Movement afoot to help keep kratom legal to help the many that need it #TAKEACTION

As many of you know, nine noted scientists have started working with the American Kratom Association (AKA) and have authored a letter to President Trump’s White House Opioid Crisis Team Leader Kellyanne Conway and Acting DEA Administrator Robert W. Patterson.

This letter amplified the voice of the scientific community – now it’s time for President Trump and Ms. Conway to hear YOUR voice on this petition.

In their letter, the scientists called out the FDA directly for their use of “bad science” when determining the safety profile of kratom.

And that’s why you and I must demand they disregard the FDA’s latest disinformation campaign against kratom.

Please take a few moments and sign the petition to demand the President and Ms. Conway help protect the freedom of consumers to make their own choices about their health and well-being and to stop the criminalization of kratom.

There are organizations across the United States and within the Federal Government working day and night to criminalize kratom.

They don’t care about the truth, the science, or the disastrous impacts banning kratom would have on millions of Americans.

We MUST come together as a kratom community RIGHT NOW to say with one unified voice – STOP THE ATTACK ON KRATOM!

Below is the text of the petition being sent to President Trump and Ms. Conway:

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PETITION TO PRESIDENT TRUMP AND KELLYANNE CONWAY

We the undersigned ask for your immediate action to protect the freedom of consumers to make their own health care decisions and stop the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from their broad regulatory overreach and the criminalization of millions of Americans who use kratom.

Kratom is a safe herbal supplement that is used by Americans to manage their health and well-being. Many have found kratom to be an effective alternative pain management therapy to dangerously addictive and deadly opioids. Leading scientists have concluded that banning kratom will create an unsafe kratom black market, and force kratom users who manage acute or chronic pain to deadly opioids and will lead to increased opioid deaths in America.

Mr. President, we ask that you direct the FDA and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to research how kratom can best be used as both an alternative pain management therapy, and as a potential step-down from opioid addiction; and direct the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to return the proposed scheduling recommendation for kratom to the FDA and NIDA for those additional studies — and leave those Americans who use kratom for their personal health and well-being alone!

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CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION TO PRESIDENT TRUMP AND MS. CONWAY – LET’S SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE THAT KRATOM SHOULD BE PROTECTED!

Once you sign this petition, please forward this post to friends, family and even neighbors. Even if they are not a kratom consumer, please try to get their help in supporting this petition.

Take Action: help stop the essential ban of Kratom!

We have some great news that needs urgent action BY 5pm ET TUESDAY! We, with our lobbyist’s help, have found some champions in Congress to write a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter asking the DEA to slow down this process. 

The letter asks, among other things, that the Director of OMB and Acting Director of the DEA delay a final decision on the placement of Kratom as a schedule I, provide ample time for public comment on this significant decision, and resolve any inconsistencies with other Federal Agencies regarding the use of Kratom.

So this is what we need you to do!!! Find your Rep here and e-mail them over the weekend! http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ Then use the number below to call YOUR representative first thing Monday morning. Tell them you are a responsible adult consumer of Kratom for help with ______ (ailment) and ask that they please contact Congressman Pocan’s office to sign-on to the Pocan/Salmon Dear Colleague letter on this issue.

Click HERE to view this hope-inspiring video that will help organize your phone call in order to relieve any ‘phone call anxiety‘.

Read Paul Kemp’s full explanation of the scenario HERE!

SEND YOUR CALLS, LETTERS & TESTIMONIALS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE!!

Loretta Lynch can single handedly stop this ban:
https://www.justice.gov/contact-us

An Open Letter to Palm Beach County Commissioners regarding Public Safety and Processed Meats

Good Morning Palm Beach County Commissioners,

Nearly every commission meeting I attend and watch, you often impose bans and warning signs at establishments in the name of “public safety” and “public health.”

Earlier this year you imposed health warnings where kratom is being sold/served. Since now we know processed meats are a health hazard, when will you be imposing health warning signs where processed meats are sold and served? When will @PBCGov require warning signs where processed meats are being sold? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/26/health/meat-cancer-who-report.html

As well, we also know some french fries (depending how they are prepared) are dangerous. What ordinances do you plan to impose on businesses in the name of “public safety” and “public health?” http://time.com/3896083/french-fries-potato/

I do request a response.

Thank you,
Karl Dickey

UPDATE:

I heard from Commissioner Abrams. And below is my response:

“The purpose of my email was to show the absurdity of the ordinance for kratom. I was not seriously advocating for informational or warning signs for processed meat. I still think you should rescind the kratom ordinance.”

Kratom is not the evil drug the hyperbolic media claims

The Botanical Legal Defense™ (BLD) announces that through its legislative and grassroots efforts it helped stop a bill in the Florida House of Representative to curtail the availability of Kratom in Florida. The bill died in committee when the legislative session closed in late June.

The BLD is an educational and advocacy group focused on promoting and protecting the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of natural plants and herbal supplements, including Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa).

“We are pleased with this victory,” said Rob Engle, BLD spokesman. “Kratom is a 100 percent natural plant and herbal supplement from Southeast Asia that has been used safely for hundreds of years as a natural analgesic, muscle relaxer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant.”

In recent years, Kratom has been widely misrepresented as dangerous and without medical value. Some have miscategorized Kratom, lumping it into the same category as “synthetics,” “research chemicals” and “designer drugs.”

“Kratom is a plant, not a synthetic chemical or ‘Street Drug,’” said Engle. “We feel that valuable dietary supplements and medicines can be derived from Kratom that would benefit lives and we will vigorously protect against any future attempts to ban Kratom in Florida and other states.”

Many peer reviewed studies and clinical trials that attest to the medical potential of this plant. Kratom has no acute toxicity. Research shows it assists with drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms and contains several oxindole alkaloids which have exhibited potent immunomodulation properties.

By comparison:

• According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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 percent increase in overall mortality in people who drink four cups of coffee per day.

Botanical Legal Defense™ is dedicated to fighting over-reaching government criminalization of nature’s most significant gifts. Chief among these is Mitragyna speciosa (aka Kratom), a natural analgesic, muscle relaxer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. This herbal supplement from southeast Asia has been widely misrepresented as dangerous and without medical value, when the truth is that it has already been under the scrutiny of the scientific community and found to be not only benign, but highly therapeutic. Our mission is to educate and enlighten lawmakers, law enforcement, consumers, medical personnel and the media to the plant’s benefits. BLD strives to direct effective policy change,and protect the rights of adults to have access to safe and effective herbal products.

Kratom under attack in Florida legislature and Palm Beach County – unbalanced business regulation

Today, March 10, 2015, kratom is being discussed by the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners and in the Florida Senate. Elected officials are seeking ways to regulate kratom. Kratom is a tree indigenous to Southeast Asia, for which some will use the leaves to relieve the symptoms of PMS, general pain relief, depression, lowering blood pressure, decrease anxiety, diarrhea relief and increased mental acuity.

There is no reason for talk of kratom’s regulation except for the outspoken voice of a parent who blames kratom on the death of her child’s suicide. Ignoring facts from the medical examiner’s office that kratom did not cause the death of her child, the parent continues her crusade with Palm Beach County Commissioners and in the Florida legislature. Even though there has never been one proven case where kratom was responsible for the death of anyone, elected officials are willing to regulate the tree, throwing reason and science out the window.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE