Testimonials – Kynto

I have Fibromyalgia diagnosed six years ago. I started seeing a pain management doctor and for over four years I have been put on so much medication I was a zombie. My husband would wake me in morning before he left for work to see if I was alive, checked on me through out the whole day and would also check on me when he got home from work. I stopped going anywhere due to the fact a had slurred speech I would doze off. I felt like a junkie and yet I still was in so much pain. I asked my husband for a divorce. I thought it was unfair to him to have a useless wife. Needless to say my husband was very worried. He was talking to my sister in-law and she told him about kratom. I took no notice at the time and kept taking my meds which, by the way, the prescriptions were more then my disability check. I got so frustrated with the doctors, the pharmacist and my insurance that I quit cold turkey and was going through withdrawal for over a month! I had horrible DT’s my husband contacted my sister in-law and she brought me up some kratom. Within a week I started feeling better I have taken kratom for the last 7 months. I am able to function and my husband isn’t worried that I might OD. I can go places, I can watch my granddaughters which I couldn’t do when on all of those meds. I feel I have my life back thanks to kratom. It hasn’t cured my Fibromyalgia but makes it manageable. When I am having a horrible day I refuse to go to the ER due to the fact that they will just want to give me pain meds or inject the pain meds!!! Kratom has saved my life and gave me life again. I can’t & won’t go back to all the poisons they had me on.

Buffy Gillis

am 39 years old and am a small business owner in Florida. I had been injured in an accident at a young age and was prescribed opiate pain killers. Within 2 years i was physically addicted and mentally unhealthy. I finally told my doctor that i could not take the pills anymore. After the withdrawals my life was still miserable. The pain and depression from not being able to do the things I like was unbearable. Upon reading an article i decided to try kratom red strain. Within the first day of use I was physically active and not depressed. I opened my own handyman business and am doing well. Kratom being available to me saved my life as I am sure I would have committed suicide had I not discovered it. Please let me know what I can do for my part to keep this life saving herb legal.

Matt (FL)

I am 70 years old. I was in a car wreck in 1995 which took my life as I knew it and left me in excruciating pain and operations on back, neck, intern body parts…reconstruction surgery. I was on 5 10/325 Vicodin pain pills a day and it only helped dull the pain at times. At other times I just suffered by myself quietly. I was also on muscle relaxers and nerve pills. It took me forever to just be able to eat without choking and sleep was never easy to come by. Last year my daughter talked me into trying kratom. I have been so grateful to her! I feel no pain! I have to take my dose in a capsule due to throat damage. I take two at a time and only take that twice during the day. At night before bed I take two more. I’m not on any other medicines and feel wonderful. Thank you for the natural pain relief…I was and ways will be a herb tea user but just couldn’t believe that I could receive such relief with any herb.

Sandra D (WY)

I was addicted to prescribed pain medication for over 9 years. I was eventually prescribed Suboxone to get off these medications. Then I was addicted to Suboxone, and it did nothing to help my chronic spinal and nerve pains due to surgery. Finally I found Kratom. I used kratom to get off of Suboxone, successfully. I’ve been clean off pain meds and Suboxone for a very long time now. My pain is dramatically decreased because of kratom, so in turn I’m happier and more productive. Kratom truly changed my life.

Ken Padgett (NY)

I’ve been on prescription pain pills for back pain. I had a back surgery and am still experiencing some pain. I searched Google for herbal pain relief & found Kratom. Ive been taking red vein kratom for 6 weeks now. It has helped me wean off Oxycodone without addictive qualities. Please keep Kratom legal. I do not want to have to rely on prescription pain killers their side effects.

Joseph Szczurowski (NJ)

My name is Mark Shaver. I am 49 years old, I am a dad of four, married, a teacher and an ordained pastor with a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University Northern Colorado in 1989, and with Honors from Denver Seminary in 2001. I’ve been teaching and preaching since 1989.

I also have used kratom for the past 3 years. I had a bad accident that damaged both my skull/brain, spine and my pelvis about 15 years ago–I fell on the ice outside my home. As a result of the TBI and spinal cord injury, plus the pelvic damage, I was in terrible pain and prescribed opioids which gave me horrible side effects. I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and got sleep apnea through all this. I was no longer able to work as a full time pastor or substitute teach anymore as I had been. After finding a doctor who was able to help me, I started using kratom for the remaining pain that was not alleviated by therapy, and also used it as a direct means to get me off ALL the opioid medications the other doctors had prescribed. In one year I was back both in my pulpit, and now am finishing up my Masters in Special Education. I would not be teaching and working without having access to kratom.

Bottom line: Do my degrees and graduating with honors mean a thing if I can’t go to work? Does having a family, a spouse who loves me and a home mean a thing if you can’t enjoy it? I went back to coaching my son’s baseball team. That wouldn’t have happened without the kratom. I teach. I preach. I’m active. It’s from being well for the first time in years that I am able to be a productive part of society.

Sincerely,

Reverend Mark Shaver, B.A., M.Div.

My name is Susan. I am 59 years old, a widow of 12 years after being married for 27, a mother of two adult children. I am on SSI disability since 2003. I am also an incest victim (Survivor). I choose to consume kratom tea for my following conditions: I am bipolar with MDD, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, CFS and fibromyalgia with OA and Dish. Kratom tea has replaced the 14 prescriptions including 360 mg of

Oxycotin and 6-20 mg of Oxycodone I used daily. I drink the tea daily and am not on an pharmaceuticals today.

I have I have been therapy for 20 years and have been in 7 rehabs. Until I found kratom

I was not living. Today I show up for my life. I have never been happier or healthy. Please let me continue to drink my natural alternative to taking so many unhealthy drugs. Many people from recovering opiate addicts to mental health patients and pain patient consumed the tea. I want to right to choose what I put in my body. I rather natural over processed. Please listen to all my fellow tea drinkers and Americans that want that choice.

Thank you,

Susan G. Carpenter

I am a 52 year old mother, wife and small business owner. I use Kratom tea to help me with chronic pain due to arthritis and two degenerative discs in my lower back and neck. It also helps my anxiety and depression. It is not a magic pill it does not alleviate every problem in the world, but it sure does help me lead a productive life.

Before I discovered Kratom, about 7 years ago I was always in bed. My husband had to work and take care of our then 4 year old son . It seems I could do nothing without pain and anxiety and of course the depression that comes with the pain and anxiety!

Since I started taking Kratom tea, I have been up and about taking care of my own family and and I also can take care of my 92 year old father in law who is a disabled vet, and my own mother who has severe osteoarthritis.

I use the tea as a supplement. I also try to do yoga and stretch to keep myself healthy. Without kratom, I know I will end up back in bed and useless. Also as an added benefit I get a little extra energy. Calming energy, not like caffeine energy. Please don’t take away my plant. Please don’t take away my life!

Rachael

I am a 50 yr old Insurance Professional, licensed in 32 states. I am a mother and a grandmother. Kratom continues to maintain my daily pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome (bilateral), osteoarthritis and neuropathy. Without kratom I am not sure what I will do. I’m not sure I can hold down my job. I am afraid that I will be back to the crippled, miserable, shell of a person I was two yrs ago. My pain almost cost me my job, my marriage and my sanity. Thank You Kratom for helping me walk, work and be a happy wife. PLEASE DON’T TAKE IT AWAY!

Carrie C. NY

I am a 53 year old Minister who is lobbying to end the war on herbs. I have worked with inner-city missions in Detroit, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, before moving to TN and becoming ordained Southern Baptist. My wife became disabled with Fibromialgia and Arthritis and when I found out that marijuana was a recommended medication in states where it is legal, and people were having good results, I began lobbying. My wife had some negative anxiety effects from marijuana but the Kratom helped her get off Oxycontin without the negative side effects. As a minister I would like to help change the negative view of herbal medications that many in the church have due to the fear filled war on drugs messages. If the DEA bans Kratom we will be making the same mistake again. We have cannabis pills, but they have demonized the plant so much that now they can’t sell their own pills. Oh what a tangled web we weave. Thanks for your time.

Mike W. (TN)

I am now 44 but started taking Kratom at age 39 to help ease my debilitating headaches after working, as a nurse, I suffered a brain injury. I found that not only did the herbal supplement help my headaches, it helped with my cognitive impairment as well. I injured my back during the initial fall and multiple times during seizures. Kratom helps ease that pain as well. If the Kratom ban goes through I would be forced to rely on opiates for my pain control and be faced with the very certainty of becoming dependent on these medications. It’s bad enough that my career and driving ability was ripped away from me… Now I just fall into an even deeper depression over the little choices I have also being taken away. Before I found Kratom I had attempted suicide four times… But having even thought of it since. Thank you for hearing my story

Dawna, Central Coast California

I’m a 29 year old wife, daughter, sister and artist. I have 2 B.A.’s and a Master of Science in urban planning and studies. I’m a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from South Africa (2011-12) and I’ve been taking Kratom for about 2 years. Before I took Kratom I was prescribed medication for depression and anxiety by a doctor. I took Effexor and the addictive benzo Xanax, as well as being prescribed Ambien. I was a zombie and I was physically and mentally addicted to all three of those prescribed pills. I found Kratom and stopped taking all of that prescription medication. I believe THAT is why this drug is being outlawed. I was able to safely get off of much more dangerous drugs without having to worry about whether or not I had health insurance (I have often in my life not had health insurance) and without having to worry about a doctor prescribing drugs that I do not need because they get a kick back from pharmaceutical companies. Now you want to take this leaf away from the people so that pharmaceutical companies can turn it into a pill that a small number of elites can profit from. That’s utter garbage and is a huge reason that my husband and I don’t feel like we can trust our own government. I believe this is about money, not about keeping people safe. Please don’t do this to the people of this country. We don’t all have the luxury of having health insurance or the ability to visit a doctor and we won’t need to unless you make this wonderful plant illegal. Please, listen to the people.

Jessi

I worked 9 years – 16 and a half hours a day in the Bering Sea feeding the people of the world, doing a job most run from or quit. It’s brutal it breaks your body down I worked through having my knee ligaments tore three times because, on the sea if you go to your bunk it’s considered you quit. I have enough scars and body pain to sit side by side any soldier from past wars and seem like I fit in. This plant helps me be able to walk so I can do the basic things in life my knees are shot my shoulders my wrists my right hip my back you name it something is wrong. Without kratom I would be another useless person unable to function please keep it free and don’t just make it into a pill. The whole reason I use kratom is because it’s natural and it works.

William

I am 50 years old and have Multiple Sclerosis. Before discovering kratom I suffered from severe depression over the constant pain and stiffness MS brings. MS pretty much brings you carte blanch to painkillers. I’ve been prescribed everything from Demerol to Fentanyl, with most of them rendering it impossible for me to function normally. I tried kratom 4 years ago and it brought immediate relief with no ill effects, no loopy high, nothing. I can walk without pain. In fact, I have started a pet-sitting service. I was a Paramedic before MS) and walk at least 5 miles daily. I am pain free and functioning at a normal level and doing so without a Doctors script which I couldn’t get anyway as I have no insurance. Please don’t take this bit of normalcy in my life away from me. I am surviving independently and without claiming disability because of Kratom. Please keep it legal.

Liz

I am a 26 year old CPA. Since finishing my bachelor’s degree in accounting from one of the top five accounting programs in the US, I went to work for a Big 4 accounting firm in their tax practice. I established my professional career here, but I also experience the beginning of an endless battle with chronic neck and back pain. One morning in 2011 I awoke with severe neck pain. One day in 2013 I attempted to lift something and felt a strain in my lower back. I have two herniated discs and one bulging disc which constantly hurt. The constant pain just nags all day long, and is exacerbated by stress and sitting upright, two aspects of my career that are hard to avoid.

I discovered kratom after trying physical therapy on two occasions and several different medications. The most recent pharmaceutical I have used to keep the pain at bay is tramadol. Not only has kratom been more effective than tramadol, it has come with far fewer and less severe side-effects. Tramadol left me a zombie for my family. Kratom provides a light. It gives me hope that there is more to life than incessant pain. I am working to further my career now more than ever before because I have the confidence, I have the ability, and I don’t have the pain that otherwise plagues me. But now I’m being told I’ll be a criminal if I want to effectively manager my pain without pharmaceutical products?

Mike

I’m a 60 year old married father of 3 grown children living in Sanford, Florida, and I have a background in medical journalism. I’m the author of 3 published books on cancer and other conditions. I began taking kratom tea and capsules in 2014 as a possible therapy for clinical depression and debilitating anxiety. Previous to that time, I’d been treated with 3 different SSRI’s – Paxil, Zoloft and Celexa – all of which had negative effects, and one – Zoloft – severe side-effects, including a marked exacerbation of my symptoms to a point in which I was almost hospitalized. I was especially concerned with Celexa because the FDA has issued a warning concerning long QT syndrome at doses of >40mg.

Since taking kratom at a daily dose of 3 grams and rarely exceeding that level, my depression and anxiety have subsided markedly. I can function, I feel better equipped to deal with the dark forces of depression which have dogged me for years, and I am essentially medication and drug free now. I should also note that prior to kratom, I had been abusing alcohol on a daily basis but my cravings and urge to drink now are completely under control. During the past 2 years, I’ve lost 40 pounds from a previously obese weight of 213; I cycle 30 miles and run 5 per week, and I’m in the best physical condition of my life. I am absolutely convinced that these positive changes are directly and unequivocally linked to kratom. I am thus urging the DEA to seriously reconsider its decision; I am greatly disturbed by the prospect of not having legal access to a healing plant which I am convinced has given me a new lease on life and frankly, I would find a return to anti-depressants a nightmare scenario. And I also strongly urge the DEA to allow, at the very least, public input from citizens such as myself who have not only used kratom for years with no ill effects whatsoever, but who have also responsibly and intelligently reviewed the available evidence, finding no hard scientific facts which are any cause for concern whatsoever in the free choice to take this God-given plant. Thank you for your time.

Ron F.

I’m a 39 year old Mother of three. 16 years ago after my last pregnancy I developed a DVT blood clot in my left leg, ended up in the hospital for over a week. During that week I developed a severe panic and anxiety disorder caused by the doctors and their horror stories. I was 23 years old. I have spent the last 16 years being afraid of dropping dead, every minute of the day. After that hospital stay, I developed a small alcohol problem, it helped control my anxiety because the doctors didn’t want to give me anything that worked. Last year I found out about Kratom and wow! My anxiety has gone from a 20 to a 2. ` I can think clearly. This is MY life and what I choose to out into my body to help me, is my human right. And I am now not dependent on alcohol, at all.

Name withheld

I am a 55 year old mother of 3 beautiful children. I have had chronic pain for the last 17 years. I’ve been diagnosed with osteoarthritis,spinal stenosis,I have arthritis in both of my hips as well in both knees and arms and hands. You see I’ve been a hairdresser for many years and it takes a toll on your body. I was also diagnosed with lymes disease last year. Lymes does a number on you. I felt as if I had the flu 24 hours a day for a whole year before the doctor’s found out what was going on with me. I was on every narcotic pain medication known to man. I thought well the doctor prescribed this so it must work right? Wrong!!! I couldn’t function normally. I fell asleep on the job,was slurring my words as if I were drunk. Unfortunately I had to leave my job. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I tried kratom 2 years ago. I began with a half teaspoon mixed with Orange juice. Well I got immediate pain relief and I could think clearly. Most of all I didn’t feel drugged. I was excited!!! I could take care of my kids without the help of my mother and close friends. Kratom relieves my pain and gives me a little energy boost unlike my pain meds that just left me drained and foggy headed. My kids have their mom back and guess what? I went back to working. This is so important to me and many people that suffer from chronic pain. Please listen to our stories.

Name withheld

I take kratom to aid my almost crippling anxiety. My doctor had me on xanax for 8 years before I decided I didn’t want to be a slave to mind-altering medications. I’ve tried many, many different herbs but none of them touched it quite like kratom. I do not get “high”, I do not get a “buzz”…I can just function normally. I shudder to think what my life will become if this leaf is banned. Not to mention the chronic pain sufferers who were able to get their lives back!

Name withheld

Kratom saved my life. It helped me quit using heroin and I was able to go back to school and get a great job. My family is happy and I am happy. It has giving me a quality of life I never thought possible. I don’t get “high” from it. It has givin me my life back. Now the DEA wants to take my life away from me again.

Bryan

I use kratom for IBS and also severe Restless Legs Syndrome. I have tried every pharmaceutical intervention for both conditions that a doctor will prescribe me, and none of them were effective. I love the kratom because my body feels much healthier when I use than when I don’t. I have never had any side effects, as I only take the lowest dose that effectively controls my symptoms. I don’t plan to go to a doctor if kratom is banned, because nothing they can give me works unfortunately. I have ordered some other herbs hoping to find something else that works but I think it’s silly to outlaw a leaf that helps so many people. Why can’t they just regulate it?

Laura

It would be pointless for me to list the 31 pharmaceuticals that I have experience with, because we all know that the entire focus here is to keep all of us, law abiding citizens, on as many of those big money making meds, as possible. Money is the name of the game. The greedy, selfish individuals that profit from us as long as they can keep us UNhealthy, will have to answer for their actions one way or another. It would take me hours to list all of my diagnoses and most of them have already been addressed in previous comments. I accepted years ago, that my daily life would consist of unrelenting pain, due to an S1 to T9 spinal fusion. But what I had not accepted and desperately longed for was my mental health and emotional state. I wanted to know what “normal” felt like. I wanted to be and feel normal. After years of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, sleep meds, etc. left me in a coma and my 4 children almost lost their Mother, I’d had enough. I chose, without any help, to discontinue every single one of them. I believe I was actively taking 12 different ones at the time. For six years I just existed, literally. Two years ago I began my quest for a more natural way of living and discovered Kratom. For the first time in my 50 years, I feel and I am, normal. The past two years have been the most enjoyable and fulfilling years of my life! My only regret is that my children missed out, all those years, on the “normal” Mom I am today! Shame on the DEA! What has happened to MY great country that I once was so proud to live in? What about MY rights and MY freedom? Why isn’t it MY choice to do and treat my body as I wish? Basically, what it boils down to is, the greedy, conniving politicians, pharmaceutical companies and government officials, actually own MY, this, body that I’ve been living in! I’m saddened and filled with grief, knowing this is the country I’m leaving to my children. I’m a disabled Mother, Grandmother, Daughter, Sister, Aunt and my name is Phyllis. Please help stop the ban on Kratom.

Phyllis

I am 38 years old, and I take kratom to help me manage depression, anxiety and menstrual cramps. I have tried other Rx and OTC drugs, but they Rxs have horrific side effects and are not nearly as effective as kratom. The OTC meds also sometimes do not really reduce the pain I feel from cramps. Sometimes I feel so unwell I have to call off work. I do not like having to call off work. If this ban goes through, I know that my depression and anxiety will be so powerful and this is so scary. I see myself becoming weighed down with depression and anxiety and having to be in horrible pain once a month for cramps. It will be much more difficult to work each day, and I am sure I will have many more sick days if this ban goes through, maybe even having my job put at risk. I have an advanced degree with a professional jobI . I also just see the quality of my life plummeting even outside of work. When I am depressed, anxious or in pain, I don’t want to go out, run errands, and I lose interest in hobbies, exercise, etc. Kratom helps me take on the day, so to speak. I have been using it for about 6 years and have found it to have such a positive effectaffect on my physical and mental health.

-K., Simi Valley, CA

I am a 45 year old business owner who has been using kratom for 8 years. In 2001 I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and prescribed a plethora of pills in an effort to control it. I struggled with the side effects of those medications and the anxiety of dealing with a cardiac ailment that could cause problems in a moment’s notice…there were many trips to the ER over the years. It affected my personal life as well as my professional life in the worst ways imaginable. Since using kratom regularly, I have not had a single issue with my heart rhythm. And best of all, not a single trip to the ER. I have no more of the negative side effects I experienced with drugs like beta blockers, digoxin and blood thinners. I am no longer terrified of leaving the house, no longer afraid of passing out (my blood pressure was dangerously low on betapace). I have a greater quality of life now than I did, I am healthier, happier, more productive and this plant has saved my life as far as I am concerned.
I am a law abiding citizen with zero criminal record, I volunteer my time and efforts to help others and kratom has given me a new lease on life. It also helps with intestinal inflammation that I struggled with, it helps with anxiety, which is a big part of atrial fibrillation…those are bonuses from using theis plant regularly. I do NOT use this plant recreationally and I can guarantee you that I get more ‘high’ from cold medication at normal doses than I have from kratom. Banning this plant will take me back to square one: dealing with powerful, dangerous meds like digoixin and struggling to manage the dangerous side effects from the other meds I will likely have to begin taking again. Please do not sentence me to have to deal with that struggle again. I solved it! Kratom allowed me to have my life again. Not being able to use it will literally be like turning the clock back on my health.

Name withheld

My name is John Collins, a 36 year old, father of two and one on the way. I am the sole provider for my family. I take Kratom to help with the pain and spasms associated with crohn’s disease. It’s helped me tremendously with managing the pain and some of the other symptoms that I have to deal with. I’ve been taking it for about 6 months now. It’s a great alternative to the percocet prescribed by my Doctor. No ill effects from the Kratom, no dependency I only have positive things to say about it. Pain pills make me tired, depressed they take me out of focus and they make you dependant, none of this is true about Kratom. I can now manage the symptoms associated with crohn’s without the side effects of prescription medications. Prior to Kratom, I haven’t had a solid stool in years, I didn’t know I had crohn’s until it got real bad and I had to have surgery to have a large section of my colon removed. Kratom has changed all that. A solid stool may not sound like something to get excited about, but to me, it means my gut is getting better! I think anyone dealing with this disease would want to know about it.

John Collins, FL

My name is Donna and I am 57 years old, I have been married for 36 years. I am the mother of three sons and grandmother of 3 beautiful granddaughters. I earned a college degree while working a full time job and raising our children. I have worked for the same

ibuprofen, Meloxicam, Tramadol for flare ups, and cortisone injections 2-3 times a year. A little over a year ago a family member suggested that I try kratom and I was amazed at how well it controls my pain without making me feel drugged – just completely n My name is Donna and I am 57 years old, I have been married for 36 years. I am the mother of three sons and grandmother of 3 beautiful granddaughters. I earned a college degree while working a full time job and raising our children. I have worked for the same ormal and pain free! Since I started taking kratom I have stopped taking both ibuprofen and Tramadol, and have only had one cortisone injection in the last year.

My 59 year old husband retired in 2008 with 30 years of law enforcement at the rank of lieutenant. He was injured on duty in 1991 and as a result has had two fusion surgeries on his back. He has been in constant pain since then but has always resisted taking prescription pain medication because he does not like the way they make him feel. Since taking kratom he is also feeling and functioning much better now, working two part time jobs and is happy to be able to be productive with reduced pain.

I really can’t say enough about this wonderful plant. I am now exercising regularly and I am about 15 pounds lighter than I was a year ago. I can now sit at my desk and work all day without hurting, and come home at the end of the day and take walks and play with my granddaughters instead of falling into my recliner until bedtime. I can work in my yard

taking kratom he is also feeling and functioning much better now, working two part time jobs and is happy to be able to be productive with reduced pain.

Donna

I live in Alabama, and Kratom was banned about 3 moths ago. This is my 30 days after experience.

My name is Lance, I am 28 yrs old, been married 8 yrs with 2 beautiful daughters.

