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