contact form and thought it might be helpful to answer it in a blog post, since the answer may be beneficial to a larger audience. The American Kratom Association has a section that covers legality, complete with an interactive map of the U.S, detailing the legal status of kratom in each state. Additionally, the Botanical Legal Defense website contains up-to-date status of kratom bills as they progress through state legislatures.

Getting to Know Hill Country Kratom

A couple of weeks ago, Dominic from Hill Country Kratom contacted me about trying some samples. I'm fairly selective about the vendors with whom I choose to do business, but Dominic really caught my attention. Hill Country Kratom is based in central Texas, so I'm always eager to pump some money back into the local economy. What really stood out, though, was the great relationship that Hill Country Kratom (HCK) has with their farmer in Indonesia. The farmer that supplies kratom for HCK is a teacher as well, and some of the proceeds from HCK's sales are donated to the school where the farmer teaches. How cool! Needless to say, I was enthusiastic to try some samples, and help promote the business a bit.

Dominic sent me two varieties to try: Red Maeng Da and Green Vein. The Green Vein was definitely outstanding. I took it before my son's basketball game on a Saturday, and was feeling social, energized, and ready to take on the world. Normally, I'm pretty sluggish on Saturdays (by choice), but this was a nice change. The Red Maeng Da wasn't super noteworthy, but that may have had more to do with my condition at the time, as I wasn't feeling particularly well. I don't fault the strain for this.

I was impressed by Hill Country Kratom and Dominic. I'm going to place my next bulk order with them, so that I can get a good sampling or their product over a period of a month. I'm also going to give the Red Maeng Da another try! Hill Country Kratom is a vendor worth checking out, and they are doing good things for the world. I'm looking forward to seeing some of my money get reinvested into education!

Updates

I’ve made a couple of minor updates to the process for posting comments on the blog. There seemed to be an influx of nefarious characters posting anonymously, so I now require registration. There are several services available from which to select when you leave a comment, so just choose the one that you prefer. You’re bound to have an account with one of the services. I’ve also added a gentle reminder to be nice when you leave a comment. I realize that’s a broad and subjective term, but I don’t think it’s too difficult to keep your comments within the boundaries of decency.

Thanks!

A Trip to the Local Head Shop

Let me preface this blog post by saying that I don't normally purchase my kratom from a head shop. Head shops are notorious for marketing kratom as a "legal high," which casts a dark shadow over kratom and those who consume it. On the rare occasions when I run low, I will make a quick stop at the locally-owned head shop.

This may be obvious to some, but if you're new to kratom, take the dosing instructions from the head shop employees with a grain of salt. While I was standing in line the other day, an employee was instructing someone new to kratom to take three tablespoons every three to four hours. That's roughly twenty-five grams in a dose which would leave me in a very poor state for many hours. (My normal dose is about 5-7 grams or 1.5 teaspoons.) I'm glad I happened to be there that day, because I was able to tell the customer that she should start with one teaspoon. I sincerely hope she listened. She was middle-aged, so I suspect a dose as high as the employee recommended might have been quite a bit harder on her.

While we're on the topic, how much kratom should one have if they've never tried kratom before? No more than a teaspoon is what I would say. What are your thoughts?