I took kratom for 3 yrs to manage my pain. It helped tremendously

after I took a teaspoon my pain would decrease, and was gone within

20 min. I never had one negative side effect from kratom. Kratom

made my quality of life so much better. It is amazing what you can do

when you are not in sever pain 24/7. I was able to work a full shift

at my job, provide for my family, and play with my daughter with out hurting

or being limited. I struggled with all of that before I found Kratom, and

suffered from chronic pain.

About 3 months ago something terrible happen

which affected me, and my family. Kratom became a scheduled 1 substance, and

was no longer available in Alabama. I would be considered a criminal, looked down upon,

and became a felon for using it. The first few days after the ban, I was

no longer taking kratom. The pain that was gone for 3 yrs came back, and seemed

even worse then before because my arthritis only increased over time. I was

in sever pain from the moment I got ready for work, until I fall asleep.

Even when I sleep, or realistically try to sleep which is now limited because of

my the amount of pain I am in. I did not have any withdraws, or withdraw symptoms but what I

did have, and still do is chronic pain.

I have been called into the office a few times at work

because my managers noticed I was moving slower, and not working like I was before.

They did not understand how I was able to have excellent work performance the past 3 yrs,

then over night do a 360 change. The ban is now affecting my job, my way to provide

for my family, and is effecting, my wife and my kids. Other days the pain is more extreme

I have called out of work for the day because I cant stand without being in tears, and I can

not work like that. I should not have to live like this it is horrible, and its

everyday and will never end, only worsen with age. Because one mistake was made by banning

kratom in Al, now I suffer everyday, and my whole family is effected by this.

I went to the doctor recently and they prescribed me Tramadol, and loratb for my chronic pain.

I would much rather take a natural safe alternative instead of a man made substance which does

have several side effects. I am prescribed 2 loratab a day, and one tramadol. When

I wake up in the morning I have to take a loratab to help manage the pain. About 2 to

2 1/2hrs later pain comes back, so I take a tramadol which helps for about 2 hrs max

until the pain comes back. At that point I still have 4 to 5 hrs of work left, and only

have one more loratab to take. So I take the last pill to help manage my chronic pain.

After that wears off I still have a good bit of my shift left, and have nothing else to take.

I have already used my daily prescription, and have nothing else to manage my pain

for the rest of the day. I need to mention I also take Ib uprofen constantly through

out the day, and it barely touches my pain. It is sickening to know there is something

out there that can help me ALL day but was labeled as a illegal drug. Now my doctor

does liver checks on my every other visit to make sure the loratab, and tramadol is not

hurting my liver. Over time my doctor said it could possibly cause liver damage.

When I used Kratom I did not have to worry about overdosing, liver damage, and a list of other side effects.

If the pain came back later I could just brew some more kratom tea, and my pain would go away.

With prescription pills I am limited to what I can take, and they have negative side effects unlike the kratom.

Now the doctor does liver checks on me since Loratab, and Tramadol have a negative effect

on the liver. I know there is a federal ban about to take place Sep 30th, and I do not want to see others suffer

like I am because of the kratom ban.

Lance H. (AL)

I’m a 35 year old (returning) nursing student that has been married for ten years with two kids under the age of 15. Like Brooke, I have MS and degenerative disc disease.(Black Disk disease to be specific) While being treated for my disc degeneration, I was prescribed massive amounts of painkillers. This line of treatment made it impossible for me to care for my daughter (who was three at the time), and my blind veteran father. I will never forget the conversation with my doctor; he told me I had no choice in treatment options and that horrid unresponsive state was my new reality. To quote him “You need to have a conversation with God if you want to get better.” Then, by chance, I found Kratom.t

Once I started using the miraculous plant I was able to come off the painkillers completely. I have since been diagnosed with MS and carpal tunnel syndrome. I have not missed a single day of work other than maternity leave because of the properties of kratom. During my maternity leave and for several days of testing a year, I intentionally miss my daily doses. The pain is excruciating. I can barely walk, the depression and anxiety that has come because of the MS is so fierce I am almost mentally paralyzed. To be sentenced back to that almost comatose state would be a fate akin to death. I am who I am, a mother, student, wife, daughter, money earning member of society, because of kratom.

Dee

My name is John, a 36 year old, father of two and one on the way. I am the sole provider for my family. I take Kratom to help with the pain and spasms associated with Crohn’s disease. It’s helped me tremendously with managing the pain and some of the other symptoms that I have to deal with. I’ve been taking it for about 6 months now. It’s a great alternative to the percocet prescribed by my Doctor. No ill effects from the Kratom, no dependency I only have positive things to say about it. Pain pills make me tired, depressed they take me out of focus and they make you dependent, none of this is true about Kratom. I can now manage the symptoms associated with Crohn’s without the side effects of prescription medications. Prior to Kratom, I haven’t had a solid stool in years, I didn’t know I had crohn’s until it got real bad and I had to have surgery to have a large section of my colon removed. Kratom has changed all that. A solid stool may not sound like something to get excited about, but to me, it means my gut is getting better! I think anyone dealing with this disease would want to know about it.

John Collins

Largo FL

I know that our quality of life as productive members of society will not be the same without kratom. We have been hard working, tax-paying, law abiding citizens our whole lives and now the DEA wants to deprive us of the best option that we have found to treat our pain!

Name withheld

I am 57 years old and I have been married for 36 years. I am the mother of three sons and grandmother of 3 beautiful granddaughters. I earned a college degree while working a full time job and raising our children. I have worked for the same company for over 35 years and currently hold the position of Senior Production Planner. I go to church every Sunday and I am a member of the choir. I am in good physical condition but have had arthritis in my knees for several years that I have treated with ibuprofen, Meloxicam, Tramadol for flare ups, and cortisone injections 2-3 times a year. A little over a year ago a family member suggested that I try kratom and I was amazed at how well it controls my pain without making me feel drugged – just completely normal and pain free! Since I started taking kratom I have stopped taking both ibuprofen and Tramadol, and have only had one cortisone injection in the last year.

Donna

Dee

I am a 44 year old female and up until March 2013 was employed as a federal police officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 23 years. In 1996, I was diagnosed with systemic lupus and fibromyalgia, two chronic, life-long illnesses for which there is no cure. Lupus causes severe pain, stiffness, swelling, tenderness and warmth in your joints. Fibromyalgia symptoms are: deep muscle pain causes painful tender points, morning stiffness, sleep problems, fatigue and anxiety. For twenty years I have suffered daily with severe pain throughout my joints and muscles.

In the fall of 2014, after being on eleven medications (prednisone, Flexeril, Zanaflex, Nucynta, Lyrica, triamcinolone, Lortab, Gabapentin, Synthroid, Tramadol, and nortriptyline) that really didn’t help and prescribed to me by my rheumatologist and pain management doctors, I started to suffer serious side effects (blurry vision, short term memory problems, dizziness, headaches, weight gain, and leg cramps) from the combination of the medications. At this point in my life, I decided to taper down off of all prescribed medications. Shortly thereafter, and still suffering from severe joint pain, a friend suggested that I try kratom. I immediately researched and learned as much as I could about it. After a month long quest to learn as much as I could, I finally got up the nerve to try it. That was the day that I got my life back prior to being sick. The joint pain was gone. I felt like a new person. I am a wife, sister, friend, aunt, and best of all, a mother to my twelve year old daughter again.

Theresa E. Knowles

I am a 39 yr-old PR & marketing consultant. I have never been arrested. I have never been “into drugs”. I am a business owner & productive member of society. I graduated magna cum laude from my university. I speak 3 languages fluently. I am the furthest thing from a “felon” or a “junkie”. And yet, I have suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts since adolescence. At one point I was on 3 different prescriptions for antidepressants. I felt like a ZOMBIE. I became listless, tired all of the time…A shell of a person. I have been taking Kratom for the past year and I can tell you without a doubt that the United States & the world gets way more out of me as a member of society in terms of productivity, positivity & contribution than if I had not discovered this incredible herb. I take very small amounts every day. Since taking it, I frequently go days at a time and I do not suffer any withdrawals, but yes, the depression does come back. But the feeling is NOT like an “addiction” feeling (I’ve tried to quit coffee, I know what addiction feels like). It’s more like my symptoms of depression come back within a few days. If the DEA bans this substance, honest, hard-working people who are MUCH more productive members of society thanks to Kratom will be unjustly turned into felons, just because they want a better life for themselves and the people around them. So if this passes – you then leave people like us with 3 choices: 1) suicidal depression 2) zombie listlessness on prescriptions meds that don’t work for us or 3) felon because we responsibly use a safe herb that is an incredible quality-of-life enhancer. If anybody on the DEA uses any sort of prescription drugs for any physical or mental ailment, I would like them to look in the mirror and ask themselves: how would you feel if by tomorrow you were considered a “felon” for taking that prescription? Feels unjust doesn’t it? More than that, it feels like huge step back for society as a whole. I understand there are people out there who overdose on everything. There are people overdosing on paint thinner & “whipits” from whipped cream cans, for crying out loud! But those of us using Kratom responsibly (& painting our houses, for that matter) deserve to have access to a safe herb that helps our quality of life like NO other supplement or medication does. For us, for this country, for society, & for people productively contributing to this economy…Please keep Kratom legal.

Hannah

I am a 61-year-old mental health professional, living in Western PA. I suffer from chronic pain from fibromyalgia, bone spurs in my back, and severe arthritis in my left knee. I do not do well on standard pain medications, so before finding kratom, I would just bear the pain, but reducing my activities due to it. About two years ago, while investigating other herbs for a variety of health issues, I came across kratom. When I took it, my pain levels reduced, and I did not have any of the negative side-effects that I have experienced with prescription pain medications, such as drowsiness. I was alert, calm, some what energized, with a significant reduction of pain. I found that it helped me to manage my pain enough that I was able to participate in certain activities that I have been avoiding for years. In the event that kratom becomes unavailable,, my pain will return. I will not use prescription pain medications, however, because I have seen the problems that result in their over-use and how easy it is to fall into over-using them.

Debra

I am 32 years old and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and Degenerative Disc Disease. For the past ten years I have undergone exhausting physical therapy sessions and counseling to deal with this illness and pain. Over the years my tolerance to opioid prescriptions has climbed and I made the decision, with the help of my doctors, to lower my doses as much as possible. In Spring 2016, a family member asked me if I had tried an herbal supplement called Kratom. I decided to give it a try as I was at a point where I’d be willing to try almost anything to get rid of the pain. After a week I noticed my energy levels were back to where they were four or five years ago, and in six weeks my pain had subsided enough to let me work 8 hours a day up from only two or three before. Kratom has helped me to become a productive member of society again.

Brooke

I was on Suboxone for over 5 years for opiate/drug addiction. I sought help for my addictions and ended up in one of the local Suboxone programs. After 5 years I felt I was not ready to come off Suboxone but the doctors wanted to taper me anyways. Being stubborn as I am I didn’t follow their advice and taper properly. I ended up getting extremely sick from withdrawals to the point where I couldn’t function. Having been kicked out from both Suboxone programs in my area I was no longer able to receive help. I started researching withdrawal remedies and tried nearly everything besides Kratom. After a bit of searching I found a local store that sold it. The difference it has made in my life was amazing. Not only did it kill all my symptoms but made a drastic improvement on my life. I also suffer from a schizoid personality disorder which makes it hard to interact with people, leave the house and find work. I basically use energetic strains which to give me the drive and energy to function every day. Without Kratom I never want to do anything besides hide in my room. I struggled my entire life with drugs and drug addiction but with Kratom I finally found some stability in my life.

Jesse W. (WI)

Kratom saved me from certain death. After multiple attempts at getting clean from heroin and prescription pills, and the cycle of methadone and relapse, kratom has helped me stay clean and HAPPY for over 3 years now. I see, understand, and can explain the medical benefits of this plant…

Matt S. (VA)

I am 47 years old, mother of nine, and happily married. I have a college degree and actively live a faith based life. I have chronic Lyme disease and about a year ago I discovered kratom while searching for an alternative to harmful and addictive pharmaceutical pain remedies. Kratom has given me my life back. I have avoided substances like alcohol because I know that when you suffer chronic pain it is easy for solutions like that to turn into problems. I never feel high while using kratom, in fact, I feel more present to my family and everyone I interact with. In conjunction with my kratom routine I have lost 60 pounds in ten months because I no longer eat for comfort or as a response to depression and anxiety. The upcoming ban on kratom breaks my heart, because I feel like I am being sentenced to return to my former daily struggle to accomplish even the simplest tasks. I was so grateful to discover kratom, and now it’s as though the rug is being ripped out from under me. I have not suffered one single negative side effect while being on a kratom routine for almost exactly one year. Each day, at least six people die from alcohol abuse, families have been torn apart and lives turned upside down yet I can buy booze freely and in whatever quantity I choose without any legal ramifications. This action by the DEA is cruel and senseless. It makes as much sense as outlawing coffee. I suspect corruption and collusion with pharmaceutical companies on the part of the DEA as no other explanation for classifying this substance makes any sense. Please let me know what I can do to help keep this amazing natural supplement available to me and millions of others who have experienced the amazing change in our quality of life because of this great leaf.

Name withheld (CA)

Matt S. (VA)

I’m a 44 year old white male, veteran of the U.S. Army, working as a partner, as a sales & marketing manager, in a small independent, hemp, wholesale business. I’ve dealt with chronic pain for several years, most notably, following my separation from the service. I discovered Kratom about a year ago. Someone introduced it to me as an alternative to the cocktail of drugs prescribed to me by the VA hospital system. I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that Kratom treats my pain better than any of the medicines I’ve been prescribed and has allowed me to get off of them all. I’ve also discovered that it has anti-anxiety benefits which have also allowed me to get off psychiatric drugs as well. I’m grateful for this wonderful botanical and feel that scheduling it’s use is not only mistaken, it’s possibly criminal.

Name withheld

Broke my tibia. Eventually no more meds for pain were given. My leg hurts occasionally so I used to kratom to help it because I have to work and I’m on my feet all the time. I chose it because I did my research it has been around for a long time and it is a plant it is botanical it’s a huge help.

Lisa C. (FL)

I am 67 years old, now retired. I was introduced to kratom in capsule form by a supplement seller online who reported it was a non-narcotic way to relieve pain. I have recurrent back spasms (the result of old injuries) that can become so severe at times they keep me from walking, and have also recently undergone surgery for shoulder repair and had some complications arise afterward that require very painful treatment (basically tearing open the same scar tissue over and over again). I have been using kratom on and off for some months and it helps a lot with the pain. I never take it more than once a day because I find it does not have as pronounced an effect after the first dose, and I rarely take it more than 2-3 days in a row. I have been given prescriptions for oxycodone but I find I don’t need to take it when I use kratom. I have stopped all meds, including kratom, for days at a time (most recently when I was given a nerve block for a surgical treatment) and I did not experience any symptoms of withdrawal. I really don’t understand why a natural non-narcotic leaf that can replace more potentially harmful substances should be made illegal when there is apparently no definitive evidence that it is dangerous when taken in moderation. (By contrast, acetaminophen – Tylenol – is quite deadly when it is used in excess. Even a single large dose can cause irreversible, fatal liver damage, and it is available to anyone over the counter, and is probably in the homes of almost every family in America at one time or another.)

Richard O. (FL)

I’m a 42 year old disabled mom of three. I have chronic back and hip pain, depression, anxiety and PTSD. Kratom helps me with pain along with Cymbalta. It gives me energy and makes me less anxious. I’m able to feel better while being productive. I use it 2-4 times a day depending on if i hurt.

Joanne S., IN

I’m a chronic pain sufferer. I just went through a laminectomy not too long ago but I still have back pain that makes enjoying life all almost impossible. I use Kratom regularly for pain and the anxiety/ depression that commonly comes with chronic pain. I understand the concept of medicine in comparison to drugs of abuse. In my humble opinion it would seem that Kratom would be unlikely to be abused in its raw form simply because it has a dose “ceiling” for use. More than enough will cause unpleasant though not life threatening effects. I don’t get a high from it just pain relief and a mild pick me up comparable to a cup of black coffee. I honestly do not believe I could have returned to work without it or highly addictive pain meds which I’d rather never touch again. I’m in my late thirties a father and I am employed full time in a physically demanding job. I realize the addictive potential of this plant and took this into consideration before using it as an alternative medicine. I have not found it to be any more addictive than coffee. I do not suffer the motor coordination effects I have suffered from opioid medications nor the drowsiness. To wrap this up I would like to say that without Kratom I could not be a productive member of society and would only be a burden to a already struggling social security system.

Todd Z., OH

I have been on prescription pain meds for 15 years with little relief. I have Fibromyalgia, Lupus, osteoarthritis rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative discussion disease and mixed connective tissue disease. I have suffered for years in pain and am currently on permanent disability at age 46. Within two days of starting kratom I had no pain. I have not been pain free in 30 years! Kratom is my miracle.

Dawn C., NE

Hello. I am a fifty-three-year-old mother, wife and business owner. I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia about 7-8 years ago. It comes many, many issues. My autonomic nervous system does not function normally. I also suffer with anxiety and depression and a degenerative disc in my lower back and neck due to working all my life as a mobile pet groomer. I have been married for nearly twenty-eight years and have an 11 year old son. Before I discovered kratom I was prescribed Midodrine , beta blockers and several anti-nausea meds including Zofran. I was nearly bedridden for two and a half years. With those medicines came many side effects. The side effects became more troublesome than the disorder itself. I was desperate to find a solution and to live again! I researched kratom and ordered some. I take plain leaf nothing more, nothing less. I don’t know how it works exactly but it seems to calm down my overactive nervous system. In addition it completely takes away the pain. I’m able to run our small business, take care of the house my husband and be a mother to our young son. I have been off all of those aforementioned medicines for years now! I function completely normal. I have never been arrested. I have no record not even a speeding ticket. If you take Kratom away I will be a felon!? Does that make sense at all? Do I want to go on disability and take pain meds? No, no I want to be a functioning part of society like I am now. I have to be, too many people depend on me, we are also caregivers to my 91 year-old father-in-law and my 74 year old mother who has a macular degeneration. Bringing up my mother reminded me that her and I both suffer from RLS. I’ve had it since I was 11 years old. I have been on Requip and several others including a patch. All of them had what’s called augmentation, meaning it would make my RLS worse! I was having it in the daytime. Now I can take a tiny bit of Kratom and sleep through the night. I’m talking like an eighth of a teaspoon Maybe. Please! Please! Don’t take my life away and the lives of those I care about and for. I’m sorry this is kind of all over the map but as anyone can imagine I’m very worried for my future and the future of my loved ones.

Thank you for reading this #KRATOMSAVESLIVES.

Rachel

I am a 33 year old tattoo artist. I have been using Kratom for about 4 years. I was addicted to opioids including heroin and Suboxone for well over a decade. Now I use red and green vein Kratom powder on a daily basis. it helped me get completely off opioid and has also helped me with my struggles with anxiety and depression. Kratom literally saved my life and helped me become a better husband father and artist.

Joshua B., PA

I am 35 years old and I suffer from a rare bone disorder that causes tumors to grow from inside my bone and usually results in a fracture after the tumor has gotten too large. My first surgery to remove one was when I was 5 years old and I have had roughly 20 since then. When I was in middle school my Doctors started me on Vicodin and by the time I was 28 I was on fentanyl and morphine. Since I discovered kratom my need for opiates has dropped dramatically, besides a fracture or surgery I rarely if ever take a 5mg Percocet which compared to the insanely strong drugs I was on before is nothing. I am afraid of what will happen to me if I am no longer able to buy kratom and have to go back to the pain meds. Kratom has literally saved my life and I hope that all of the people it has helped can get together and change this unjust scheduling by the DEA.

Lian F., CA

I am a 54 year old professional, who has worked for several Fortune 500 companies, I am known, and well respected by my peers for being a dedicated, tireless worker, and going the distance to achieve success. I have raised four children and step children (aged 26, 29, 29, and 30) to successful adulthood (all outstanding young people). I have no criminal record whatsoever.

I was diagnosed with M.S. in 1994, and it was horrific for a few years, as it went improperly diagnosed for 3 years, through spells of severe inability to track my eyes together, and dizzy spells. Finally, I went completely numb on one side of my body, from scalp to upper left thigh, losing complete control of my hand. This landed me in ICU, where an MRI revealed multiple MS plaques. I was terrified. I had two small kids in elementary school to raise at that time (single mother), and though life for me was over. Another attack completely knocked out my balance, and landed me in the hospital for almost two weeks. I needed a walker for some time, to get around. This is when I began having panic attacks (PTSD) and difficulty sleeping, as I was so afraid of waking up with a new symptom. I cannot explain the terror that this was for me, even now, I find it difficult to talk about. Gradually I started to have fewer and fewer attacks, over time, which I attribute to the move I made from a large city with very unhealthy air, and getting through a divorce, due to an ex-husband being unable to cope with any of this, and who had his own challenges battling bipolar disorder Fighting extreme fatigue, and the overwhelming side effects of the injectable drugs that I took, and for which I felt like a guinea pig for, I finally was able to get on the other side of M.S., and the spells of numb face, and hands became fewer and fewer. . I’ve been through a great deal in my lifetime, I am NO quitter. I am NO whiner.

In 2011, my terror returned, when I went thru a round of breast cancer, discovered during a routine mammogram. My life felt out of control once again, with four surgeries & radiation. The PTSD reared its head like an ugly monster. Sleeping was next to impossible. Add menopause to the mix, and all of the symptoms that come with it, and the new reality, that I could never take any of the hormone treatments that help with the symptoms, because of the breast cancer. My life became all about night sweats, and panic. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Over the years, my neck had deteriorated to an unmanageable level, doing IT work, and the genetics of having a long neck, and family propensity for spine deterioration (not to mention all of the steroids I had to take during the M.S. attacks, usually 5 days of Solumedrol drip for 4-5 days at the cancer clinic. I had surgery, and had some newer style devises implanted in my neck at C4-C5, C5-C6 level. I had been taking Oxycodone at this point, for approx. 2 years, and I just didn’t want to continue on that path. Unfortunately, I came out of the surgery much worse than when I went in. I came out of it with a NEW problem, frozen shoulder. I suffered through the hell of both issues, and kept waiting to improve. I did everything I was told. 6 months later, I had a 2nd surgery, (this time they went thru the back of my neck) to look for any impingement, or problems that weren’t seen. I came out of this surgery with high hopes, but unfortunately, things were exactly the same. I have even reached out to the manufacture of these devices for information, to try to get answers. Nothing really came out of that (though I did find several studies on government site, which said some people had bad reactions to these devices, or were allergic to the materials IN these devices. M.S. is all about inflammatory process, added to a family history of allergies and asthma, and it wasn’t a stretch in my mind, that I might be allergic to the composite materials in the discs.

Meanwhile, I am trying to live my life and support my loved ones. But it became more and more clear, that the pain was causing a large impact on my performance, as fighting the pain was so incredibly exhausting, that I found myself landing in the emergency room frequently when I couldn’t handle it anymore.

