Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) is a plant indigenous to Southeast Asia and has been used by natives for hundreds of years to reduce pain, increase work performance, help reduce symptoms of opiate withdrawal, among other uses. It's a relative to the coffee plant and according to available research, is no more harmful or addictive than it's coffee cousin. It's made up of many different alkaloids and their functions make the plant an atypical opioid because it contains both opioid receptor agonists and antagonists. This combination helps block the typical high people get from opiates, while still providing pain relief. Scientists have also proven that kratom does not cause respiratory depression, the common killer from pharmacuetical opiates, because of signaling the g-protein pathway which is entirely different from the way normal opioids work (by signaling the beta-arresstin pathway). The kratom associated deaths reported by the FDA have all been debunked. These cases included 9 deaths from Sweden that were caused by an adulterated product called Krypton which was laced with a synthetic compound akin to but more potent than tramadol, a gunshot victim, a man who fell out of a window yet refused treatment, a suicide, a car accident, and multiple poly drug use cases. Even if they had been caused by kratom, there is a greater risk of death by falling out of bed or drinking too much water if you run the perspective numbers over the course of the last decade and hundreds of people die every year from complications related to Tylenol.

I've been a responsible kratom consumer for more than 7 years now and at 37 feel and function better than I did a decade ago. I'm a better wife, mother, and caregiver in my full time role as a direct supports professional assisting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This plant doesn't get you high. If anything it helps to quicken response time. Personally I compare it to the relief one feels when Excedrin taken for a headache finally stars to kick in.

Today I respectfully request that you support and pass the Kratom Consumer Protection Act rather than adding kratom's key components to the list of banned substances.. This law establishes useful guidelines to protect consumers from adulterated kratom products, makes sure that the product is thoroughly tested and clearly labeled, and establishes age restrictions, all of which advocates can agree are beneficial to the industry and consumers. I lost my brother to a heroin/fentanyl overdose in November 2018 and I promise you I wouldn't be fighting to keep kratom accessible if I thought it could cause harm. This plant has actually helped people get away from dangerous opiates.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter! As a resident of Pennsylvania, I come to and through the state of Virginia multiple times a year and would hate to see myself and Virgina residents unfairly criminalized based on a rushed decision without scientific backing.