So for two more years, I continued taking Oxycodone and now I also had a Fentanyl patch as well, the reality was it only provided 15 minutes of relief, every 4 hours. But when you are that miserable, you’ll take the 15 minutes. Then I desperately tried to get off of that stuff, when all of the crackdowns began happening, because of all of the people getting hooked on heroin after having prescription drugs, and being cut off. I decided I would try to do the same. First I got off of the Fentinyl patches (that was torture). Then I tried to get off of the Oxycodone. The pain was unbelievable, and NOW I was dealing with pain AND withdrawals. I was literally praying for an answer/solution/anything to help (and quality of life was so bad, that now I also had some pretty severe depression also). It was at this time, after uttering this sincere prayer for relief, which I heard about Kratom. I was driving down the road one day, feeling desperation, and praying again, when I saw the sign ‘KRATOM’. I did a U-turn, pulled in, walked up to the counter, and told the young man my situation. He immediately pointed me to the strain that is best for pain, and opiate W/D. I felt a little uneasy being in a head-shop, believe me. Here I am, a 54 yr. old woman, in a head shop. I took home my little packet of powder, with instructions. I mixed it with some chocolate milk, and drank it. Almost immediately, I experienced tremendous relief! I didn’t feel any ‘high’ so much, but more of a sense of well-being, and energy (kind of like coffee, but not jittery like caffeine). The pain was knocked back substantially. Oh my goodness, was that a moment. Since then, I have realized that I got an answer to a prayer.

Then, a month or so later our 23 year old nephew of my new wonderful husband, and girlfriend show up at our doorstep, in desperate shape. Little did we know, that both of these young people had gotten hooked on prescription drugs, and then heroin, and were in terrible shape. Our nephew had lost his own father (my husband’s father) tragically a few years prior, and then lost a father figure that stepped in and provided support, suddenly, when he died of a heart attack. Someone texted him, and told him to try Kratom. Unbelievably, this got our nephew off of those street drugs, and gave him back a chance to get his life back. (Of great importance also, was their three year old little girl, whom we were discussing the possibility of adopting, as we couldn’t leave her in that situation with good conscience, obviously).

That didn’t have to happen, and that little girl didn’t land on the state’s already overburdened foster child list, at the expense of taxpayer’s money.

Fast forward to this last weekend. I have resolved finally, to send my doctor an email to say that I wanted to discontinue the Oxycodone completely. Over and out, no more Oxycodone for me. I walk in to buy my little miracle bag of Kratom, and I get hit with the news. In a mere few days, my ‘miracle’ would be illegal to purchase, and I could be arrested for possessing a schedule I drug after Oct. 1^st. Needless to say, this has rocked my world. I am angry. I am ESPECIALLY angry at a government that could allow such a thing to happen. Haven’t they read the countless success stories that are freely available for anyone to read? Was this action taken, because SUDDENLY, the emergency rooms were filling up, and people were needlessly OD’ing, and dying from consuming this natural substance, that has been around for thousands of years? We all know the answer to this question. If we are wrong, then where are those supporting statistics? Where are those hard numbers that prompted this sudden action, at the beginning of a holiday weekend, no doubt, providing so little time for reaction by advocates? Could it be fueled by corporate pharmaceutical greed and their lobbyists to have convinced the DEA to act as their henchmen to declare Kratom a “SCHEDULE I’ drug? It’s horse manure. Where are the facts? Some drug company has patented the components that comprise the leaves of a tree that have been useful for thousands of years as a pain reliever (similar, but much better than aspirin, for relieving pain). We aren’t talking about some new designer drug, or chemical cocktail here. We are talking about a substance that is proven to WORK against heroin addiction. But wait! Someone wants to profit from it, so, by all means, take it away at the federal level! Why suddenly were all the new restrictions put in place to impose new consequences for doctor’s who write opiate prescriptions? Because of the numbers. We get that. An adored rock legend died from it, as many have.

So WHY take away the only thing existing that ACTUALLY works against the horrific nightmare of getting off of heroin, Fentanyl, and Oxycodone? We are NOT stupid people out here in ‘general public’ land. We are REAL people, trying to be responsible, and have some quality of life before dying. What you are doing, by this unprecedented action, is taking PERSONAL responsibility for all of the tragedy that lurks right around the corner, on October 1st. In my opinion, that makes those driving these initiatives murderers, to say the least. Guess we might be adopted our grand-niece after all when our nephew can’t win the battle anymore. But WAIT! What use will I personally be myself now? Guess it will fall on the tax payers after all. As the suicides and heroin overdoses escalate (and the drug cartels squeal with delight, and the drug companies profit and pat themselves on the back for ‘saving’ American people and others from the ‘deadly’ effects that are nonexistent in Kratom use, all of the people that this herb has helped to save, will be watching the death tally, to say the least. The burden of the states to deal with the escalated fallout of all the addicted mothers/fathers/sons/daughters that were being helped from this miracle plant, WE will know who is REALLY behind this move. We may not have the money, or resources to fight this huge establishment and behemoth, but don’t think we won’t give up trying! We may fail, like so many others did with the Monsanto’s of the world. But one thing I can truly say is this.

I will want to throw up in my hand, every time I hear the words ‘land of the free’, for the hypocrisy I feel.

Hope you all sleep well and don’t have to face chronic pain in your lifetime, though the statistics aren’t in your favor.

Needless to say, I will not be asking to discontinue the oxy, at this point. Score one for the pharmaceutical companies. Score one for the drug cartels!!!

Thanks for even MAKING an honest citizen contemplate a life of crime, because you’ve chosen to criminalize a substance that comes from a tree, in the coffee family. What’s up to bat next?

-Anonymous, despondent mother & aunt

My name is Nicole. I am a 35 year old mother of 2. In 2008 I got addicted to pain pills and quickly began my descent into the dark world of addiction. As a result I lost everything in a very short period of time. I lost my kids and I lost my home.

Not only do I have an addiction background I also have severe anxiety and depression from emotional trauma during my childhood which causes me now to have PTSD. I started using kratom the day after I got out of impatient treatment. I left their pills at the door and quickly did my research as I remembered about this natural herb called kratom. I started taking kratom daily in 2011 and I have had my kids back in my custody since 2012. I now own my own home and have the most normal life I have ever had. My day consists of waking up making my pot of coffee and taking my first dose of kratom. Most days are 2 dose days but there are days that require a 3rd dose. I haven’t felt better at any point in my life. I’m confident in saying that Kratom has played the #1 role in my recovery. Besides my own foot work of course. There are more people like me. Thousands more. Please listen to OUR KRATOM STORIES……If this ban goes into effect people will die. People will succumb to their demons and we need to STOP THIS. #IAMKRATOM

Nicole Hanson

Pain free after 30 years!

I have been on prescription pain meds for 15 years with little relief. I have fibromyalgia lupus osteoarthritis rheumatoid arthritis degenerative discussion disease and mixed connective tissue disease. I have suffered for years in pain and am currently on permanent disability at age 46. Within 2 days of starting kratom (mostly red strains) I had no pain. I have not been pain free in 30 years! Kratom is my miracle.

Dawn Cipriano, NE

I’m a 42 year old disabled mom of 3. I have chronic back and hip pain, depression, anxiety and ptsd. Kratom helps me with pain along with Cymbalta. It gives me energy and makes me less anxious. I’m able to feel better while being productive. It’s illegal in Indiana and I want to help change that if i can. I’ve seen heroine and pain pills take out many people in my community and a few of my friends. I believe kratom would help so many people kick heroine and pills. I use bali red 2-4 times a day depending on if i hurt.

Joanne S., IN

I’m a chronic pain sufferer. I just went through a laminectomy not too long ago but I still have back pain that makes enjoying life all almost impossible. I use Kratom regularly for pain and the anxiety/ depression that commonly comes with chronic pain. I understand the concept of medicine in comparison to drugs of abuse. In my humble opinion it would seem that Kratom would be unlikely to be abused in its raw form simply because it has a dose “ceiling” for recreational use. More than enough will cause unpleasant though not life threatening effects. Maybe it’s the pain I’m in but I don’t get a high from it just pain relief and a mild pick me up comparable to a cup of black coffee. I honestly do not believe I could have returned to work without it or highly addictive pain meds which I’d rather never touch again. I’m in my late thirties a father and I am employed full time in a physically demanding job. I realize the addictive potential of this plant and took this into consideration before using it as an alternative medicine. I have not found it to be any more addictive than coffee as far as withdrawal and far less horrible than therapeutic level opioid withdrawal. I do not suffer the motor coordination effects I have suffered from opioid medications nor the drowsiness. To wrap this up I would like to say that without Kratom I could not be a productive member of society and would only be a burden to a already struggling social security system. Unfortunately I cannot publish this publicly because although I live in a state where it is uncontrolled, I work in state where it is schedule 1. I fear that this may be changing in my state eventually and my life will be turned upside down.

Todd Zirwell, OH

I’m 63 years old, a writer and retiree. I first learned about kratom online as I was searching for a legal alternative for chronic arthritis pain. My MD wouldn’t prescribe the narcotic Vicodin even though I’d taken this medication for more than three years with no ill effect. The kratom I now use is called red vein Bali in capsule form. It doesn’t make me “loopy” and has a mild stimulant effect like a good strong cup of coffee. What’s more, my arthritis pain is hardly noticeable. I often go up stairs without having to hang on. With some changes in my diet I’ve lost about thirty pounds and while I wouldn’t say kratom is an appetite suppressant it does seem to help me a little bit in that way. Like anything else it needs to be treated with respect and the potential for abuse is pretty small compared to a lot of other things.

Kathleen Dinsmore, Monte Rio, CA

I am a 32 year old recovering alcoholic and addict. I have taken pain medication and anxiety meds for over 10 years. I do have chronic pain but as is the nature of the beast abused the medicine because it is so easy to pop a pill. I found kratom after deciding to try another route for relief and it changed my life. Not only has it helped almost 100% cure my alcohol and drug cravings it has taken away my pain and anxiety plus the depression is also greatly reduced. I feel 10 times healthier than on prescription pills and even my cigarette addiction is almost gone as two a day is more than I crave from a pack a day. It is a god given miracle and should be legal for all adults everywhere who need it. I was having breathing problems from hydrocodone and very sluggish and moody. Kratom is nothing like this and so long as one uses things like blueberries and mixes kratom into health smoothies the constipation which is the only side effect I noticed is not a problem. I have been working longer days at work and put in a hardwood floor for my mom on my last two days off. I know without kratom my quality of life would be greatly lowered. Thank you God for your miraculous plants, and screw you America for making them illegal.

Chris Meegan, TX

I came to use kratom because I needed something that helped me focus on my schoolwork as well as help me reduce stress and relax on a daily basis. Kratom allows me to be more effective at school and I continue be more relaxed as I use kratom. Nothing else has been effective in my life to reduce stress or other anxiety issues without being on prescription medication. I prefer kratom because it is simple and doesn’t have any negative effects on people. Kratom is a safe pharmaceutical drug with important medicinal uses and has changed my life.

Kyle Devitt, NC

I’m a 44 yr. old female. I’m in “stage 5” of Fibromyalgia and have a limited life. When I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I sank thousands of dollars into doctors and medications, only to get very little help with my condition. My health steadily decline and my depression steadily getting worse, my sister suggested I try Kratom for relief. At first, I was leery as I read so many stories from the FDA and law officials. After a month of being on Kratom, I was able to get back to work, walk around the house and do some housework. I’m now on a regular regimen to help me with my pain and flare ups. Without Kratom, I would be in a wheelchair, collecting disability. I don’t have the life I had before Fibromyalgia, but I do have a life better than completely disabled.

As a diabetic, the neuropathy pain I was experiencing before is almost nonexistent, without Neurontin to keep me in a cloud all day. Kratom also has helped me with keeping my sugar levels down so I don’t have to take as much medicine.

Finally, I can’t emphasize enough how wrong people are reporting “getting high” from taking Kratom. I’ve been taking it for 3 years now and I’ve never experienced any kind of Euphoria or high. I accidentally took too much and the only thing that happened to me is I got nauseated and vomited. After getting it off my stomach, I was fine. I took my regular dose and have never experienced that again.

Kratom has improved my life. Without this wonderful plant, I would be depending upon the government. As I’m allergic to pain medications, I don’t know how much difficult my life would be without Kratom.

Tammy Hammett, LA

This letter is to try to briefly tell my personal story involving the currently legal (in NY) herb Kratom. I am whole-hardheartedly hoping you will protect its legal status in our state, and this is why.

For most of my life (I am 36), I had panic attacks, deep depression, and suicidal tendencies/self-harming. I tried several anti-depressants and anti anxiety medications (Zoloft, Prozac, Xanax, Seroquel, etc) from different doctors, but never stayed on them for long because of side effects that were almost worse, besides the very expensive psychiatrist bills for my parents.

I started to ‘self-medicate’ with opiates (Vicodin, etc) in my early 20s, it seemed the only ‘miracle’ that helped, but very quickly that turned into a life-controlling addiction. I eventually found out about suboxone and saw a doctor, which worked well, for a awhile. But after a while I couldn’t afford the cash-only monthly Doctor visits and insurance did not cover it. I also learned the hard way that yes, despite my doctor assuring me otherwise, it is very, very hard to quit suboxone and your body gets dependent. The pain I felt trying to quit was equal to my past opiate use. I juggled back and forth between suboxone and and other opiates for years.

Eventually I did research online and found out about Kratom, a legal herb that could help opiate users quit. I tried it, and eventually it helped me quit the suboxone for good, and all other opiates, along with dulling/removing any urges or cravings. It also gave me a gentle, calmer alternative to help with my anxiety and depression as well. I don’t take any other medications anymore (such as Xanax or Valium). I don’t drink coffee, but Kratom helps give energy, and also a gentle pain relief if needed. There have been a lot of media claims about the dangers of Kratom, and most I’ve heard are untrue in my experience. I literally got rid of my severe opiate dependency (and also quit drinking alcohol!) with Kratom. If Kratom would be taken away, I feel many ex-opiate users (due to chronic pain or past drug abuse issues) would definitely soon seek out or go back to what they used to do, whether it be a doctors prescriptions, or buying illegally from a ‘friend.’

The most negative side effects I have ever experienced was once having nausea and a mild headache (due to not eating prior and not being hydrated enough.) Overall, it’s let me leave a life of opiate cravings and abuse behind, feel healthy, able to work out, not lose jobs due to addiction, and not be afraid of being a slave to a drug, and just be more stable.

Corinne VanBrunt

Education is needed

I am a 36 year old male with a degree in Marine Biology that suffers from OCD, Depression, and ADD. I currently work as a lumber associate and thanks to Mitragyna, I am able to get through many painful days due to my conditions. I absolutely am for educating the public.

Corey T., Coral Gables, FL

I am a mother that suffered from Fibromyalgia and Lupus but now that I found Kratom I am free of my pain and I could live a happy life.

Tina George, Philly, PA

I am a 42 year old female. I have a lot of health problems. I am a RN, however not currently working due to health issues. Over past five years my health has continued to decline. Multiple medications on daily basis. I went to being a RN to being disabled and needing help. I was introduced to kratom about five months ago. I was skeptical like most. Since starting to use kratom, my life has improved. I have more energy, I rarely nap and m muscle pain has improved. It does not give me a jittery feeling like energy drinks do. I don’t crash, but I tire with activity. I have post concussion syndrome and it’s been very difficult. It has caused a lot of heartache. Kratom increases my energy, improves muscle pain, I’m more alert and have improved concentration. Kratom has made a major improvement in my life. Should it come down to Kentucky banning it, I don’t know what I’ll do. I have tried a lot of medications and this has been the best. Please do not take away a natural medication that has changed my life. We (patients) suffer due to people who want to abuse every natural medication and prescribed medication available. Please take a stand for those of us who have shown improvement with use of kratom.

Angela Pittman (KY)

Age 57, was on prescribed opiates for 6 years due to neck and back surgery. I have been using kratom for almost a year. I am feeling much better and healthier. I don’t know what I will do if Alabama makes it illegal. I wish they would listen to the facts.

Judith Z. (AL)

I have used Kratom for seven years on and off to help manage depression and major fatigue. It has been such a blessing in my life. To not have to take additive chemicals (prescription drugs), which I had been on for last 15 years, and was able to get off of with the wonderful NATURAL kratom. It would be a huge dis justice to everyone who truly benefits from it. But of course the government wants us addicted to their drugs and suffer grave damage to our bodies, just so they can make millions. I have never once had any ill effects from kratom! It has saved my life and my sanity in many ways! Lets fight to keep this amazing natural resource!

Nicole A. (PA)

Kratom helps more than pain

After being on high doses of Morphine and OXY (my ending dose was 320mg per day plus anti-anxiety meds) for over 12 years, I was able to stop completely with the help of the Kratom using small doses, 3-4 times a day. Sure, there was some suffering but having tried to stop before, it was MUCH easier with Kratom. Less painful and pretty much eliminated the feeling of “coming out of my skin.” I want to do everything possible to educate people about what I see as a miracle plant. My chronic pain is actually more manageable than it was, and other benefits have presented themselves as well; depression has lifted, better energy and IBS symptoms improved. I have also been on seizure meds for years to control grande-Mals and even that has improved, although I wouldn’t recommend anyone else stopping seizure meds, as we each have different body chemistry. My personal experience with Kratom has been 100% positive, and encourage everyone interested to increase their knowledge about it, and to even try a bit before dismissing it altogether, or worse, banning it.

Pamela Hogan (WA)

I am 58 and I have suffered with migraine headaches since I was 36. I have seen many specialists and have had numerous MRI’s to no avail. I was a Traffic Manager in radio, which is a 24/7 job that has to be covered. However, with the sick days (there aren’t any allowed) accruing I had to change professions. It was at this time I promised myself that at 50 I would find help, if only to manage the pain. An accident busting up my L2, L4 & T6 left me with a 2″ splinter & bone spurs logged in between my discs. Three years later I was up to three, 10 mg Norco and 3 muscle relaxers a day. However, my system wanted even more in order to successfully relieve the pain and I started running out. Quickly realizing I was “hooked” on prescription meds, my life was on the bottom of a spiral. I was immobilized, three sleepless night in a row and nauseously aching/shaking all over as I researched for immediate help and legally ordered my first Kratom. I was normalized two hours later with a clear head/thinking and at a pain-free level that I had not had in years! Within three days I was past the narcotic withdrawal symptoms from the Norco and able to accomplish daily tasks. Please, let others in such dire straits have the opportunity that I had by legally ordering Kratom.

Janet L. (AL)

I am a mother that suffered from Fibromyalgia and Lupus. Now that I found Kratom I am free of my pain and I can live a happy life.

Tina George (PA)

I’m 24 years old and have been addicted to opiates for six years. I’ve tried to get off of opiates with both methadone and Suboxone and then found both to be even harder to get off then the actual opiates themselves. I was starting to feel pretty hopeless. I thought than I would never be able to get through the withdrawals when I came across kratom. It’s been an absolute life saver. I have stopped injecting heroin and prescription pills and am still able to function and go to work. It’s not mind altering for me at all. It makes me feel normal and able to get through withdrawals. I can honestly say if it wasn’t for kratom I would eventually end up dead because I can’t handle the withdrawals and I would never have been able to stop on my own.

Chelsea T. (NY)

I am 34 years old and I’m a cashier and stand on my feet for hours at a time. Kratom has helped me in a lot of ways. Please do not ban it. I have endometriosis and back problems. It helps me function instead of being brain fogged.

Selena (GA)

Kratom helps my chronic pain

I first discovered Kratom in August 2015. I had never heard of it before. I learned of it while researching herbal medicines online to help with my chronic pain. I am 32, a self-employed computer tech, married & have no kids. I take no other drugs except for when I have my prescribed meds from my doctor for my chronic pain & general meds like Tylenol, etc. I had injured both my knees in my early adulthood while serving in the military & then on a private sector job. I have lower back issues & overall, I have to live with pain without something to alleviate it.

I have been on pain meds on and off for the last several years. Although they work, it is not always easy getting the doctor to write a new script. The side effects of them are also more negative, if only for a short time, as opposed to Kratom. So I found Kratom. I doubted it at first but after a couple of times, I found that it really helped me live better. My quality of life has greatly improved. I also had to spend A LOT of time doing my homework on Kratom. I did lots of research before buying it because that’s my responsibility as a consumer. I wanted to make sure it was going to help me, not hurt me.

I consider Kratom one of God’s many gifts to mankind. I have come to use Kratom daily & without it, I wouldn’t be able to live very well. The negative side effects are null, unless you count becoming more tired after a long day negative. I’d be in constant pain with my ailments mentioned, on top of the migraines I normally would get often, if not for Kratom. I normally use Bali, Maeng Da & White Vein Sumatra strains, although those aren’t the only ones I use. I mix them up sometimes but usually, I stick with Bali which has wonderful pain killing properties. I normally use 10-15grams a day, broken up at intervals. Kratom has done nothing but help me live better, so much so that I don’t really care to use pharmaceutical pain killers anymore.

I see ignorant politicians and emotional parents out here want to get this banned. They have zero understanding or appreciation of what Kratom isn’t and is. The pharmaceutical industry feels threatened somewhat by Kratom because YES, it means less patients on pain meds and more on a natural healer that works! It angers me that our government and ignorant citizens who want to literally screw something up for the rest of us who, quite frankly, have every God given right to use Kratom or anything else that helps us live better. I think that pain meds from scripts are FAR more dangerous & addicting than Kratom ever could be. I take my Kratom daily because I have chronic pain that is documented, but it’s my choice to use it because it works. I don’t want to live the next 40 years in constant pain. My shoulders, knees & lower back hurt, a lot, when I have nothing to combat that pain. The ignorant people out here who would take away this plant from us are truly dangerous because we’re being told, in a nutshell, that we’re not competent enough to manage our own health. To top it off, the US Constitution prohibits the drug war so none of this crap is even legitimate!

If some people don’t want to use Kratom, then they have a right to NOT use it, but they don’t have a right to take away others medical choices. There is nothing dangerous about Kratom by itself but if you mix it up with actual drugs like heavy narcotics or some other illegal/prescribed meds & overdose, that’s NOT Kratom’s fault. That is the fault of the idiot who took it and the illegal substances!

So in conclusion, I stand for Kratom and any other plants that help us. Nobody has ever died from Kratom alone & nobody has been hurt by it. I now understand what the Marijuana crowd has fought for all these years. I hope this helps the fight to resist the ignorant and dangerous citizens in this country who want to ban Kratom. I hope my words are read somewhere, that it touches hearts, makes the ignorant angry and that the rest of the users of Kratom are heard. Thank you.

Matthew T. (MO)

Kratom is the only thing that helps

I have been suffering pain and nausea from chronic pancreatitis for 7 years. I have tried every prescription drug available with little to no relief. Kratom tinctures and dried leaf powder have been the first thing in about 2 years that have given me relief. It’s not easy but I’m still trying to hold down a job as a computer tech working for the state of Alabama. I’m sick and barely able to move more days than not. Kratom is the first thing that gave me relief without the confusion and brain fog of narcotics. I can say with certainty it doesn’t make you high like morphine or Oxycontin. It leaves you much more alert but still lets you sleep.

W. Stark (NY)

I am a 35 year old Paralegal and mother of 3 kids. I have actively taken Kratom for over 2 years now. I had a full hysterectomy when I was 28 which put me into early menopause and it seemed from there depression set in. Juggling 3 kids and a full time job all the while going through menopause was a living hell. Doctor’s had prescribed anti-depressants which either never worked or made me a complete zombie. Then I discovered Kratom and I though why not I will give it a try. Kratom keeps me balanced and rational during this rough patch that I am going through and is also very effective when it comes to aches and pain. It has changed my life tremendously and being a natural research fanatic due to my job, I have conducted my own research and can tell you that from what I have discovered, no one has ever overdosed nor died on Kratom alone. I want to thank you for protecting this wonderful plant and hope that this testimonial aids in the fight to keep Kratom legal.

Candice H. (AL)

Kratom helps with the pain of vertebrae of my back. It also helps my migraines and which helps me through the day.

Carla Bailey Bass (LA)

I am 20 years old. Kratom helped me deal with/kick a crippling PRESCRIBED Klonopin addiction!

James C. (AL)

I am 24 years old. I have been using kratom for about a year. It has tremendously helped my anxiety and depression. I worry a lot about it getting banned and really hope advocacy efforts are underway in my state. I feel like kratom has saved my life in so many ways!

Sara H. (ND)

I have been using Kratom as an alternative to the Hydrocodone prescriptions that I have been given throughout the years for my PMDD & PCOS. I have terrible periods and cramping and this is the only natural herb that completely alleviates that pain without making me feel incredibly out of it and drugged. Indeed, I can go about my day happily with no “drugged out” affect, yet still feeling energetic and uplifted. My boyfriend also uses Kratom for his Fibromyalgia (he was in a terrible car accident); it is an alternative to him from his Tramadol prescriptions which he becomes increasingly addicted to the more he uses. Neither of us have medical insurance so paying for pills out of pocket is exorbitant. We grow Kratom in our front yard and purchase wholesale from a proper company out of Nevada to make our own supplements. It is unfair to us that some wish to ban this plant just because they are receiving no profits from it’s distribution. We would like to offer our voices in support of the Pelosi’s and the AKA. Thank you!

Bee Victoria (CA)

I am a mother that suffers from Fibromyalgia and Lupus. Since I found Kratom I am free of my pain and I can live a happy life.

Tina George (PA)

I am an 80% disabled United States Veteran who has degenerative disc disease in the lumbar region of my spine. I have been prescribed percocet regularly for the past 10 years. A couple of weeks ago, I had an appointment with the VA doctor and she asked me to perform a urinalysis. I thought nothing of it. I had been taking Kratom as a supplement for the past year. It being legal, I had no idea what was about to happen! I was contacted by my Dr. about a week later with her telling me she was required to wean me off my Percocet. I was astonished! There was no way I was even worried about this. I have never been an abuser simply due to the fact that if I were to run out of Percocet early…the withdrawals would be catastrophic to me! At any rate. Here I am…converted from a narcotic opioid user (not abuser) to a full fledged Kratom enthusiast. I just feel the need to inform other disabled citizens (military or not) that if you are tested and you use Kratom, detection can cause your medical team to discontinue your medications.

Randy Rackley (MO)

I was a heavy opiate abuser for 15+ years. I’ve had many issues with pain but even when I wasn’t in pain, I still had to keep taking my pills because I hated going through withdrawal symptoms. They are horrible and crippling. At the age of 46, I started feeling better and really wanted off the pills but kept taking them for 5 more years because the withdrawals would have stopped me from working. I’ve had doctors offer me Subs but they too addicting, maybe more so than the pain meds. I just wanted off the cycle of addiction. So when I heard about Kratom it was like a miracle. I first started going to my local Kava bar in Florida. That was my introduction to Kratom. It worked great. I was off the pills and enjoyed the tea they made there. Soon afterward I found websites that I could purchase Kratom from. Now when I’m in pain I just make me some tea or have it with OJ. I can’t believe (although I can) that legislators, drug companies, and doctors can be so ignorant as to the benefits of this plant.

Eddie Wohl, NC

I am a 55 year old female who has Fibre/C.F.I.D.S./M.E./multiple chronic back pain for many years. I’m on disability, have researched everything out there for pain and tried prescriptions, herbal and OTC meds. In 2015 I found Kratom Bali capsules. It really works and has not only reduced my pain to only a small, tolerable amount, but has given me energy, helps me sleep, took away my mood swings, made relaxed, laugh and enjoy life again. I have no side effects. I look forward to life now. Please don’t take away the kratom, because I would have no life if you do that.

Julie G. (TX)

I am a 50 year old woman in retail management with an associates degree legal assistant.

I began taking kratom in an effort to find something, anything to alleviate pain from degenerative arthritis. Pain meds and painful cortisone shots were not working.

From the very first time I took it not only did it relieve pain in my knees but pain in my back ( damaged disk from car wreck in 1994) but I had no side affects as opioid pains meds do. I continued to take it and have found beneficial unexpected side effects. Not only has my high blood pressure come down (no longer take blood pressure medication) but I have not had any kidney stones, which were a frequently occurring event in my left side. No kidney stones means no trips to ER, no nausea meds, no pain meds, no CAT scans, not hospital stays for one too large to pass that has to be broken into pieces that then have to be passed.

I have become a working productive member of society again. I don’t miss life events with daughters (I have 2) family and friends due to being sick or in hospital. I am sickened and appalled at some of the news stories I am seeing and hearing demonizing something that should be on the shelf like green tea supplements. Most that I have seen involve people addicted to other substances ( Cleveland news 5 used a heroin addict) blaming ills on kratom.

I fully understand that pharmaceutical companies must be having “profit” fits as they don’t have their cut of such an amazingly beneficial botanical and the fact that I’m no longer taking 3 or more of their products. The medical industry as well no longer makes money off repeated doctor visits for monitoring, ER visits, expensive CAT scans with each kidney stone visit (between $4000 to $6000+ each one) IV charges and the list goes on.

I would like to be a part of keeping this legal. I can not imagine how far down my quality of life would fall or how much pain I would be in without kratom. I have a job I love in a craft store helping people and artists which brings me joy and satisfaction as well as feeding my inner artist/crafter. I am joining in hopes of being able to help keep this legal for both myself and others that have similar situations. I shouldn’t have to feel that I “shouldn’t talk about” kratom or hide the fact I take it anymore than people who take vitamins, protein powders & other herbal supplements.

If telling my story helps please feel free to use it and my name. Add me to any petition (I am a registered voter).

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.

Karen Joye

I am 39 and love Kratom. For over 10 years I was addicted to opiates. I was taking up to 40 percocet a day. This all started when 3 discs herniated in my back plus I have had over 40 kidney stones. I am married and have 9 year old twins and just about ruined everything. I was arrested for doctor shopping, went through drug court to avoid 20 years in jail and it didn’t stop me once I graduated. My wife left me with the kids (don’t blame her) and I still never quit the pills. I found Kratom 3 or 4 years ago and haven’t abused opiates since. I have had to take them for kidney stones but turn them in when the stones pass. Kratom literally saved my life and family. I can’t say enough about how wonderful it is. I was recently diagnosed with a malformation in my brain and here come the doctors throwing pills at me. I refuse to take them. Kratom keeps the pain for my head and back to a manageable level and life is getting better daily. I will have to have brain surgery but will deal with that when it comes. They are trying to make Kratom illegal in Ky and it’s not right. Anyway, that is the short version but I can’t say enough positive things about it. Thank you.

Kerry Humphrey

I first head of kratom about 2 years ago from my hair dresser who recommended it to replace pharmaceutical medicine such as pain killers, both over and under the counter. I tried it and quickly understood the power this plant (as well as so many others) have. I’ve met several people who have cured their heroin addiction through Kratom and many others who use kratom for pain or as an alternative to ADHD medicines. Nature cures all and it’s just sad that Kratom as well as so many other natural plant substances are considered illegal drugs because they interfere with the profits of big corporations. I just hope we are able to stop the brainwashing of mainstream news watchers that Kratom is bad for you and prevent any laws that may make it illegal.

Whitney Anderson (UT)

I’m 26 and I have chronic pain and OCD and anxiety. I am an ex opiate addict and have been clean for 4years. I have had a lot of chronic neck and hip pain and have used kratom as an alternative to other pain meds. Kratom also got me off of my SSRI for OCD and anxiety and is a healthy alternative.

Nathan Ellison

I am a 27 year old wife and mother of 2. I discovered kratom after coming home from one of many disappointing doctor’s visits. I have been dealing with chronic back and neck pain for over 4 years and constant fatigue. No doctor has taken me seriously thus far. I was tired of being tired. Tired of not having the energy to get through my work day and be able to spend time with my family. Tired of people treating me like I’m just being dramatic or lazy. I started researching to see what natural products might possibly help. I tried kratom and my life instantly changed for the better. I am able to keep a smile on my face with my customers at work, spend quality time with my family, AND get housework done! I can’t imagine it being taken away. Coming from a family of drug addicts (opiates, heroin, cocaine), I am determined to stick with natural medicine that WORKS! PLEASE help get it back to all states! Nature should never be banned! I support the AKA in every way possible! I am behind you all the way while we fight the good fight! I am so proud to be a part of this organization and this movement. Thank you all so much for everything you do. I have met so many amazing people in the kratom community. Everything about this plant has improved my quality of life 100x! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

Leah Bass

Age 24, I had 2 hip surgeries the past 2 years and currently Kratom is helping me tolerate the pain from deep tissue massages and overall, the pain I still get while recovering from the surgeries. I was prescribed Oxycodone by my surgeon but it makes me mostly non-functional. The ignorance of our voted representatives is astounding; their perspective on this issue stems from fear mongering and ignorant people who have no idea what it’s like to live in chronic pain. I’m a nurse and soon to be a firefighter and I can safely say Kratom hasn’t impacted my life adversely in any way. Kratom is not an “unproven” medicine as our ignorant representatives think it is. For them, ignorance is bliss, it’s easy to ignore imperial evidence about Kratom. There is a heroine epidemic among middle and upper class folks now, even Nalaxone (antidote to opiods) had to be made available over-the-counter, yet Kratom, which helps people quit narcotics is being outlawed. Logic? Our representatives never heard of it. It’s all fun and games before one of their children over-doses on heroin and then real action will be taken to understand Kratom and its medicinal uses. War on drugs is only for votes, let’s not try to fool ourselves at this day and age. It never worked and never will. Banning Kratom will open doors to the black market and just like any drug, it will be still available, but now honest people will be considered druggies. Look at the prohibition of marijuana; history is one hell of a drug that our representatives are scared of the most.

Dima Volk

I’m 63 and a grandmother of 2 beautiful grandchildren. I use kratom on a regular basis. If not for Kratom I wouldn’t be able to work. Kratom provides the pain relief I need to get up each morning and be productive. It’s a miracle herb that needs to remain legal.

Jody Harness

Three years ago I came close to dying. It was the same as all the stories we hear about white lights, spirit guides, and going out-of-body. As a relatively healthy, thirty-two year-old male it was a complete shock. All I did was drink four beers the night before, wake up after four hours of sleep, and then drink a couple cups of coffee to start my day. Yet, a couple hours later there I was, sitting in the back of an ambulance confident that I was checking out. Obviously, I didn’t die.

That was three years ago. Ever since I’ve been unable to drink coffee or alcohol without fear of a repeat and I’ve tried. The doctors call it a developed sensitivity—I call it the end of personal productivity. (As a writer I might as well have lost my hands.)

Enter Mitragyna speciosa.

Fifteen years ago I was a bit more adventurous and curious when it came to psychoactive herbs from countries far and wide. When I happened upon kratom I decided it sounded interesting. A mellow, relaxing alternative to alcohol that could also give a bonus of energy in low doses. Back then it was too expensive to be a permanent fixture in my weekly regimen and so was mostly disregarded…until the part I mentioned about almost dying.

For the first couple of months following the near death episode I was just happy to be alive. Soon thereafter, the realization hit me: I would likely always have an adverse reaction from alcohol and caffeine. I became depressed. It wasn’t just the fact I couldn’t drink these beverages, it was the loss of the social scenes that accompany them. The thought crossed my mind to try anti-depressants, but pharmaceuticals should always be a last resort. If there is a plant growing somewhere that can cure ailments, then why gamble with a complicated, biologically engineered chemical?

I thoroughly educated myself on the history of Mitragyna speciosa. I learned that the reason it was made illegal was due to the fact it interfered with opium taxes, decades ago. I gained the knowledge that kratom has been used for centuries, with no history of terminal effect. The more I learned the more I wished I would have discovered Sam’s Club selling the stuff in bulk discount fifteen years ago. Instead I, like many others, relied on alcohol and caffeine to add that layer of delight and efficiency to life.

Well now I don’t have that choice. Mitragyna speciosa is my coffee. Kratom is my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Since the events that this testimony began with I have re-entered university, where I maintain a 3.6GPA, worked a full-time job and a part-time job for the past six months, and am in the process of producing and directing my first budgeted motion picture. My name is Robert Feight, I prosper from the liberty and benefits of kratom tea.

Robert Feight

I’m 53 years old Male with PTSD from birth trauma. I also have chronic pain from back injuries due to job safety violations on the part of a negligence of an employer. I’ve had serious substance abuse issues and have been the gamut of rehabs, anger therapy, meetings, cognitive therapy, abstinence, and medically supervised anxiety remedies. I’ve also sought the spiritual life recommended by so many. That has brought relief far more than any other. Kratom is a part of my daily diet and has brought more mental balance due to the serotonin, cortisol and dopamine balancing. I’m not as stressed out and the depression, disassociation disorder, panic attacks, nightmares, insomnia are become rare instances instead of daily occurrences. With Kratom I’m sleeping 8 hours a night which has not happened in the past without serious drugging or drinking. My thinking is clear. Math problems and other mental capacities aren’t something I currently struggle with. The current situation with proposed legislation that would make this herbal remedy illegal exposes the administrations priorities for all to see.

Jerry Weaver

42 years old . Guide dog trainer I have suffered from RLS for over 15 Years. I have been prescribed numerous different medications, with some help but bigger side effects. I now have complete controlled over my RLS by taking 3 grams in the am, and 5 grams before bed. Making Kratom illegal here in Florida would end up making me move away. That is how much Kratom means to my life

James Bird (FL)

Hello my name is Chris Reynolds and I am 22 years old. I live in Sacramento California and I work as a painter. My experience with kratom so far has been short but sweet. I’ve been using kratom for about 5 months and now you could say that I am living the kratom lifestyle and loving every minute of it. I have struggled with anxiety for most of my life. This resulted in a an anxiety diagnosis with prescribed SSRI medication. I don’t like the idea of taking something unnatural so I searched the internet for herbal alternatives. It took a while but i discovered kratom at my local smoke shop. After talking to the gentleman in charge for 20 minutes about the legality and safety of kratom I decided to try it. Now I use kratom every day sometimes a few times a day. The effects i noticed were:

1. Sleep problems went away

2. Pro-social behavior

3. More outgoing

4. Lifted my mood

5. Helped ease pain and tension

6. Feelings of well-being

7. Significantly less anxiety

8. Weight loss (no joke)

9. Better quality relationships

10. More motivation (depending on strain)

All and all this compound is a godsend for me and everyone else who struggles with the issues above. Not suffering anymore all thanks to kratom.

Christopher Reynolds

I am 54 years old. About 10 years ago I had been addicted to opiates for about a decade. I was in trouble for prescription fraud and my life was about to take a frightening turn. I found myself in jail but when I got out I still had to deal with addiction. Someone had been telling me about kratom. That it was a miracle for people trying to kick addiction. I never would have believed it but it ultimately saved my life and kept me out of going to prison. When TN made it illegal I had already weaned myself to the point that I was able to stop the kratom just in time for that legislature to pass. Without kratom I might have wound up in prison for prescription fraud.

Penny Brand

I’m writing this letter to explain how kratom has changed my life.

Let me just start off by giving a little detail about myself. I am a Disabled United States Army Veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom both as an Army Service Member as well as a Department of Defense Iraq Civilian Contractor. In 04/05, 07/08 and 09/10 I spent nearly a combined 3 years overseas as a soldier and as civilian support. I currently work for my local government and have for nearly 6 years. I come from a strong family background of demonstrated hard work and education. I believe it is important to be an active and positive member of society, always doing the best you can do, taking pride in hard work, having genuine integrity and most of all, taking care of people whether it be on a personal level or by doing what I am doing right now, being their voice and making a stand for what we believe in. This is how I was raised. This is how I raise my children. I would hope this is the kind of citizen MY country would be happy to have.

I am writing this letter to humbly ask you to please keep kratom legal for myself and other responsible adults to have access to. I suffer from many military related injuries and it helps me tremendously without the major negative side effects I receive from taking around 20+ prescription pills a day prescribed by the VA.

Here is some info about my injuries…

I conducted combat operations as a convoy escort and emergency recovery specialist in Iraq and Kuwait. I was a Non Commissioned Officer SGT E-5. As a unit, we conducted 3.1 Million miles of road time throughout Iraq Theater, the most miles conducted by any ground unit since WW2, which was confirmed by a (3 star)Lieutenant General. We would be out for weeks at a time driving the roads providing security or hauling weapons, explosives, military and civilian personnel, sleeping outside, without showers, hot food, you get the picture. We were the supply life line of the infamous battles of Ramadi and Fallujah where we constantly engaged in combat. You may know this region as the stomping grounds of a fallen comrade Chris Kyle, AKA “The Devil of Ramadi”. Did I mention we didn’t have any armor? Thanks for that.

Me being the assigned convoy recovery specialist, it was my job to go back to get the fallen vehicle and personnel, usually while my comrades are continuing to push the civilians through the hot zone leaving me and my partner to stay behind.

While conducting these ridiculously aggressive missions, being involved in constant accidents, and getting all around banged up from the type of work we were doing, it is no surprise I have acquired multiple injuries.

I suffer from Migraines, Insomnia, knee pain and worst of all, I have back and spine pain and 50% nerve damage down my side leaving a constant deep numb with a constant burning feeling surrounding it all. My limbs are constantly tingling and ache. I have been in and out of the VA for a decade. The slowest decade of my life.

I have had multiple full body MRI’s, countless trips to see Physicians, Physical Therapist, Neurologist and Mental Health Physicians. My prescription pill count was up to 20+ per day. These pills have made me feel just awful. They hurt my stomach severely and made me feel dopey and blurry. They want me to contact the pain clinic as I have exhausted all other resources and nothing helps much. I do not like to take prescription pain medication, I don’t like the way it makes me feel but I cannot go to work and do my job under the influence. I MUST have relief but I also MUST work. I want to live. I want to make my family proud.

I do not support pumping your body full of prescription narcotics. Legal drugs are in fact opiates and are the exact substances that cause addiction and lead to many deaths each year. I believe in living as healthy and natural as possible. I believe the people should have access to simple and safe forms of nature products that has natural healing properties. I have found healing properties in kratom. I have been taking natural kratom leaf 3-6 days a week for many years now. It has been a night and day difference. Does it kill pain like a pain killer? I would say No. It is not that strong. Is it effective? Yes. We all know that by taking too many pain killers, many wont wake up the next morning. I just do not see how that is possible with kratom. It is so mild. Are there negative side effects? I must be honest, Yes. If you take too much you will get nauseous. That certainly keep anyone from wanting to consume too much. When you do, it pretty much wont be effective next time. It has to been used in moderation or it pretty much just wont work. That is how mild it is.

I know many people refer to this warm and fuzzy it may make you feel in first few days of using kratom. Some have made claims it is like heroin and narcotics. We’ll Id have to disagree and think that those people don’t have a clue what real physical addiction looks like. Kratom hasn’t directly killed anyone, in fact the opposite, it has helped 1000’s. When stopping kratom use you may get jittery and irritated, maybe, which is much less then side effects from stopping real opiates, which consist of aching, burning, puking, shaking, respiratory failure and etc.

So I beg of you, please, will you take an extra look at Kratom and the voice of the people? I know there is much negative propaganda regarding the subject but we cannot deny the positive light shines through much brighter.

This plant is a miracle. It has changed my life for the better as it has for so many for centuries. Please help keep it legal for me to have access to help with my injuries.

Besides, if public safety is such an important issue, then where was armor???

SGT William F.

For 5 years I was a heroin addict. A junky destroying everything in my path. I was shooting up in the street trying as hard as I could to postpone the heroin withdrawals. I first found out about kratom when I was 22. At first I thought nothing could help, I’ve tried everything to get off. Methadone, Suboxone and everything in between. Nothing worked and it only made me high again. Then I found kratom. It change my life and I would be dead or in jail without it. I have been taking kratom tea for 3 years now and I’ve never felt so alive. I can work without worrying about withdrawal. I can be with my family without destroying their lives. I can live again and without kratom I wouldn’t be here. Kratom is not a menace to society, kratom is what keeps kids off the street and family members addicted to drugs alive.

Jarred

I’ve been using Kratom for almost a year now, and the benefits have been astounding. I’ve been diagnosed with mild depression and generalized anxiety disorder and this plant has done more for me than any drug has. I just make tea with it and drink it throughout the day, like most people do with coffee. I don’t get “high” or impaired, but definitely have slight increased energy (less edgy than caffeine) and an overall sense of well being. I think this is a wonderful herbal medicine and the amount of misinformation being spread is shameful. We should be focused on seeing how Kratom (and other plants) benefits society and enriches people’s lives, not on prohibiting it. It’s safe, it’s effective, it’s natural, and it’s legal. Can’t we just keep it that way?

Phil Fennig

I am a 42 year old female that has to deal with pain every day. When I was two and a car accident and ten nine years ago had an accident with my motorized wheelchair. I went to a pain doctor most of my life and I tried injections and when that didn’t work they gave me pills I have had Morphine and Percocet and others they only kept me doped up and did not help the pain. I tried kratom 5 years ago and it is the only thing that has helped it helped me come off all the pain pills without going through a drug program and it has been very helpful ever since. I have been able to take it and still be alert and not zombiefied. I take white vein during the day and red vein helps me at night

Camerine Green (GA)

Even though I’m only 32 I have suffered for years with chronic pains from endometriosis to brain cancer. I’ve had too many surgeries to count, including a craniotomy. As you can imagine, along with having brain cancer comes pain. By having a craniotomy, comes being classified as having a traumatic brain injury which brings depression and severe social anxiety which is partly due to coming to terms with ‘my new self’. I was once considered above average intelligence and was a nurse. Now I have problems focusing, relaying words/meaning and stuttering. Since finding Kratom, my 10 year dependence on narcotic pain medications has been GREATLY reduced. I’m now able to play with my toddler!!! If you have ever had a rambunctious 2 year old, you know how hard that can be. By backing off the pain meds, I have more of an appetite, which is what I need to keep up with my daughter and fight this horrible disease. I believe that Kratom should only be used responsibly and by adults. Yet why should those using it responsibly be punished? We have to keep Kratom legal!! The state legislators and FDA are stating that ’it’s a concern’. Maybe it’s just my brain tumor thinking, but why not do the research? Why not also state that Kratom has been used in southeastern Asia for hundreds of years? Praying that Kratom remains legal.

Ashley Thrash (GA)

Hello, my name is Michael. I am 20 years old and a Georgia resident. I am currently enrolled in college. I have been diagnosed with moderate-severe anxiety and panic attacks since I have been in high school. My psychiatrist prescribed me anti depressants and Xanax to help. I do not suffer from depression and I find that they do not help. While the Xanax does help, it often leaves my memory foggy and I feel sluggish. Also, I have seen many people become dependent on it. Since I have discovered Kratom, I take low doses in the mornings to help control my anxiety. I really prefer kratom over prescription medications because it is all natural and I do not feel any negative side effects from its use. I also find this bill very concerning because three out of the four sponsors of the bill are PHARMACISTS. I pray that you make the right decision and chose not to legislate an all natural herbal supplement as an illegal drug.

Micheal Thompson

Kratom has significantly helped me get off of opiate pain medication and deal with the chronic pain I have daily. I am an amputee and live with phantom limb syndrome. It has been the only thing that has given me energy, eased my pain, calmed my anxiety and all without becoming addicted to or dependent on this amazing herb. I’m one of millions of people whose lives have been saved whether it’s from being able to get off of drugs, legal and illegal, or get through life minute by minut,e hour by hour without pain and discomfort. Please do not ban this amazing herb. Doing so will create so many problems, heartbreak and despair when it comes to addiction. This has been a wonder for so many.

Joanna Spielberg

I’m one of those people put on 25+ years of prescribed medication = unhappy, unhealthy and unwilling to to carry on. I was like sand through several of their (doctors) fingers under their “care” what a joke. Here’s why Kratom is so VITAL to me.

Finally thinking I was getting the surgery I needed to “fix the underlying problem/causes” meant going to a surgeon who didn’t believe in opiate pain meds. However. I was already tolerant to six kinds of heavy hitting opiates so off to rehab I went. Dropped all the so called big named drugs to exchange them for the worst one of all, SUBOXONE! Then at my pre-op appointment I was for the first time ever called a drug addict and thrown out of the surgeons office. He said he didn’t believe in Suboxone either and said he never agreed with the rehab doc to let me stay on it between rehab and the surgery two months down the road. The rehab doctor talked to my primary care physician and the surgeon in regards to my pain management and there were some mix-ups or something going on. I knew I couldn’t go two months with no pain management at all. For over a year I stayed on Suboxone. I finally found a surgeon to do the surgery it was a bust, it didn’t help at all. I was put in recovery with a patient with a severe staph infection. five days later I was brought back to the hospital with a raging staph infection in my spinal cord and blood. It went antibiotic resistant and the infection got way out of hand! The Center for Disease control were finally called in and became my doctors. There is only one antibiotic that they save for last resort cases like mine. They finally beat it with that and another surgery to eradicate infected tissue and bone. I lost 45 pounds in a month and a half. I got severe thrush in my mouth and esophagus. Water in my mouth felt like acid for a month. The whole ordeal took five months to kick. The staph now lays dormant in my bones. A surgery, I’m told could reawaken it and it would be extremely bad for me! I never got the surgery I needed because the surgeon wasn’t able to schedule me. His partner said he could do a lesser procedure and “let’s see if that’s enough”, it wasn’t. Now I’ll never ever find a surgeon who will see past my flagged charts that SCREAM do not erupt bone in me for any reason due to my infection! There I sat back on Suboxone for another eight years sitting daily in so much pain. I have spinal stenosis in two places, mixed connective tissue disease, disk degenerative disease, two pinched nerves, arthritis and … and … and!!! Although not fixed, I’m truly grateful for Kratom because I can’t function normally on opiate medications. I have detoxed myself off the eight plus years of Suboxone my pain management doctors put me back on and now I’m also getting off of my last known med, Neurontin. That’s another tough over prescribed drug to detox from. I couldn’t do it without the help of Kratom. My doctors would easily put me on a morphine pump to deal with my current pain levels. However it only leads to anti-depressants, anti-anxiety med’s along with it because pain meds depress me and make me anxious. On a daily basis I thoroughly rely on Kratom for all I need.

I’m a functioning mother of two, co-own a very busy lawn, landscaping, snowplowing business and work another full time job while taking care of two Collie puppies. None of which I could have done on pain meds before. When my kids were little I used to get them ready for school then practically stay in bed almost all day until they came home on the bus. I can’t tell you how different I feel because of Kratom. If I had only had it at the beginning of all of this who knows the different path I could have taken. If Kratom is ever taken away from me I’ll have no choice but to get back on opiates and let the evil cycle start all over again! No way…. I’d rather die!! In no way have I ever not been able to function at my jobs or been in so much pain I had to miss days on Kratom. I’ve never fallen asleep at work or almost at the wheel like I did while on opiates. I’ve never felt “high” on Kratom. Believe me I’ve been in enough pain to want to take a little more than usual but quickly found out that’s not the case with Kratom. Less is more or else you’ll be sick to your stomach. Gods way of keeping you in check I always say to the many newcomers I try to help with their pain or come off other drugs or opiates. I have even put together a users guide and layman terms for my own doctor so that he can learn about why I won’t let him write me anymore prescriptions because I’m covered for whatever ails me with Kratom. If I won the 400 million dollar Powerball I’d give the AKA 50 Million just to help people like me never have to worry that when all is finally right in their world and pain, depression and anxiety are all things in their past they don’t have to worry their freedom to use Kratom won’t be taken away.

I’m extremely sorry for this mothers loss but Kratom does NOT kill. Kratom when taken from a reputable source is safe. I would be reaching for something to blame my child’s death on too but these parents need to let the medical examiners do their jobs and determine the real cause because they are taking away our right to use a natural remedy for our detox, pain and anxiety needs. Which are safer managed in this way than with unsafe FDA approved medication that’s killing people daily. Thank you for your time and please don’t make millions of people suffer because they are wrongly blaming Kratom!!

Sincerely, Jennifer Base

I lost my job and my insurance five years ago. For over a year I could no longer get my medicine. I got to where I wanted to die. It is my belief the God sent me kratom. Without it I want to die so I need to keep my access to kratom. hasn’t done anything to me like the pills did, I’m cleared headed.

Cheryl Feny

I have been taking kratom for two years. I suffer from anxiety and slight depression. Since I have been taking kratom my anxiety is nearly gone. It helps with my mood as well.

Sean Fitzgerald

Chronic pain patient. I have Scoliosis, spinal stenosis, DDD, two bulging discs, one herniated, nerve damage, scar tissue, arthritis in spine and facet joints. I’m sick of Big Pharma crap. Found Kratom and it saved my life. I use all different kinds of kratom depending on my need at the time.

Sabrina C Gifford

I’m a 47 yr old high school teacher and mother of two. I’ve always been really active on my own and with my kids. As years went by my fatigue and widespread pain free until I barely got out of bed. I was diagnosed with osteo arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Fibromyalgia. All of this on top of the IBS, displaced cervical discs, degenerated discs, TMJ Disorder, and migraines that I had been being diagnosed with since the 8th grade. We tried the Cymbalta, Lyrica, and gabapentin (Norco for only the worst of days). With each, I got worse instead of better. Within six months I had packed on 60lbs and could barely function through the basic necessities of daily living. I seriously gave thought to removing myself from this planet. I ran across someone who told me about Kratom for pain and fatigue. I researched it for a bit and eventually gave it a try. I was amazed at the pain relief, energy, anxiety relief, and mood boost that it gave me. I used it to take myself off of one pharmaceutical at a time. It took months and the withdrawals from Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Gabapentin were horrid. The only pharmaceuticals that I still use are Enbrel injections, muscle relaxers, and the very rare Norco. Kratom has given me my life back. I’m a functioning interactive mom and high school teacher again. I gain no “euphoria” or “high” with Kratom. There’s no intellectual mud fines, like with opiates or the antidepressants previously prescribed. The only side effect, if I take too much, is nausea. I switch strains each dose to keep my tolerance low, at 3-6 grams. I still feel pain 24/7 but it’s quite tolerable most days and I gladly smile again. We MUST keep Kratom legal so that I can keep my life.

Connie Fuller

I am a stay at home Mom. I am 42 and I’ve been taken this plant for almost a yr now. I am clean and sober from alcohol and pills. I suffer from cyst on ovaries and Endometriosis. I can’t imagine my life without it.

Brandy McCullough

I am a 45 year old Director of Nursing. I suffer from extreme anxiety. I spent most of my adult life taking Xanax and other narcotics to relieve these symptoms. I moved to St. Petersburg two years ago and was introduced to a botanical tea house. Soon after I found that I no longer needed any pharmacological remedy. The effects of Kratom are subtle and very effective. I drink 3-4 Maeng Da Thai Kratom teas daily. This Botanical has been a blessing. I am a professional and much prefer the subtle affects of Kratom to narcotics such as Xanax. Keep Kratom legal!!

Kathy Lincoln

Back in 2006 I had a major drinking problem (Alcohol) I also had an addiction to Cigarettes. Drank and smoked all the time! While I was living on the Island of Saipan a girl from Thailand I met introduced me to Kratom Tea. She told me to try it, so I did. This was January 09 2006. So after a few weeks passed by I would begin having more Kratom Tea and less Alcohol and it seemed my tobacco addiction was getting less and less! In October 2006 I gave up smoking all together! I did not stop drinking completely but I cut way back! When I heard FL, NY and GA are going to make this plant illegal I was shocked to say the least! This plant will help you stop other dangerous addictions! 10 years later on Kratom I am in excellent health in my mid 40’s, I no longer drink as well! I am healthy at my age, not overweight, blood pressure is great! If this gets taken away. I fear I would fall into my old patterns again! Please FL, NY, GA research this before making it illegal! With the Heroin epidemic nationwide, you would be causing more harm than you realize!

TED T.

My name is Connie Tucker, I’m a 57- year old female from Georgia and I’d like to voice my concern about HB 783. I want to share my heart with all of you. I heard about Kratom from a Fibromyalgia support group. I was very active until eight years ago when I passed out at church and landed on the floor on my face. For the last seven years I have been in the worst pain of my life plus not sleeping all night. I have Fibromyalgia, joint pain, Arthritis and back pain. I have tried pain medicine from the doctors but that made me real sick. I was on the floor sick more than I was up doing anything. I had to leave work a lot because I was sick and in a fog from the pain medicine my job was on the line. I started useing Kratom 6 months ago I had to stop taking the pain meds that because they made me sick. I have also quit taking the Gabapentin. That drug kept me in a fog that I could not function on top of the Vicodin for pain which made me sick. Kratom has given me my life back. I sleep all night. I have gone back to work full time. I can do the motorcycle ministry that God gave me to do. I am able to ride my bike again, which I love to do, to raise funds for local charities. Without this amazing natural alternative I would not be able to help with these charities.

I beg you not to take this from me as it has given me a second chance at life. I want to live now.

Have not felt high or in a fog from taking Kratom. I’ve been more like the me before my accident. Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important medicinal uses. It has changed my life for the good. I’m asking you to please vote against HB783. Austin Scott is the Representative for this district. I believe my district is located in the 8th congressional district of Georgia.

Connie Tucker (GA)

Age 55, Senior Infrastructure Engineer. Kratom dramatically reduces the frequency of debilitating migraines I have in a month. Without the use of Kratom I will loose days at work due to migraines.

Gary Fry

I am a 42 year old female that has to deal with pain every day from a broken neck injury when I was 2 and a car accident. I had another accident with my motorized wheelchair 9 years ago. I went to a pain doctor a lot of my life. I tried injections and when that didn’t work they gave me pills. I have had Morphine, Percocet and others but they only kept me doped up and did not help the pain. I tried kratom five years ago. It is the only thing that has helped it helped me come off all the pain pills without going through a drug program and it has been very helpful ever since. I have been able to take it and still be alert and not zombiefied. I take white vein during the day and red vein helps me at night.

Catherine Green

I’m 30 years old and I’m a university trained herbalist and botanical medicine researcher. I am also a healed chronic pain patient. I was in bed for around 4 years due to severe fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy. That is until I found the plants to heal me. Anywho, I heard about y’all and I wanted to say way to go! I’m glad someone is protecting this plant medicine. I use it for rare flare ups of my neuropathy, specifically induced by repetitive motion.

This summer I also got a little community education out on it. I performed a sponsored, 2 month solo canoe trip where I cataloged medicinal plants of Alabama this past summer. I guest wrote a blog for several of my sponsors. I had a readership of around 132,000 people and in my blog post on building a first aid kit I included kratom. Since I had severe neuropathy flare up from paddling every day I ended up using it a lot for relief.

Yall keep up the good work!

Trevor

I am 47 years old. Before I found Kratom my life was a mess. I have been a drinker since the age of 13. I have had lots of physical and mental abuse in my younger day. Therefore scarred forever with frightening memories of my past which still causes me a lot of anxiety to this day. I tried to drink the thoughts of my past away to try and forget. However, all that did was put into a deep depression which made me start drinking all over again. My body aches without the use of kratom, so much that I don’t want to get out of my bed . I have migraines in which the doctors prescribed meds which made my head feel like I had electrical currents going through it.

I did lots of research online and found information about kratom and it has changed my life for the better. I know longer drink. It’s been 8 months since picking up a bottle of the hard stuff. My migraines have ceased and my mood has been lifted. I can function better on a daily basis. I work on the phones in customer service and I can deal with the angry customer where before I was ready to give up. I can say it has saved my job as well. I never want to be a day without alcohol for I fear all of the bad memories aches and pains will come back. I’m still experimenting with different strains but find the reds and white get me through another day. This is my story..short version and I appreciate someone listening to me and giving me the opportunity to share my story. Many blessings to you reading and thank you for fighting to keep the plant a safe option for me to use.

Dawn Coyde

I’m a 37yr old and I’m a plumber. I have chronic pain in my neck and back due to a car accident, and 15 years of working in plumbing. I used to go to pain management but all they did was give me dangerous drugs and pain patches. Then I was told the only other option was injections, with potential side effects.

I found kratom when I was looking for a safe natural alternative. I figured there was nothing, but then I discovered Kratom. It really is a God send. The pain killers take a toll on you physically and mentally. With Kratom there is none of the negative only the positive. I have a better sense of well being again.

Nick Salemo

I have struggled with depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia for years. I discovered kratom about two months ago and honestly this herb has been more helpful than my prescription antidepressants. I cannot believe there are people who spread lies and want this wonderful herb to be banned. I am very happy you guys are involved in the fight to keep kratom legal and I would like to do whatever I can to help.

Ethan Ross

I am a family nurse practitioner and I have seen Kratom save lives, including mine. I deal with opiate addictions everyday, and face the staggering statistic that over 500 people per year die from accidental pain killer overdoses in Washington alone! Kratom is not even capable of coming close. In fact, none of the ER doctors that I know have ever even heard of it, which means they haven’t seen anyone hurt by it.

The sheer potential for using this as a natural alternative to opiates should have us all researching this rather than trying to ban it.

Please keep this plant legal and accessible.

H.L.

I am a 63 year old or young depending on how you look at it female. I work in the grocery business (retail). I have been using kratom for about 10 years now. I usually use extracts. It has been extremely useful for pain relief ( I have sciatica) and and chronic dental pain for the last two years. I also like the feeling of well being. I seem to get more done around the house and garden. Kratom has kept me off opiates for the last 10 years. I do not feel that long term effects are damaging like narcotics (opiates). I am familiar with the side effects and withdrawal of narcotics and I find kratom to be much kinder to my body and mind.

Jinx Galitzeck

A little over a year ago I began taking low doses of a plant that I feel is a gift. Prior to this, I had just moved to a new city for school where I knew no one. As a person who suffers from crippling social anxiety, low doses of Kratom help ease me into social situations and assist in empathy. Thanks to Kratom I was able to meet new people and kindle a social circle in my new school. This, obviously, has changed my life for the better. After over a year of use, I have found no negative side effects from Kratom. In fact, it’s helped bolster my immune system as well as help with the social anxiety. Also, I recently hurt my wrist pretty badly in a skateboarding accident. Higher doses of Kratom allowed me to stay away from harmful synthetic pain killers, giving a me natural and safer (less addictive as well) alternative.

Kratom has positively impacted my life in numerous different ways, and I stand behind its use.

Scott Levine

I was diagnosed with MS 20 years ago. I have what’s known as RRMS or relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The first 10 years was manageable with my youth and unshakable will power; the relapses weren’t that bad. As time went on and as I got older, my MS got worse. The relapses were lasting longer and causing a lot more pain and hence started my nightmare on an opioid dependent path.

My life became horribly unmanageable as I suffered from not one disease but now two and where my health was once my main focus, my addiction to prescription opioid pain medicine took over. My life was completely out of control and I was tangled in the nightmare of living in constant debilitating pain and a slave to prescription pain medicine. Once I started taking the opioids they never gave me the option to go without them. I tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the pain medicine using Suboxone and discovered that I had merely traded one demon for another. Every time I tried to stop using the pain medicine or the Suboxone the withdrawal symptoms were horrible and eventually the pain medicine stopped working all together. My life was in complete shambles and I was now doing things that I could have landed me in jail. I hated my life, I hated my body, I hated me and I wanted to die.

I didn’t want to be in pain and I didn’t want to be a slave to the prescription pain medicine. I just wanted to die and couldn’t see an alternative to carrying on my life. I came to a “cliff” in my life. Now I was considering using heroin even though I had lost three friends to the drug. I was considering it only because it was cheaper than buying the pain medicine and from what I heard, it would last longer. I hated myself for ever getting to this place. The pain medicine consumed every aspect of my life and destroyed me. I was once a vibrant, successful, happy, loving life person with house, a great job, nice cars and fabulous social life but now I was living alone in a hotel, barely making ends meat, and driving a 26 year old car that hardly ran. The only friends I had were friends who could find me pills and I no longer knew was a social life was.

One night, while I was living in the run down hotel, I was broke, out of pills, and really feeling bad. I was desperate and just started asking anyone if they knew where to find pills when a man staying in the hotel offered me a tea. I remember him trying to explain what Kratom was but I wasn’t really listening. I was just focused on feeling better and he promised me it would. I was at a cross roads that night. I was in a place where I had to make a choice and my options were heroin or kill myself because I couldn’t handle my life. Then this man walked in with Kratom. He kept his promise and I did start to feel better that night. God sent me an angel that night and answered my prayers.

As time went on I learned more and more about Kratom. I used Kratom to get off of the pain meds with SUCCESS, where every other option and attempt failed. Now I use Kratom to manage my pain associated with the MS. I have my life back. I’ve got it back together. There is no more risky behavior that could land me in jail. I don’t feel like I’m going to die when I don’t have it and because I don’t suffer debilitating withdrawal symptoms from it when I don’t have it, I can now tell when I don’t need it. It doesn’t give me the debilitating hang over that opioid pain pills give you where you have to sleep for days on end just to recover. My thoughts are clear. My life is manageable. I’m happy again and most of all I don’t want to die. I can’t imagine how our government would prefer me using opioid pain medicine when it destroyed my life. Using Kratom, the natural herb, that SAVED MY LIFE!

Christine Veit Kreul (GA)

I’m 28 this month and have been off and on opiates since I was 16. I had a bad accident and had a major surgery and that’s when my addiction began. I run mixers for Elmer’s and I’m constantly on my feet. I always took pain meds so I could function but finding kratom has let me break free from the chains of opiate addiction. In no way do I think it should be illegal anywhere. It has helped my life tremendously and I’m so much happier with myself and my life!

Matthew Bloomer

Kratom has been nothing short of life changing for me. I was in a pretty bad depression back in 2013. My grades were suffering as a result and any one who has been depressed before can tell you it can be a very lonely time. It got to the point that my parents wanted to pull me out of college, get me home, and put me on antidepressants.

I began researching antidepressants and was horrified by some of the stories people had with these synthetic solutions. I stumbled across kratom and thought I’d give it a try.

Wow. I would be lying if I said that kratom alone cured my depression and got me back on track in life. However, it pointed me in the right direction. Kratom gave me a much needed positive outlook on life, non-jittery energy, and amazing stress relief that enabled me to pursue my goals and passions without polluting my body and mind with synthetic chemicals.

I truly believe that kratom, when used responsibly, has the ability to immediately benefit anyone’s life. Like anything it should be used in moderation. However, after seeing the effect it’s had on my life as well as the life of those around me I swear by it these days.

Braydon Janecek

The first time I tried kratom, I had a huge smile creep across my face out of nowhere and had an urge to listen to some good music. I started dancing and singing all around my place. I was in a great mood, no negative thoughts at all.

I moved to my new condo for December and the place was still a mess. Boxes everywhere that needed to be unpacked and furniture that had to be assembled. It seemed like a huge task but after kratom it seemed simple. Everything got done that night, I even sent pictures to my friends who helped me move and they couldn’t believe how much I got done. I had the place set up in one night. Right away, I knew I was going to love this type of motivation.

The motivation I feel on kratom is through the roof. I was able to get a website up in days that I had been working on for weeks tweaking. After taking kratom I just feel like I can cut the useless stuff out, get to the point and deal with little tweaks later if I really need to. Had I not been using kratom, I would most likely be making tiny adjustments to my site for months.

While taking kratom the small things don’t seem to bother me at all like they used to. Stuck in traffic, no problem. I can also take time to appreciate the simple things in life much more. Walks with my dog have never been so pleasant.

If I have a huge task at hand, I feel like I can break it up and its not so threatening the way it used to be.

I could go on and on about how much kratom has improved my life and brought my overall happiness to a point I never thought it would be. I used to be such a negative person. While using kratom my thought process is so good it made me realize this is the way things should be. Even when I’m not using kratom that carries over and that’s HUGE!

Dan Angelo

My name is Dawna, I’m a 37-year old mother of five. I suffer from Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Anorexia Nervosa, PTSD, RLS, and a host of other things. I was diagnosed with Lupus in 2004 but was born with it. In 2006 I suffered a stroke, leaving me paralyzed on my left side for months. I am happy to report I am almost fully healed from it. I have been on narcotics for years to relieve the pain from my combined illnesses and was introduced to Kratom a few months ago and have already found it INCREDIBLY HELPFUL!!! Even my husband, who is skeptic of EVERYTHING, loves it!! He is on narcotics as well and has lowered his daily dose by more than half and so have I. I’m so thankful to have been introduced to the wonderful world of Kratom, and will continue to use it faithfully. My goal is to be off ALL my narcotics and benzos by the end of the year. Wish me luck!!!

Dawna Chilton – (OR)

I’m 57 yrs. old and suffer from degenerative arthritis and two herniated discs. I’ve been on pain meds for at least 10 years and they plain just quit working. Kratom is the only thing that continues to work for me. It reduces the swelling at joints, and helps with the depression that comes with the pain. I have totally stopped using opiate pain killers.

It doesn’t seem to build a tolerance and if I don’t have it I don’t get irritable like I did with prescriptions if they ran out. I would honestly say it’s about as addictive as coffee. Maybe not even as much… you don’t want see me without my coffee.

Kratom has made all the difference for me.

James A. Abbott (OH)

I have never had an addiction to pain-killers, hardcore drugs (heroin, etc), nor have I been in intense and relentless pain before..

So I have never utilized kratom for any of these aforementioned reasons.

I have experienced more than moderate and relentless bouts of depression and anxiety, though.

Kratom allowed me to live my life without apology. It showed me what I was capable of; I could finally exist in a social environment without being full of anxiety. Not only is kratom great for killing anxiety, it also helps negate depression and gives me motivation and energy to improve my mind and body.

I’ve experienced the upsides, and downsides of kratom. I can tell you can experience that the downsides, which include mild addiction and short-lived nausea, are far outweighed by the upsides. Your body will reject kratom if you take too much, and you’ll be normal again within 12-24 hours.

The positives of kratom, far outweigh the negatives. If used responsibly, you avoid every single one of the limited negative effects of kratom. Please keep kratom legal, so I can continue to live life free of anxiety and depression.

Chris Lenahan

I am 41 and a manager at a fast food chain in Jacksonville, Florida. I suffer from bulging disks. I was introduced to Kratom about four months ago. I have taken prescription pills before but they make me throw up so I quit taking them and just dealt with the pain. I have bulging disks among other aches and pains, trouble sleeping and bad anxiety. It’s the first time in 20 years I haven’t had back pain which causes pain all the way down my leg. I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke cigarettes. I take my Kratom and I’m able to go to work everyday. Two years ago there was a time I couldn’t get out of bed and also had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. Scary. I’m so thankful for this miracle plant. Thank the wonderful Lord above for making and growing this miracle plant. Amen.

Contessa Faye Coffey (FL)

My name is Connie Fuller. I am a high school teacher in Texas. I have several diagnoses that involve chronic and acute pain. I have lived in pain since my early teens. I live in chronic and acute pain 24/7. If I’m taking RX meds (opiates, antidepressants, anti-seizure), I’m in a blurry fog, unable to see clearly or think clearly, unable to care for others or support them emotionally, unable to focus. My organs are damaged due to prescribed pharmaceuticals (as are my teeth) which means more meds and medical issues. Further, these types of prescriptions are all highly addictive and difficult to stop using. In recent years there have been plenty of lawsuits against pharmaceuticals proving so. I’m fortunate that my insurance is fairly good, but with two teens to take care of financially and support emotionally, I can’t afford all the different doctor appointments, tests, treatments and drugs.

I’ve lived in that position long enough. Thanks to Kratom, I am working again teaching high school, clear-headed and focused. I’m able to get up and down the stairs. I’m able and look forward to interacting with my kids and family. I smile again. I still hurt and have really bad days, but I’m 10 times better than I was on prescribed pharmaceuticals. I no longer think about death and suicide daily. My anxiety level is drastically reduced.

People don’t “get high” on Kratom. They do “get high” on pharmaceuticals and the government is hurting legitimately sick and injured people because of the idiots that abuse those pharmaceuticals, and now they want to take our natural resources away, too. If Kratom is acquired from a legitimate source that regularly tests their products for purity, then there are no bad side effects or tragedies. If one takes too much, they get nauseous and throw up. That’s it. It’s no more addicting than coffee and sodas, and withdrawals consist of a mild headache.

It’s been a miracle for me and my family. My kids love that Mom actually wants to have a conversation with them. I even made it, by choice, to the mall with my daughter last weekend, and to a movie with my son two weeks ago. I’ll take all natural plant leaves, used for centuries by those without access to doctors and pharmaceuticals, over big money pharmaceutical companies and organ damage any day. Seriously, if we go back in time and look into the rates of serious illnesses and chronic long term pain disorders, back before our intelligence led us to develop all these synthetic drugs and made us rely on nature, I believe you would find lower rates of these disorders, as well as addictions and overdose tragedies.

I don’t like liars or bribery and that pretty much sums up pharmaceuticals, in my opinion. They have a place, but they aren’t the be all, end all for chronic pain. Look at the growing number of physicians that urge patients to look into natural supplements, lotions and oils these days. Even they see the potential for benefiting from what God has given us.

Thank you for taking the time to read my views and experiences.

Connie Fuller – La Vernia, Texas

I am a 52 year old woman who worked 25 years in the technical field of the Auto Industry. I eventually became a buyer. I was also president of a woman’s fishing club and a semi-professional bass angler.

I was diagnosed in 1999 with Fibromialgia, had two operations in 2002, forced into a medical retirement at age 42. Had to go on disability after being diagnosed with PHN as well. I had another surgery in 2008 and another in 2011 after being diagnosed with Avascular necrosis.

I was prescribed everything from Oxicontin to Suboxone to finally a seven year addiction to Tramadol ER.

Thanks to Kratom, I am off the Trmadol since last year! I will never take another one. I have not needed any Kratom in two weeks. This is truly a wonderful plant when used responsibly.

I lost my brother to a lethal overdose of opiates given to him by a hospital. They put a Fentanol patch on him that was too strong after a routine shoulder surgery and he was dead by morning. My best friend was also killed via prescribed opiates after a back surgery. She was only 42. Pharmaceuticals like opiates and narcotics kill people by the thousands each day. Kratom alone has killed NO ONE! Don’t ban what nature has created and as you can see, has helped so many live a new life again.

Cynthia Wiebelhaus

I’ve been chronically depressed, lazy, apathetic and just an overall nonfunctional person for about as long as I can remember.

It’s now been 3 months since I started taking kratom and everything in my life has changed since then.

Kratom has by far and large been the most significant and effective treatment for my depression that I’ve ever come across. NOTHING else has done so much to lift me up from the depths of my misery as kratom has. No amount of counseling or medicines or treatments have managed to put me at the level I’m at today.

Before kratom I was a depressed, sluggish, anxiety ridden, irresponsible, unmotivated, anti-social and cold hearted individual. Today I’m a much more positive, hard working, diligent and outgoing person than I can ever remember being. Using kratom has been the foundation of the new lifestyle I’m building for myself. I’ve gotten my motivation back. I’ve gotten my self esteem back. Instead of waking up every day thinking about how awful my life is, I think about what I can do to make myself a better, happier and more productive person than I was yesterday.

Had I not begun taking kratom 3 months ago I would be the same person I was before. Probably much worse. I don’t even like to think about all the negativity that would be casting a shadow over my life right now.

I take kratom 3-5 times a week on a rotation of 8 different variants and I have never experienced any type of withdrawal or negative side effects from using it. When used responsibly such as in the manner that I use it, kratom is NOT addictive.

There are many people out there like myself who have found kratom to be an extremely effective anti-depression treatment and many many more who have discovered the life changing powers of kratom to end opiate addiction. It would be a critical mistake to make this supplement illegal.

Keep in mind that methamphetamine,. a highly toxic drug which ruins thousands of peoples lives in the US every year, is still prescribed to this day to treat ADHD. To ban an uplifting natural supplement but continue to allow the prescription of a poisonous narcotic would be an incredible fluke.

Please take this into consideration. There is no reason to take away this amazing natural supplement from the thousands of people who are already using it to regain their lives and the tens of millions more who could benefit from what responsible kratom use has to offer to them.

Jason Silva

I am 28 and a father of two girls, one is six and the other three years old. I work for Gulf Coast Landscaping and own South Coast Botanicals, which I just started in December. Kratom allowed me to get off of the Methadone program which was only making my addiction, and life in general, worse. I could not hold conversations with people and I, as well as my daily life, was extremely dull. I couldn’t keep a job either due to the stigma of such a nasty “junkie drug”. Most are aware it gets you high like any other opiate drug, but under the facade of maintaining, in hopes of being accepted. Ha, I don’t blame them. Your (methadone ‘maintenance patient) reaction time is slower, I’d get blurry vision, and even have hallucinations at times. It causes your teeth to rot out and you have really bad mood swings and detrimental sugar cravings. Your looked at and treated like crap as a methadone user. In the clinic and out. They care little for your well being and allow patients to mix other drugs without punishment. Ridiculous. Obvious money-game. IMHO. They allow patients to go upwards to 120+ mg of methadone when it is not needed for most. These amounts of methadone, whose half life is at least 24 hours, get saturated in your body making it all but “impossible” to get off of… as most assume. The physical and mental anguish from a methadone detox is unfathomable and renders you absolutely useless to the world for two to four months. Unless of course your able to aquire a proven; safe herb called mitragyna speciosa aka kratom. Which has been used for thousands of years by the indigenous peoples of South East Asia… with very little health concern, compared to the conventional western synthetic medicine which is very toxic in itself s a whole. You want to argue that its “addictive”… but so is alcohol, shopping, gambling, smoking, internet, video games, sugar, caffeine, etc. The ist can go on. None of the aforementioned are illegal, at most they have an age restriction. All also being more harmful to one’s health and/or lifestyle. Kratom is loaded with anti oxidants which target free radicals among other benefits. It contains constituents of green tea like EGCG… which is very good for your health. Kratom offers a clean, non jittery energy boost with great pain control and gives you a great ense of well being, and best yet is is ever so subtle, allowing one to operate and go on with their demanding lives with motivation and comfortably. It acts as a great anti depressant and surpasses SSRI’s efficacy to the issue… without making you suicidal or zombified schizophrenic. Its pretty clear to me, as well as other countless billions, that we need a change in the way treatment is applied for our physical and mental/emotional problems and health issues. I’m jot sure where id be right now if it wasn’t for kratom allowing me to stop my methadone intake in one day.. but I know I wouldn’t be the father I am now or nearly as capable with my Sciatica Nerve damage and depression issues.. which are clearing up now and diminishing (I think it was the synthetics). I take frequent breaks with my kratom usage to prevent tolerance and withdrawals are not an issue with kratom. Unlike many other medicines. I urge you to take these words into consideration as they are from the heart and for the betterment of humanity. Please do more research and dont let money get in the way of your people’s health. Peace n love. Have a great day.

Daniel Frederick Schroeder

I’ve suffered from anxiety and OCD since I was a kid, and I recently had a 3 month long ‘episode’. I was depressed, anxious, and had little to no motivation.

Then I came upon the natural herb known as kratom. I decided to try it. Long story short, I have been using it for three months every single day and have completely wiped out my anxiety. You do the math.

I feel more focused. I feel more motivated. I feel happier. I am more productive. I have even started a profitable business in the last couple months–and a good deal of credit goes to kratom.

And guess what? Not one single side effect. Not one. If used properly, tolerance is not an issue, and neither is addiction. I went on vacation for two weeks and stopped taking it. Nothing even resembling ‘withdrawal’.

Kratom is a plant. It is not debilitating. In fact, it enhances your life and helps you improve yourself. No impairment like alcohol, no laziness and sloth like marijuana. Kratom is absolutely a safe and effective herb.

Liam Harrod

I am a 67 year old former PreSchool teacher disabled for many, many years. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 24 years ago. This began my journey into severe, 24/7 pain. Medications entered my life…including morphine and codeine. I then developed spinal stenosis, facet joint syndrome,and several ruptured disks. Pain became my constant companion. No one, I repeat, no one has the vaguest idea of what that is like unless they suffer it also.I read about Kratom by chance and decided to try it. What did I have to lose? It works! It enabled me to stop my codeine sulphate tablets and I am confident it will help me eliminate other drugs I am prescribed. I had lost “me” and Kratom is bringing “me” back. I’ve gone from someone who cannot do common, everyday living tasks to someone who CAN do so much more. Play with my grandchildren, take a shower without pain..yes…showers hurt. Cook a meal…go shopping for groceries..the list goes on and on.

Have you ever really looked at a side effects sheet? I mean the one you are supposed to get (in the box, and don’t) carefully? The side effects are horrendous..terrifying..can be fatal at times. Why do I want that???Kratom has no side effects . If you take more than your body needs…you vomit it up. It cannot be compared to marijuana…it does NOT make you high. You become pain free or have less pain…making your mood improve. You receive more energy..also making mood improve. The is no euphoria… I compare it to feeling the way a normal person feels. Kratom is a Godsend. After all, God placed it on this earth. If “they” make Kratom illegal, I do not know what I’ll do. The highest rate of death for fibro sufferers is suicide..38%. I don’t know the rate when overall chronic pain sufferers are added, I shudder to think. Kratom has saved my life!

Sandra L. Dubble

I first heard about Kratom in a chronic pain group I joined on Facebook because I had gotten so lonely in my life with not having anyone to understand my struggle on a daily basis.

Chronic pain wears a person down over time. Even the toughest will crack. I’ve spent over 12 years battling pain from bulging discs, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, bursitis, and bone spurs just to name a few. I also fight depression on a regular basis.

I’ve been prescribed pain pills, anti depressants, anti inflammatory medicines and even decided on having back surgery in 2012 to try and “fix” my back issues. The surgery ended up making my back worse. There hasn’t been a medicine I’ve tried that has actually worked on any of my pain, until Kratom.

Kratom allows me to live a more productive life. I’m happier, I’m livelier. I’m able to enjoy my grand baby. I don’t have to go through life in a fog. My thoughts are clearer. I’m a better me, all because of Kratom.

Dawn Edler

My name is Jeffrey Lee Rynearson. Kratom has changed my life completely. Before I found Kratom, I was unable to function adequately within society. I suffer from severe clinical depression, moderate anxiety disorder, ADHD and moderate arthritis in my back at age 31. I was relatively dysfunctional before I found Kratom. Kratom has resolved almost all of these issues, almost entirely. It has been for the most part, a cure-all. That may sound hard to believe, but that is exactly what it looks like to me.

I can now be a productive person, without having to take my prescription narcotics, anti-depressants, or anxiety medication. I can get by without any of those medications now, except for those rare days where I have excruciating pain my back which is accompanied by muscle spams that can last for days. Kratom has raised the quality of my life multitudes, by ceasing that which made me suffer. It allows me to lead a normal and healthy life, to grow and prosper by allowing me be function, to be a productive member to society, and to help others too, who have given to me. It allows me to be all I can be, without the limitations I thought I was stuck with, for life and without the side effects of pharmaceuticals.

I have now been married for many years, and I’m happy. I own my own business, of respectable size and profit. I have two degrees pending a graduation too. I am a member of the International Honors Society for two year colleges known as Phi Theta Kappa, and National Honors, Sigma Kappa Delta. I’m a great dad to three adopted children and I have one of my own. I love my life and I love Kratom.

Jeffrey Lee Rynearson

I am 57 years old and my father’s caregiver of 9 years. Kratom takes my pain away, calms my anxiety and alleviates my depression without affecting my personality or leaving me with a drugged, foggy headed feeling like prescription pills do. I finally have my life back. After years of being damaged by doctor prescribed pharmaceuticals,. my life is worth living again and I am enjoying each day and living life to the fullest! I am finally free of the symptoms of debilitating illnesses and the drugs prescribed for them!!

Dan Cleveland

I’ve suffered from anxiety and OCD since I was a kid, and I recently had a 3 month long ‘episode’. I was depressed, anxious, and had little to no motivation.

I feel more focused. I feel more motivated. I feel happier. I am more productive. I have even started a profitable business in the last couple months–and a good deal of credit goes to kratom.

Liam Harrod

I am a new kratom user. I am a chronic pain sufferer due to several medical issues such as Severe RA, Fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, Osteoarthritis, restless legs and others. I have started using kratom recently and am now free from all of my pain meds except gabapentin and I hope to soon be off it too. Since using kratom, I have less pain, I have more flexibility in my hands and legs, I can think much more clearly, my mood has improved drastically and i can get my house cleaned, which i hadn’t been able to do much before the kratom. I am 60 years old and should be on disability but but I am not allowed to because I am married. I haven’t been able to hold a job in some time and now that I am beginning to live life again, maybe that will change some day too while I am still “young enough” to do it. At this point I am at least able to to do some things for myself now. Please don’t take away the only thing that gives some us pain relief but also our dignity back.

Ruth Coffey

Back in 2006, I had 2 serious knee injuries (full ruptures of the patellar tendon) in a football game.

The injuries required, over the following 3 years, required 4 surgeries – 2 of which required me to take high powered prescription painkillers for month on-end.

Even with responsible use, it was inevitable that my body gained an opiate dependence and tolerance.

While coming off was extremely difficult, as expected, it is the day-to-day pain management that is the most troubling.

Unfortunately, over the counter medications (NSAIDs) such as Tylenol and Advil do little to dull the pain and I have to resort to taking ever-increasing doses of prescriptions drugs to live a functional life.

Back in ~2008, I found Kratom and read that it was a natural alternative to the synthetic opiates that had taken over my life (I couldn’t study for Law School and got really depressed).

I used to be extremely active and optimistic about my life – all of that had gone away. I found myself taking pain medication simply to feel normal.

It didn’t think Kratom or any natural herbal compound would help me but I was willing to try absolutely anything to manage my pain and simply live a semi-normal life.

Kratom, Mitragyna Specisoa, was a Godsend.

Within 2 weeks I was opiate-free and able to study and exercise (conservatively) again. Despite my re-found optimism, I kept waiting for the day that Kratom that stop working and I would have to return to a miserable live of either throbbing pain or opiate addiction.

After 5 years of using Kratom responsibly every-single-day – that day has never returned.

Kratom is not as powerful as synthetic opiates, so I did need some pain medication after subsequent procedures, but I never had to use prescription drugs for extended periods of time.

I remember the days where I could hardly walk or take a 10 minutes car ride to my doctor to beg for help. They were the worst days of my entire life – I couldn’t have healthy relationships, exercise or even sleep at night (on way too many nights).

Kratom is an absolute lifesaver for some of us. It literally lets some people live a healthful, vibrant life when otherwise they would at sitting at home – unemployed and absolutely depressed.

In the past 3.5 years, I have built 3 very successful businesses from only my laptop – when otherwise I wouldn’t be able to even sit in a chair for more than 25 minutes.

Please consider these testimonials before criminalizing this natural Godsend.

Christopher Deoudes

I have been taking Kratom for the past 2 years, I suffer from depression. Kratom has helped me, it even makes me more social on days I do not feel like socializing. It has been very positive on my life and it does not hinder me in anyway or have any nasty side effects compared to other prescription meds.

Please keep this legal, I recommend doing research on kratom extracts, I do believe they may not be safe because of such a high dose.

David Lopez

This natural botanical has turned me around. What western medicine could not resolve, Kratom has. I was diagnosed with IBS 5 years ago and nothing, no diet or anything else I tried up to the point of trying this plant gave any relief. With my 1st time, all of a sudden, I was not angry. The pain that I was in and did not know changed me as a person. Changed me into someone I did not like. I didn’t realize this until the effects of Kratom wore off. I couldn’t believe I had lived with this pain for years. No wounder I was angry. I have donated $100 to The American Kratom Association and so should you. #KeepKratomLegal #SaveKratom

Leonard Hodgdon

I have been hooked on pain pills since 2000 because of two bad car wrecks that were not my fault. Every Dr I saw threw pills at me so of course I got addicted not knowing that could happen. Since then I tried getting off them cold turkey and almost died. I went to a methadone clinic and they told me I could take it for two weeks and I would be fine. LIARS. I was on methadone for about 5 years. I found out at 28 weeks that I was pregnant and could not stop taking it. After my son was born the state was involved and I had to get off methadone so I went back to pills. I am a chronic pain sufferer and have two kids to raise. When I ran out of pills I would have to go buy them and spend and steal money I didn’t have. I saw someone in a chronic pain group talking about kratom so I looked it up and decided to try it. My life is back!! I am so happy now and pain free. My kids love being around me now and they are happier. I am happier being around them and laughing with them. I could not be more grateful for this wonderful plant. I can actually live my life now instead of dreading every day. Thank you kratom!!

Tammy Jones

I LOVE kratom because it not only helps with pain, where the pain meds did not, but kratom is also helping me to get off of the pain meds that were causing more problems than they were solving! Since I’ve started with kratom, I have begun to finally get some control over my life again. I am no longer zoned out on Rx meds..with my emotions stuck in neutral. I now FEEL my emotions..the good, the bad and the ugly! And its awesome! I could use all the votes I can get..I have 4 days worth of kratom left until march 10.

Kim Fike

I am a chronic pain sufferer. I have DDD, Bulging disks, raw nerve exposure, stenosis and scoliosis. I was seeing a pain management Doctor and he abruptly took me off Norco in the beginning of December. I was depressed and had no idea how I was going to get through all my pain. One day I was reading through some posts on a chronic pain page on Facebook where I came across someone saying how great kratom was and how it is all natural and helped with their pain. I immediately got happy and started researching this kratom. I joined a kratom Facebook page and started seeing people’s testimonies on how great it worked for their pain. I then got a couple of sample packets of kratom. I have to admit I was skeptical and wasn’t sure it would help with my pain. I took a small amount and within about 30-45 minutes I noticed my pain was disappearing. Just going away, just like that. I was amazed. I immediately got into a good mood. I was able to sit up (which has been very hard for me to do) and doing things I haven’t been able to do in a long time. I was happy and pain free for hours. Kratom is an amazing plant and I hope it continues to remain available to me and lots of people like me.

Cindi Smith

I damaged my back in 2000 and was put on Roxycodone 30’s x 6 a day and spent 10 years of using this poison! Six a day didn’t work for the pain so I would take up to 10 a day. This stripped me of normal life and turned me into a zombie! I was trying to find a way out of this sick lifestyle and read something about this all natural safe leaf called kratom. It turned my life around! I feel comfortable, normal again and my pain is managed. I would like to thank God for putting this tree on earth for us to safety use.

Roscoe Clay

For 12 years after my second child was born, I suffered chronic widespread pain all over my body. I had migraines and depression as well. The only time I felt any relief was during my third pregnancy. I had cat scans, blood tests, xrays, MRIs and other tests and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with me so I was put on antidepressants. I went to a new doctor who looked at all my tests and listened to me. Fibromyalgia was the diagnoses and I was instantly put on vicodin for the pain as well as Lyrica, Cymbalta for the depression, Xanax for anxiety attacks, Adderall for the ADHD I was intimately diagnosed with after more testing as well as chronic fatigue, Maxalt for migraines and Ambien to help me sleep. I also had a friend who was on the same or similar medications for her diagnoses.

Within 6 months, I noticed a big change. Not any good ones either. While on these medications I had physical side effects such as muscle tremors all over my body from my jaw to my legs, blurred vision, still had the pain all over because the vicodin no longer worked plus menstrual pain so bad I could no longer work because I had to miss a whole week every month because I couldn’t get out of bed. I tried to only take Vicodin only when the pain was bad but I had already been on it everyday so the tolerance was already there. I was eventually bumped up to Percocet everyday 5 times a day. Again, I tried only taking it when the pain was unbearable but I was running out of those and my other meds every month. I found out after a couple of months this friend was taking my prescribed medications from me and so my husband bought a safe and kept them locked up. Then there were the psychological side effects.

I was paranoid, still depressed and suicidal even though I was taking my antidepressant every day as prescribed, I no longer cared about my well being or those of my husband or children and I was angry all the time. The littlest thing would set me off on a tirade. I tried to hold down a job but my emotional and physical side effects wouldn’t let me. On the Ambien I was sleep walking and sleep eating and gained 20 pounds. My husband lost sleep because he had to babysit me at night so I wouldn’t leave the house and get myself hurt. I told my doctor all this but he said these side effects were natural. Really? I decided that I couldn’t live that way anymore so I started researching homeopathic ways of dealing with these conditions. Also, my doctor found out I wasn’t taking the Percocet everyday as prescribed so he dropped me as a patient. As I was trying to ween myself off these synthetic drugs I had been prescribed I kept researching and trying other herbal remedies. I eventually found a plant called kratom. I feel it has saved my life.

First let me tell you that in using kratom in its natural form I have never had any hallucinations, blurred vision, psychotic episodes or thoughts of suicide. I am pain free, clear thinking, happy, and emotionally stable. I now work full time, and am able to care for my family and home. I have just the right amount of energy and sleep better too. Kratom in its natural form is 100% safer than the synthetic drugs being pushed on us by doctors. I have been actually living for the last 3 years thanks to this wonderful plant. I am a manager of a fast food restaurant and haven’t had a sick day in the 18 months I’ve been working there. I also worked for nearly 3 years full time in retail and for a time worked both jobs. I was unable to even work part time on the synthetic drugs I was prescribed. I also was able to get off the prescription roller coaster before I turned to street drugs.

Remember my friend? She wasn’t so lucky. When the doctor dropped her as a patient she went straight to street drugs. I feel a plant in its natural form that has been used for thousands of years in its native countries is so much safer and healthier than the prescriptions being advertised on TV and pushed on us by medical doctors. Just from my personal experience.

Stacy Kerentoff

I had been hooked on various opiates for over a decade. Methadone was the hardest to kick. I just could not get through the sickness. I heard about Kratom from a friend that had just kicked Methadone with Kratom. When I saw she wasn’t sick I jumped and ordered my first batch. I made video blogs on YouTube of each day of my detox (Methadone Detox Kratom on YouTube) to help other people see how easy it is to come off opiates by using Kratom.

Most people are scared to kick because of being sick but seeing me get through my detox has helped many of others kick their opiates too. The amount of people that I have got off opiates is amazing thanks to Kratom. People are living their life with out pain and opiates. The fog that opiates causes finally begins to fade and it is like looking out of a new set of eyes. I believe people are finding Kratom as a healthier alternative to their pain meds. Even people coming of off heroin are regaining their lives back and staying clean because they are not switching to another addiction such as Methadone or Suboxone.

When I was on opiates I was miserable and would steal to get money for more opiates. With kratom I do not have to steal when I run out because I do not get sick like you do with opiates. This plant gives me energy to play with my kids and clean the house. When I was on opiates I barley could get off the couch! It is so amazing that I can help educate people and help them get their lives back just as I did. I do not get high off this plant either and I do not know where those accusations come from!

I was an addict for over a decade, I have tried every illegal drug there is and Kratom DOES NOT make me feel like any of those illegal drugs. I no longer need my Zoloft, Xanax or Methadone thanks to Kratom. I live a happy life free of the clinic I was chained to.. I will do everything in my power to keep kratom legal and help others regain their lives back. And yes I will even beg if I have to! That’s how much this plant has changed my life for the better.

Kira Torres (IL)

I suffer from Fibromyalgia, RLS, DDD and sciatica. I have been in a lot of pain 24/7. With Fibromyalgia you know it is chronic widespread pain that covers most of your body.

I was on heavy pain meds for a long time but thanks to this wonderful plant Kratom, I no longer have to take these awful pain meds. My life has changed so much since I’ve started taking Kratom. I can actually live a normal life now.

Please let us keep this wonderful plant Kratom legal so we all can continue to live normal again.

If you take this from us, thousands of Kratom users will have to return to pain killers and other destroying methods.

Thank you for this opportunity.

Malinda Jones Rockett

Hello, my name is Marsha Thompson. I found Kratom about seven years ago while researching alternatives for pain medications. My family’s history is one of addiction. I lost my mother to complications from heroin use in the early 1970’s, which came to a conclusion in 2004. She passed away from every system in her body shutting down from hepatitis. I lost my step father due to complications from alcohol abuse, pancreatic cancer took him in 2011. I most recently lost my sister to cancer, lung cancer due to smoking, which is legal as is alcohol and prescription pain pills. My mother, sister and step father were also on pain pills for various reasons. I am sure this helped in their demise.

Personally, I was prescribed pain pills many years ago along with Xanax for anxiety and Prozac for depression. The Prozac made me feel anxious, so I took a Xanax to counteract that. I have a crack in my hip so i also took the pain pills, all at once mind you. I have almost died from taking all these so called medications together. I found Kratom, which is a NATURAL LEAF FROM A TREE, and it helped EVERYONE OF THESE SYMPTOMS. My hip pain, my anxiety, my depression, my grief of the last four years of burying my family. If I had not found kratom, I would be dead.

It’s easy to get pills and to spend all your money on them until you are broke and broken inside. In 2013 I sold my family’s house and moved to Baltimore, the heroin capital. Right after I moved here I fell when moving some belongings. I ended up breaking three ribs and four places on my spine. I didn’t have health insurance. The hospital gave me three days to heal, then kicked me out. So, back on the pain pill merry go round again. I was in excruciating pain for a year after that happened and I buried my sister. So I took pain pills to kill the physical pain and emotional pain. But I also had kratom on hand.

If I had not had kratom to use for my pain and to get off of the pain pills, I would not be here today writing this. I use kratom everyday for shoulder pain, spine pain, hip pain, depression, and anxiety. I believe in this plant. I implore you to do research about Kratom. It has saved many lives from addiction. Kratom is related to the coffee plant. You can NOT overdose on it, unlike prescribed pain medication. For people without health insurance, it is a godsend. It has so many uses, and has a very long history of use in other countries. The University of Mississippi has even done research papers on kratom. I lost my family to addiction in one form or another and almost lost myself. At times I was lost. I found my way back with the help of kratom. I have given it to my 60 year old landlord and her friends for their pain and they rave about it. They have jobs in which they cannot take pharmaceutical drugs, so it has been a godsend to them too. Please keep kratom legal to people 18 and older. We must have the option of choice in our lives. Thank you for listening. Marsha Thompson

Marsha Thompson

Hi my name is Jay! I just wanted to state how much kratom has helped me. As far back as I can remember, my head seemed to always be racing especially at night so I suffered from severe insomnia. After years of self medicating with alcohol and some drug,s I have finally found a healthier alternative to get the sleep I need at night and be a functional person during the day. I no longer drink at all after years of alcohol abuse. I also have arthritis at 37 in both my knees from old football injuries where I tore both my ACL and MD twice. I also dislocated and fractured my ankle when my wife was six months pregnant. That required surgery to put screws and plates in my ankle. So, with all that pain it was near impossible to care and provide for my family. Kratom has not only given me back my manhood so that I can care for my family, it allows me to have a peaceful nights sleep so that I’m not a miserable bastard. I am now a happy peaceful man who can now contribute to society ,and I owe that to kratom. Thank you.

Jason Slye

My name is Shannon and I am a 39 year old mother of two. I was diagnosed with scoliosis as a teenager and went to many doctors only to be told it “wasn’t severe enough” to have surgery and I would probably have chronic pain for the rest of my life. I self medicated for years and years because of lack of access to health insurance and the ability to pay for doctor visits and physical therapists. In my early 20s, I was in two car accidents which only aggravated my condition and started me on the path of opiates. From 23 to 30, I took opiates everyday, all day (except when pregnant with my 2 boys) and by the time I was 30 the opiates didn’t even manage my pain. Plus, I was addicted to them! It was a hopeless time period in my life I was in terrible pain, addicted and just didn’t see an end to this cycle in sight.

After searching the internet for other options besides opiates, I found an online drug forum and in the opiate section I kept seeing the world KRATOM and how helpful it was for many people. Not only to get off opiates but to manage daily chronic pain. I order some from an online site. I was very skeptical at first but within the first two or three times of dosing IT WORKED! I never went back to opiates. That was almost nine years ago and kratom has totally changed my life. I am able to work a full time job as a legal assistant, raise my two boys, be a wife and enjoy the things I LOVE most about life. I no longer self medicate. I use kratom and ibuprofen to manage my daily chronic pain. That’s ALL I really need. It’s important to me that I always have access to it and I hope that the people trying to ban this plant realize that this plant has made a HUGE improvement in my life and my family’s life and to take it away from people like me, a mother, a tax-payer, a woman, is just not right.

Shannon Scatolini (MT)

My name is Shani and I am a 35 year old mother of two children. One is a 15 year old boy, and the other is a 1 year old baby girl, and they both are the light of my life. My life has always centered around excelling and achieving great things whether they were grades, career, art and being a mother.

When I was 25 I went to school to become a surgical technologist. I did this while working, supporting a child as a single mother and paying my own rent. It was difficult and not without it’s challenges. Many times I almost gave up. When I graduated, I decided to move to Florida where most of my family lived. It was a good decision but I made a few poor choices when I moved down here.

A couple of months into living in Florida, I had a difficult time finding a job in my specified field. As a fresh graduate without experience, no one was willing to take a chance on a young woman, so I had to find a way to make ends meet. Without having pride, I took a job as a cocktail waitress at a local bar. The money was okay, but it was something that could get me by until I found something better. During that time, I began dating the manager.

Dating this man, who I won’t name, was probably the sole worst decision I made in my life. He introduced me to Roxycodone. It started when one night I had pain in my hip. See, at this time I did not know I had hip dysplasia. I hadn’t been diagnosed yet, so all I thought was that I was having pain from walking and being on my feet too much. When he offered to me, I was very skeptical. I knew from my education that opiates were highly addictive and I didn’t want to go down that road. He insisted that it was impossible to become addicted to just one pill.

That one pill in 30 minutes blanketed me in a warm, fuzzy and comfortable feeling that made me feel relaxed and happy. The pain was also gone but I was so enamored with the feeling of the high associated with the pill that I put aside my concerns. I couldn’t tell you exactly how I feel into it, but a few days later I asked for another one until it turned into a bad scenario. He would then tell me I was acting like a bitch and that I needed to take a roxy. Pretty soon, I realized that when I didn’t take it, I felt sick, like I had the flu. My entire body felt like it was in a vice and I was so distraught that I had no choice but to take the roxy’s so I could feel better.

Fast forward a year later…I was living with him and my young son in a rented home. We never knew what his moods were going to be. He was extremely volatile, angry and violent. My son and I lived in fear. We had nowhere to go, I was the only one working and family was not willing to help me. God only knows why they didn’t offer me a place to stay. Maybe they didn’t want to get involved. It hurts so much to revisit this story as I type this and I cringe with regret because my son had to experience the pain and the desperation along side of me. This was back in 2008. I had no options. This man would lie, steal from me, take my bank card and say he needed $20 but then withdraw everything I had.

My life was a wreck. It was a complete nightmare. My mother sold her house in NJ to move down to Florida to help me. She stayed with us when she moved down. My mother was right there when this man came up to me and put his hands around my neck. She pleaded with him to not hurt me. She stood next to me and put her arms around me. I could sense her anxiety and hear her stomach rumbling from fear. I remember the day so clear. Everything went downhill.

In a rage our relationship split. My mother found an apartment, we left and I was forced to go through withdrawals without help. My mother didn’t know how to help me. I couldn’t even get up from bed to go to urinate. I would just lay in bed for hours and hours. I wouldn’t eat.

I remember laying down and staring at the same gray television set for 6 months. Going through the pain of withdrawals, depression and GUILT for what I put myself through and my son to witness. I got through it. Barely. It took 3 years to get myself back on my feet, living in my own apartment again, and feeling somewhat like my old self.

I met my husband at the hospital I worked at. He was a rep who would come in and bring instruments. Little by little our conversations grew and we soon began to develop a friendship, then date, then marry.

I got pregnant 2 weeks after we got married and it was such a blessing. We said to each other the day we got married that we wanted to start a family and it happened just like that. Oh, I forgot to mention that my hip dyspepsia had worsened in those years. I did begin to have a limp. It was difficult to be so young and have a visible sign of pain but I soon got past that.

The pregnancy went well, and I did have a lot of hip and pelvic pain. I did the best I could and dealt with it. After my baby was born last January, I had a hard time moving around. Every bone that could move in my pelvis would rub against each other in such a painful way that I preferred to not move much. I couldn’t even take my baby on a walk in her stroller around the block without being in pain.

My husband insisted I see a doctor friend of his. My concern was not taking opiates, I just didn’t want to go through that again. Thankfully the doctor had somewhat of a better option, Tramadol. At the time it wasn’t a scheduled drug and I was able to begin exercising, losing weight and feeling much better!

Fast forward a year later, Tramadol is now scheduled. My body is stronger and although I still have pain and always will in some respect, it was time to retire Tramadol. I decided this before New Year’s, it was going to be my GOAL for 2015.

I began looking up alternatives and ways to stop taking Tramadol and came across Kratom. In late January of this year, I ordered it and when I received it I waited a day. It was Sunday when I first took it.

I will never forget the day. I took one Tramadol in the morning and made a water and kratom drink in the afternoon. 20 minutes later I had this sense of well-being, a sense of peace and my hips were feeling okay too. My son and I baked two apple pies that day and we enjoyed them with my husband and baby. It was such a beautiful day.

That was the last day I took Tramadol. I didn’t experience withdrawals like I did back when I stopped the Roxycodone. This was much more of a tame experience. There were a few nights when I felt anxiety and to be honest, not that bad in exchange for what I got: Freedom.

I can wake up in the morning and not worry about taking my Tramadol at a certain time. My body doesn’t hurt as much. I feel like pain medications have a funny way of playing tricks on you to make you feel pain in a much more exaggerated way.

In addition to feeling better, my sense of self is back. My feelings are back and in check. My personality is the same, and more so! Kratom has made it so that I can be who I am without being clouded by the mood swings of pain killers. I have not been cross with anyone since I started Kratom. My mind is logical, able to see solutions and have the patience to apply those solutions. This was not always the case with Tramadol. I would sometimes get so upset that I would become belligerent, and that is not who I am at the core.

For Kratom, I am thankful. I am hopeful that my message will reach someone who is in need, arrested by the addiction of painkillers. I’d like to make it part of my life to spread the good news of Kratom to those who need it. If I can make it my career, even better. I owe it to society to pass this wonderful botanical information along. It is in my heart’s desire.

Be blessed and know that in our life, happiness is a possibility and can very much be a reality.

Shani Cacic

I am 59 and for the past two years I have sat on the side line watching life go by. Norco helped some but their is a limit on the amount and it could kill me if I take to much. Kratom lets me take less pills. I can have a few kratom days and do fine with out pills. Then when I need the pills I do not need as much. Please do not take this away from me !

Patty Riggs

I’m going to keep this short and sweet, as I am currently overseas on my way to Indonesia to meet my completely reliable supplier in Jakarta to further my own education on this miracle plant and it’s origins, all the way down to production, which I did 2 years ago in Bali. Take everyone’s testimony here for gospel, as my own story is no different. I took it a step further and began paying it forward a few years back after meeting my Indonesian kratom farmer and experiencing fresh, quality kratom like I never had in the states, by creating my own kratom company. This is in no way a solicitation, as I am MORE than busy daily handling the needs of my brethren in pain all over the US… this is more of a link for anyone to read a like minded story, but from someone who lives, breathes, and eats kratom and decided that disbursing it would be the single greatest work accomplishment of my life. Visit my site if you’re curious, and sign EVERY petition you find for states trying to outlaw kratom by lumping it in with absurd legal highs, like bath salts and salvia… tsk, tsk, senators and legislators, for they know not what they sometimes do!

Derek Evans

I’m an RN, working FT. I have arthritis in my hips, feet, lumbar and cervical spine. I’m in my mid thirties and just recently diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the hip. I’ve tried every treatment and pain medication under the sun so I can walk and continue to be a good mother and nurse. The power struggles and insurance issues and tolerance to meds led me on a search. I found kratom. It helps tremendously, without the negative effects on my body and mind. I have less pain, more energy and sleep much better. I can’t imagine coping without it.

Susanne Sproll

Hello my name is Adam. I write you today to implore you not to ban Kratom. I have been taking kratom for over two years for energy and mood. It is comparable to the effects of coffee to me. I work in residential remodeling and I would never take something that would impair my ability to think and talk with customers and builders on a daily bases. I have had my job for over 14 years and have never been in trouble with the law or had a traffic violation for that matter. I am a father husband and registered voter. I have seen first hand how kratom helps people with opiate addiction, anxiety, and chronic pain with no side effects. We have to keep this plant legal. I am all for regulating it’s use to those who are 18 or older. Thanks for your time.

Jonathan Adam Blansett

I found Kratom and what a difference. I was amazed at how well Kratom worked for my pain. 50MCG of Fentanyl and 4 mg of percocet did NOT work as well as 4 grams Kratom. Also, no worries of respiratory depression & overdose with Kratom. Please keep this herb available for all people who need an alternative to prescription meds.

Thomas A. Noel

I am 45 yrs old n have a 4yr old daughter by the grace of God, I am married to a wonderful man and terrific Father. I am disabled due to a multitude of Injuries n Have severe PTSD due to horrific trauma n abuse as a young child. When I was 15 yrs old a car hit me on my bike and broke my back, this was the beginning of being prescribed addicting narcotics. This was the beginning of the pain and suffering I would and have endured, I started going to chiropractors and having physical therapy. My back did not fuse properly and even with treatment n pain meds I still suffered constant chronic pain.

Then in 1998 a man had a heart attack and ran a red light and I T-Boned him going the speed limit of 60 mph, this resulted in almost losing my right leg, They did end up saving it w steel rod, metal plates,screw and a knee replacement. I also had both bones in my right arm broken at the wrist joint where I now have a metal plate and not much more than 50% use. I have 3 herniated discs, 3 bulging discs, degenertive disc disease and arthritis in all my joints and back. So needless to say I have suffered constant chronic pain, horrible addiction to opiates and I suffer from constant anxiety n panic attacks.

I discovered Kratom and it has changed my life! I am no longer enslaved to opiates! And it gives me over 90% pain relief as well as alieviating my anxiety. Kratom has given me my life back! Banning it would result in many people having to return to the horrible enslavement of opiates! This would be a horrific tragedy! While Kratom does enhance moods and relieve pain and anxiety it does not get you high if anything it helps with clarity. If someone trys to use it to get high all that results in is nausea n dizziness making it impossible to overdose on, unlike opiates or any narcotic meds which has resulted in many tragic deaths.

I have Introduced Kratom to Several of my Friends That Come Off Many medications that were ruining Their Lives and Making it Impossible To work, It’s Amazing To see the difference in Their Lives, 3 of them Now Hold Full-Time Jobs and to see Them So Happy, whereas They Used to Suffer Horrible Depression and Chronic, Crippling Pain. The Thought Of Kratom being Banned Terrifies Me! I Never Ever Want To Go Back To A Life Of being consumed With Pain, Anxiety, Depression and Chronic Fatigue as well as the Hell of Opiate Enslavement, Nor to see my Friends Return To Their Former Lives.

Margaret Rachel Zes

My opiate addiction started innocently enough, back injury led me to seek treatment in the er. I was prescribed percocet and sent on my way. Once the script was gone I went to a new dr and he refilled it. Again. And again. And again…for two years. Never another test to figure out what was wrong. I got out of control fast…and then one day he said no to my refill… just like that. My back hurt and I had nothing to make it go away. My insurance had run out so onto the withdrawals. I spent 9 days with vomiting, shaking, diarrhea, crazy anxiety, rls, cold sweats, insomnia, agitation ect. I finally googled how to help opiate withdrawal and ran across an article on kratom. I will never forget the instant relief and sense of calm I felt once I took my first dose! It got me through my withdrawals and I’ve continued to use it since for my ongoing back issues. It works so much better than any pill I’ve ever taken. It has also decreased my blood pressure to normal levels and virtually erased my depression and anxiety. Kratom has since replaced Lexapro for depression, Klonopin for anxiety, Lisinopril for my high bp and Oxycontin for pain. I was paying out of pocket for these meds with little to no relief and lots of nasty side effects. I am a better wife and mother because of kratom, I enjoy every single day instead of dreading them. Kratom is a godsend!

Nicole Lynn Shaw

Last year I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. I have spent most of my life in a very depressed state. I tried antidepressants; none worked. I currently use kratom daily. When I stop taking it, I never experience withdrawal, but life is back to the quality it was at when I was depressed. Kratom gives me energy, motivation, and allows me to appreciate life and feel happiness. I have not felt suicidal since I started taking kratom. It is truly a life-saver.

Brandon Steele

I heard about kratom about 4 years ago and really wanted to try it. Things happened and I forgot all about it until this year. I delivered my baby girl in January and my body just didn’t seem to be healing right. After the 6 week period I felt something wasn’t right.. I should be felling better by now, right?

I told the doctor about the stabbing pain in my pelvic area and lower abdomen and she said it was probably just an infection from some tissue that didn’t come out or something. She prescribed antibiotics. The pain just got worse so I went back. She prescribed a different antibiotic and at that point I didn’t take them because I didn’t think it was an infection (she didn’t do any testing or anything to confirm what it was. She did have me do an ultrasound and said no cysts or anything showed up.) and I knew antibiotics aren’t something you take lightly or else they won’t work later on in life when you need them.

Finally, I went back and said I wanted to be tested for endometriosis because I had been reading on it and had many of the symptoms. Symptoms such as irregular cycles, fertility issues(it had taken us 3 years of trying to conceive to finally have our baby girl), painful intercourse, and of course the chronic stabbing pain in pelvic region. The only way to confirm endometriosis is to have a diagnostic scope done.. so she set me up for surgery.

I had the surgery on March 31st.. and while she was in there she also lazered some of the lesions off and did a d&c. It didn’t help one bit. Every week the pain still felt worse than the week before. I didn’t know how much more I could take. I was tired of going to the doctor all the time.. the pain medicine she gave me didn’t help much but I was still becoming dependent on it in order to function.

When was I going to get better so I could enjoy this beautiful baby angel I had wanted all my life and took me years of trying and crying to actually have? Why did I have to hurt so bad that I could barely walk, much less be a mother to my child and a wife to my husband? I felt they deserved better than me. I cried all the time and my previously dormant depression resurfaced.

I don’t know what it was that reminded me of kratom, but it was like a lightbulb went off in my head when I saw the word again. I ordered some and I still to this day can’t believe this plant helps with like 95% of my pain. I can lift my baby, I can carry her around, I can play with her and make her laugh and smile all day, I can hold her without crying. I finally feel like I deserve her. My life is whole again all because of this wonderful leaf!

If it wasn’t for kratom, I would have got a hysterectomy (I’m only 29) to end the pain. I would have regretted that decision in the future should my husband and I decide we want another child. I was willing to sacrifice having another child just so I could be 100% for my daughter. Kratom helps me be 100% for my daughter without having a major surgery. It certainly buys me some time while my husband and I figure things out, and get to spoil our precious daughter some before deciding if we want to give her a sibling.

I hope that we, as suffering human beings, can continue to have the choice to this safer alternative and break free from the chains of dangerous pharmaceuticals. It would be inhumane to take this away from us and force us to go back into depression, pain and suffering.

I want to continue to be a wonderful mother to my miracle baby. I want to be able to lift her, carry her, run with her, play with her and laugh with her. If mitragyna speciosa gets banned, my chronic pain will come back and I will not be able to do any of that. I will be crying out in pain constantly just because some legislators didn’t take the time to see how much it helps people. I sincerely hope they take the time to read these testimonials and realize how important it is to improve the quality of life for those of us who choose to take it over pharma meds.

Margaret Burton

Here is a short(ish) story of how I became introduced to Kratom, how it has literally changed my life, and how it has “moved” me to help others. Thank you in advance for reading.

I was diagnosed ADD/ADHD at the age of 13 and Major Depressive Disorder/Generalized Anxiety Disorder at 29. Kratom has helped me tremendously concerning them all and has given me a literal new lease on life. At one time, I considered death a better option than what I was living in. That is hard to say or read, but that’s exactly how I felt and thought at the time. It felt like I was living in a literal Hell.

In the spring of 2005, I fell 30-40 ft. off of a roof onto a concrete walkway, and broke my back (transverse process), femur (titanium rod now), elbow (more metal), coccyx, ribs, as well as many internal injuries. I had multiple pulmonary embolisms and was in I.C.U. for two weeks. Twice, they thought “I wouldn’t make it”.

Once I arrived at the hospital, I was given Morphine to help with the initial pain. Then, Oxycodone during Physical Therapy. Then again, Hydrocodone when I had returned home. I was hooked (dependent) on those prescription medications without even knowing it. It wasn’t until I woke up soaking wet and feeling as if I had the Flu, did I realize I was going through withdrawals from those medications. After bouts of feeling comotosed on medications (while not providing the pain relief I imagined it would), and being dependent on prescription pain pills, I researched into alternative pain management and somehow ran across a plant named “Kratom”.

That “Search” literally saved my life. In every sense of the word. Not only from the chronic pain from the fall, but I had also fallen into a deep (recurring) depression during my recovery and found that Kratom lifted the deep depression that I found myself in. It helped soothe the severe pain from my injury, as well as lifting my mood out of that spiraling depression. That was the moment I realized, how wonderful and sacred this plant truly is.

I consider Kratom to be an honest-to-God “Miracle Herb” and after I had that near death scare and the alleviation from both depression as well as anxiety, I felt that it was my life-calling to spread the Gospel of Kratom and what it’s done for me. If it wasn’t for that accident or my many hardships, I would have never attempted to do what I am now doing. So, I thank God and Kratom for everything that I now am. Every day of my life.

Robert McMahan

Sept 2008 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). I have experienced extreme pain and side effects from the typical prescribed medication Avenox along with many others. Kratom safely and effectively handles the pain from that extremely painful procedure I have to undergo as part of treatment of My M.S. diagnosis. That is in addition to the pain I experience on a daily basis associated with M.S.

For My pain I was prescribed opiate based medications and, like most people who listen to and take the advice of their doctors, became addicted to prescription opiates. I was introduced to kratom by a dear friend and since then I have completely come off the opiates! kratom has changed my life in a wonderful way! For the past five years or so I have been using kratom Tea as well as soaking in a warm bath with kratom Soaps and Soaks, I created in 2011.

I have shared this miraculous leaf with other opiate addicts and those who suffer from chronic pain, the results have been amazing with benefits/relief from pain and addiction. I have also completely changed my dietary habits and have become a warrior of holistic healing.

I had to use a cane from time to time, addicted and dependent on prescription pain killers before switching to kratom, now I have not only retired my cane but returned it for a full refund! Please keep this miraculous herb legal for responsible adults in need.

Marsha Chapman

I am a 53 year old woman who has lived in SW Florida since 1978. I’ve worked here since then, worked 2 jobs for many of those years raising a Daughter by myself. I have never been arrested and only two traffic tickets in 36 years. I vote every election and work hard despite living with the pain of fibromyalgia these last 16 years.

I have had chronically painful health issues as far back as age 10. Recurrent tonsillitis, extremely painful endometriosis, back injury at the age of 28. More pain and several surgeries for endometriosis until I had a complete hysterectomy at the age of 36. Eight months later and after a minor car accident, I developed fibromyalgia.

I tried everything for the constant daily pain of fibromyalgia, from regular massage to noni juice, supplements, etc. All my years of chronic pain, I never took any kind of narcotic. I did take a boat load of ibuprofen during those most painful 6 years of endometriosis before my final surgery so I could continue working and being a good single parent to my only Daughter. 3 years into Fibromyalgia, my Family Dr. prescribed me hydrocodone w/acetaminophen, 5mg/500mg which I took for the next 12 years, every day, 2 pain pills as they were prescribed, never more, never asked my dr. for more and even though they did not take all the pain away, they took the edge off enough that I could get through most of a work day not in severe pain. I also could and can not take any NSAID’s due to severe stomach burning and pain from having taken so many for so many years.

With the current legislation and change regarding pain medication, I knew I would have to get off my pain medications, I did this myself. I cannot take the stress of jumping through the hoops that have been put in place, and be humiliated because I need pain medication. Stress exacerbates fibromyalgia pain so much. I do not have insurance and cannot afford $488 a month for insurance under the “Affordable Care Act”, nor do I have $200+ a month to go to a pain management doctor. Kratom helped me wean off my pain medication in one week with very minimal withdrawal symptoms. It gives me more relief from pain and pain relief that lasts longer than the opioids prescribed by my Dr. It has given me a little extra energy and certainly improved my mood and sense of well being because I feel better and I do not have to be under the constant stress of not being able to take something that will humanely relieve the daily moderate to severe pain I have suffered with for 16 years.

If this option is taken away (made illegal) I don’t know what I’ll do. I can’t go back to opioid pain medications. I can’t afford the “newer” trendy medications for Fibromyalgia nor do I want them with all their serious side effects. Please help us keep this plant legal for all who need it.

Jeanah H. (FL)

Five years ago I was diagnosed with 3 autoimmune disorders what caused me chronic pain along with anxiety (due to pain) and other miserable things that just kept going wrong with my body. Doctors did lots of testing and told me I just needed to take medications for the REST of my life. I accepted this as fact since they were the Doctors…(Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN).

Up until a month or so ago I was on 6 medications (2 of them narcotic) and taking 19 pills every day. My life felt like I was living in a cloud or bubble and I just did not function very well on a daily basis. I had to stop working in 6/2012 (almost 3 years ago!) as I just could not continue my 15 year profession of mortgage banking/sales management any longer due to side effects from the medications and my conditions. Then….I found Kratom! ALL of my medications have been set aside and I take NONE of them anymore as Kratom takes away all the pain & anxiety caused by my conditions. I went from spending hundreds of dollars per month on medicine to a small amount of $ for Kratom.

We have NO health insurance & I have not taken any pills now in 27 days and I plan to NEVER take them again. This ban is clearly a $ issue for big pharma and the government officials that take PAC $ from them and the AMA. I am sickened by all of this and I want it known that I will do everything I can to fight to keep a God given natural medicine available for those of us that do not want to live our lives as zombies and live a normal life. By the way, I am a 44 year old Mom of 2 & I just started a ministry in Palm Beach County called #MercyfoundmeMinistries. Everything I do is for others in my daily life, I wish the same could be said of our Florida representatives (since that is their job to represent us!)…unfortunately for Florida residents, our government elected officials have a MUCH different agenda here….Shame on all of you!!!

Chris Aloisio

I am a young, healthy, vibrant, talented, intuitive, sensitive young woman with an entire life to live. Having only lived 35 years it feels as though I’ve already live a lifetime. My truth is easy. I have spent many years living in a prison of addiction. Each and every choice I have made has been my own. For years I’ve been told to write my story. Well, now I am.

My story begins at age 9 when I lost my special someone, my best friend, my soul mate, my grandmother. A part of me died with her. A child doesn’t understand that pain and for many years I didn’t. Still today the memories flow as tears. My upbringing was perfect. I would venture to say privileged. After Nanny’s passing life went on.

At age 13 began the cycle of antidepressants and what I believe began the confusion of brain chemistry. Our family Dr. thought it best to prescribe a child, me, a variety of them over a period of time. I experimented with Zoloft, Paxil and Desyrel to name only a few and so the downward spiral began. I spent my teenage years trying to find myself. I floated through life like a butterfly on a breeze. I laughed. I loved. I cried. I lived.

At age 23 I became ill briefly resulting in a Cholecystectomy and was routinely given Hydrocodone for pain as I recovered. At this moment my relationship and love of opiates began. When I was 24 I was arrested for prescription drugs. I was ashamed and embarrassed. In an attempt to save her youngest daughter my mother packed up the hollow shell I’d become and fled our hometown leaving behind our family, my destruction and warrant for arrest. For 30 days my devastated, broken but hopeful mother nursed my soul back to life. I knew I would change and for a short time I did.

My search for an altered state of mind was apparent. I like it. I loved it! I could escape. In these moments I found freedom. Freedom from myself. After opiates I found alcohol, my 2nd love, and the marriage of the two were Heaven on Earth.

In 2009 I was arrested for DUI. OK. No big deal. It happens. I can recover from this (“thankfully the other drugs in my car weren’t found” was one of my 1st sober thoughts after the fact). In 2012 I was arrested for my 2nd DUI and as a penalty, aside from the many thousands spent on my behalf, I stayed 10 days in an inpatient rehab facility. I have not driven a car in 3 years. I’m unable to do the simple things that most take for granted. My husband drives me to work everyday just as my father did when I was a child. I cannot grocery shop without an escort. I wait most evenings for a taxi to bring me home. I pay that taxi $15 per ride. I don’t participate in social activities. I depend on others everyday to aid me in doing the very small things I once did for myself. I know my weaknesses and issues all too well. In past years I’ve sought help. I’ve seen more therapists than any young adult should. I’ve been prescribed Topamax for alcohol dependency. Years I have spent attempting sobriety for opiate addiction by taking Suboxone. We are taught the our doctors are all knowing meanwhile aided in my demise.

I found Kratom by accident. While healing from a surgical procedure on my wrist I was desperate for pain relief. I simply Googled “natural pain reliever”. Kratom was 1st on the list. Filled with hope I began to research. I started reading every article I could find and spent countless hours consumed with learning about the miracle herb. Pain relief, addiction, depression, anxiety…THIS IS ME! I am able to write this testimony today with a smile. I am hopeful. For the first time in many years my mind clear. I am now able to live a normal life as a productive, contributing member of society. I was looking for pain relief but found so much more. I am no loner my own worst enemy. I have a life to live. I am drug free. I am ALIVE. I am FREE!

Kelli Audet

I am 51 years old and live in Cleveland, Ohio. This is my story on how kratom changed my life. In 1992 I was in a car accident. I have herniated discs in my neck and back thanks to that. I also have scoliosis in which the curve pushes on the herniated discs in my back causing almost continuous pain. In 1998 I was diagnosed with Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I also have a bad knee from a sports injury as a teenager that, after all the possible repairs being done, needs a full knee replacement. I have arthritis in my neck and in my large toe so bad it no longer bends, Raynaud’s, COPD and hypothyroidism. I will always be on Plaquenil to keep my lupus under control as much as possible as sadly there is no cure for lupus. For pain I have been on Corticosteroids (steroids like prednisone), anti-inflammatory drugs (Naprosyn or ibuprofen), pain meds (Vicodin, Vicoprofen or Percocet), muscle relaxers (Flexeril) and sleep meds (Lunesta or Ambien and/or trazodone) for many years. While the pain meds helped at first it never completely handled all the issue plus it came with side effects. I refused to take any RA biologics (like Enbrel or Humira) or cancer drugs which are the only options for the pain that got worse over the years. In September of 2010 I was laid off from my job of 10.5 years. My insurance would be ending at the end of the month and Cobra was not a viable option being on unemployment I could no longer afford to go to the pain doctor. I struggled daily and continued to use only ibuprofen for pain. I spent the majority of my time either in bed or on the couch. Most people know people with lupus are in pain but another thing you battle is extreme exhaustion. 24/7/365 non-stop exhaustion.

In June of 2012 a friend of mine brought over some all natural pain medicine she got from a chiropractor. This friend was in a horrific car accident and deals with lots of pain daily. Nothing had really helped her but this did and therefore she wanted me to try it. She had gelatin capsules filled with Mitragyna Speciosa better known as kratom. It is the ground up leaves of a tree that is native to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Burma etc.) It is a tropical deciduous and evergreen tree in the coffee family. It has been used medicinally for thousands in its native area. I tried the (capsules) to humor her. I was expecting nothing but I was amazed! My back did not hurt. My neck did not hurt. My toe did not hurt even while wearing tight fitting shoes. I also noticed I had more energy. With kratom I was able to do basic chores for more than 10 minutes at a time. I ordered myself some of the capsules and that was the beginning of my kratom journey.

I started to do more and more research on kratom. I read lots of great things about people who took it for various reasons; chronic pain, energy, MS, RLS, depression, diarrhea, insomnia, diabetes and opiate withdrawal. I joined groups and forums to talk to others using this wonderful plant. I learned about the different strains that offer different results. Some are more stimulating, others more relaxing. I read anything I could find on kratom be it good or bad. Throughout reading the information a pattern became obvious. People who were taking kratom said wonderful things about it. Things like how much it has helped them and changed their quality of life. However, the FDA and mainstream media say something completely different. I would like to say that they are some inaccuracies but that would be an understatement. Fallacies would be the correct term. Here are some examples.

Kratom gives you heroin like high. FALSE. You do not get high from kratom.

Kratom is dangerous and you can overdose. FALSE. You cannot overdose on kratom. If you take too much kratom you will get nauseous. If you really take too much you will throw it up.

Kratom is highly addictive and you will go into withdrawal without it. FALSE. I’ve used it on and off for over four years and have never had any withdrawal symptoms. What you WILL notice when you stop taking it is how much it was helping you.

They only side effect I have ever had is some constipation. To alleviate that you need to drink lots of water and eat fruits and veggies. All things we should be doing anyway.

Most days I have no pain at all except some in my knee which requires surgery. I have energy again. I am able to do chores, go grocery shopping and even some light yard work. At night I am able to relax and sleep without pain and without drugs. I want to mention that my blood work is the best it’s ever been. Someone recently asked me to describe my life with kratom. I said with kratom I feel normal again. I am able to participate in my life instead of watching it go by. What an amazing feeling that is. I was able to go back to work which I never thought possible. If I lose kratom my life will again consist of me either in bed or on the couch. THAT is not a life. I can’t believe the DEA is forcing me back onto opioids and other meds in a time when addition levels are at crisis level. Where is the logic in that? Oh wait! It’s not about logic, it’s about money.

Angela Ross (OH) #iamkratom #keepkratomlegal

My opiate addiction started innocently enough, back injury led me to seek treatment in the ER. I was prescribed percocet and sent on my way. Once the script was gone I went to a new dr and he refilled it. Again. And again. And again…for two years. Never another test to figure out what was wrong. I got out of control fast…and then one day he said no to my refill… just like that. My back hurt and I had nothing to make it go away. My insurance had run out so onto the withdrawals. I spent 9 days with vomiting, shaking, diarrhea, crazy anxiety, rls, cold sweats, insomnia, agitation ect. I finally googled how to help opiate withdrawal and ran across an article on kratom. I will never forget the instant relief and sense of calm I felt once I took my first dose! It got me through my withdrawals and I’ve continued to use it since for my ongoing back issues. It works so much better than any pill I’ve ever taken. It has also decreased my blood pressure to normal levels and virtually erased my depression and anxiety. Kratom has since replaced Lexapro for depression, Klonopin for anxiety, Lisinopril for my high bp and Oxycontin for pain. I was paying out of pocket for these meds with little to no relief and lots of nasty side effects. I am a better wife and mother because of kratom, I enjoy every single day instead of dreading them. Kratom is a godsend!

Nicole Lynn Shaw

Let me share what brought me to my journey that led me to kratom. I injured my back in 1997 and that started my downward spiral with narcotics.

I have 3 herniated discs, severe nerve damage, spinal stenosis and bone spurs so my pain has always been bad. I found a doctor who just loved to hand out pills. At one point I was getting 700 a month!! Needless to say I became heavily addicted to the meds. I tried cold turkey, I have been to rehab, I have been through it all. My doctors way of weaning me off the meds was for me to go to a methadone clinic where I was going to receive daily treatment. They would have put me on a very small dose for about 2 weeks and then wean me down from that. I went in on a Tuesday for my first dose and on my way home I fell asleep behind the wheel of my truck and ended up totaling 3 trucks including mine. My Ford truck looked like a soda can that you step on when your done with it. I walked away from it unharmed except the bruises and welts from the airbag and I was very shaken up. I could have killed myself in a instant my kids could have lost their mother.

The next day I went into my doctor who assured me that the methadone was the way to go that my dose must have been to high and they would adjust it. I left that office and I decided that the doctors only concern was that they would make their money off of keeping me on opiates and that is when my new life started. A lady found me on a pain site and told me about this kratom stuff and assured me it was the way to go. She almost begged me to get in contact with her swearing that with her help, the support group and kratom, it could save my life. This was the day I stopped taking narcotic meds and the day that changed my life forever. On day 3 of active withdrawals I tried Kratom for the first time and within 45 minutes I was almost back to what I call normal. My bones stopped hurting, my skin stopped crawling and I felt better pain relief then I had in years. I was amazed but I was also very scared. I had spent so many years as a addict I didn’t know what to do with myself. For the next thee weeks this lady spent hours and hours on the phone and online with me walking me through everything I needed to know about kratom. This plant has allowed me to take a active part in my 6 kids life. It gave my husband his wife back and it gave me a new life that I cherish and love. I fired my pain management doctor and I will never go back to being a active addict again.

Part 2

I have severe anxiety and PTSD from my 1st marriage. I got pregnant right before I got out of high school and married my daughters father because I thought it was the right thing to do. Shorty after we got married the abuse started to happen. I was able to hide it well for the first year or two of my marriage. However, my parents and family started to notice small changes in me and finally got the idea of what was going on at home. The night my dad figured it out I ended up prying my dad’s hands off my husband’s neck. He promised to change and went into anger management classes and he got better. Shortly after he graduated the classes I figured out he was into dope and things went from bad to worse very quickly. On January 3, 2003, a arsonist burnt down my home I shared with my husband and children by throwing a firebomb through my daughters window and under her bed. A few short weeks later I found out that my husband owed a drug debt that never got paid. I left my husband within a week of finding out but the damage was done at that point. Five years of abuse had messed me up beyond my control. I have spent years in therapy and have been used as a guinea pig as doctors threw every drug my way to mask my fears pain and anger. Kratom has changed me. I no longer need to take pills to mask what I have been though. I was not able to sleep alone up until October 2014. I would have my husband come and sit with me until I fell asleep. I couldn’t even sleep with the light off. I take my kratom 30 minutes before bed and I am finally able to go to bed alone. This plant has changed my life. I can breath normal again without the benzos, the anti depression meds and the daily fear. My PTSD is finally under control. I hope that someone reads this and takes the chance on kratom because it saves you in more way then one.

Stacy Benson

A journey finding pain relief and other benefits of Kratom tree and my fight to keep it legal

“I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees!” The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss reminds me of my former life as a professional, paid “tree-hugger,” a never-ending source of amusement for my family and friends who’d watched me turn into a hippie (well, as close as I could get at age 16. From that book comes my motto; “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” I used to speak for entire forests; large ecosystems our whole planet depends on. Now I speak for one tree that saved me, and for my right to purchase and consume it as I choose.

Born and raised in Virginia, I began my career 25 years ago as a Park Ranger in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. I’d received a Bachelor’s of Science from Old Dominion University (ODU) and was already a budding environmentalist, having founded ODU’s first environmental club. I spent three summers proudly wearing my “Smokey Bear” uniform, surrounded by the majestic beauty of a park owned by the American public. A life-long obsession with protecting public lands and natural resources was born, and I left Bryce (seen here, caught off guard behind the info. desk) in pursuit of a Master’s of Science in Forestry from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Degree in hand, I went west to spend many years living my dream of getting paid to save the earth. This required frequent outdoor site visits to the forests and wildernesses I was trying to protect. It was the perfect job and it was, like the Lorax’s, my life, too.

I moved to Oregon in 2000 to run wilderness, old growth forest and endangered species campaigns. I began experiencing a myriad of inexplicable health problems that ranged in severity and was diagnosed with “Fibromyalgia” and “treated” with narcotics. A lot of narcotics. And not only did they work, they gave me energy, decreased crippling anxiety, and made me happy. Every time I had a prescription filled, I felt like I’d hit the lottery. In 2008, plagued with too many symptoms to list, getting sicker and sicker, I became unable to care for myself. Heartbroken and devastated, home I went to live with my parents (after making sure my doctor sent me off with three months’ worth of pills).

Two years went by on these meds, while suffering symptoms such as temporary paralysis, confusion, exhaustion and fatigue, slurred speech, unbearable neck, back, hip, knee and joint pain, daily flu-like symptoms, drenching night sweats, fevers, chills, migraines and digestive problems. This was no fibromyalgia! I traveled from doctor to doctor to doctor in search of answers. I finally got one in 2010 when my pain management doctor tested me and confirmed my diagnosis; late stage Lyme disease. All those years spent in the woods, dozens of doctors familiar with my vocation, and not one thought to test me for it.

My case was so severe I began a 10-month journey with daily intravenous antibiotics (that’s me in the picture, too) followed by nearly 2 years of expensive non-traditional, not covered by insurance and experimental-type treatments (since there is no cure). As my tolerance grew, I was prescribed higher and higher doses of morphine. At one point I made a decision, with the help and encouragement of my family, to stop taking morphine and see if I could tolerate the pain on my own. I went to a doctor who prescribed me a weeks’ worth of Suboxone(Buprenorphine), a drug designed to limit withdrawals, and promised me it would be a pretty painless process. But with that promise came accusations that I was a drug addict. I left his office offended and angry, but determined. Sure, I took more than prescribed at times but I’d never gotten my meds from other doctors, never doctor shopped, bought pills illegally, wouldn’t dare touch a needle and I’d never run out early enough to suffer withdrawals. I didn’t know anyone who abused drugs. I dabbled in recreational drugs when I was younger, but that was the extent of it.

This doctor neglected to give me proper directions for Suboxone, I took it before I had withdrawal symptoms, and my body went into precipitated withdrawals that lasted 10 full, excruciating days (he did admit liability after the fact). I was convinced I was going to die, and if I didn’t, I wanted to. I thought I was losing my mind. You’d think that entire experience would have sworn me off narcotics for good, but my pain was just too severe. In 2010 I went back into pain management, was prescribed even more powerful drugs and for the first time in my life I started running out early and getting a monthly “flu,” that always lasted 3-5 days. That’s when I discovered Kratom.

The leaves of Kratom (Mytragyna Speciosa) a tree from Southeast Asia in the coffee family, have been used for hundreds of years to treat opiate withdrawals and pain, among many other things. It was suggested to me in an online support group for Lyme Disease to avoid withdrawals. I ordered it online and it worked! But I kept going back to the pain clinic. I kept getting newer and stronger medicines. And then it all came crashing down around me. There’s no need to go into detail here. Let’s just say an unexpected visit to “see” me wound up becoming a 45-day vacation from life that I didn’t ask for, and much, much more.

I still suffer many symptoms from the Lyme disease. Pain, fatigue and chronic nausea are the worst of them. It’s been a struggle to get up and out of bed for a long time. I was done with pain and fed up with the side effects and associated addiction issues of prescription narcotics. I needed something to help me. I remembered Kratom. I’m a scientist so I researched any dangers and risks, and came up with the following information. It is an all-natural, safer alternative to opiate pain medications and other prescription drugs, causes few side effects and unlike opiates, does not cause respiratory depression which can be deadly . You can’t take too much or your body will reject it. With daily use you can develop dependency, as with almost anything. Stopping use abruptly, like its family member coffee, can lead to withdrawal symptoms. If this happens, while symptoms will be different for everyone, the leading complaint based on anecdotal reports from a study in the Journal of Addiction, is a runny nose. I decided I would use it wisely, responsibly, take breaks, and always have a plan in place to taper down and off of it to avoid discomfort.

Six months ago I weaned myself off a months’ worth of high-dose OxyContin and Dilaudid, prescribed after major surgery, painlessly using Kratom alone, and I never went back to prescription pain medications. Once I began taking Kratom again, in a matter of two weeks I was up and around and no longer living a mostly home and bed-bound existence as I’d been for nearly a year. It relieved my pain yes, but also helped the anxiety and depression I’ve suffered my whole life. Kratom has improved my quality of life so much that I can’t imagine what I would do if it were to become illegal in the U.S. Without it, I truly feel I am as good as dead. It is my goal in life right now to help people like me who wish to turn away from deadly narcotics and other prescription drugs to Kratom for help with pain, depression, anxiety and/or addiction issues. As I said in my introduction, “I am the Lorax.” I still speak for the trees; only this tree is a little different from the ones I used to speak for. And I do care, a whole awful lot, so I know things are going to get better. This is my story. If you have a similar one, please join me and others in our efforts to keep this life-saving tree legal.

Susan Ash