Kratom has been a great help to me, to manage the pain of migraines, and a crushed spinal disc. I am over 60 years old, and have been working with these issues for decades. For the last four years, I have been taking about two teaspoons (4g) of Kratom per day, one teaspoon every six hours, which provides roughly 12 hours of pain relief. The cost is low - less than $200/year. Before Kratom, I would use hydrocodone, cyclobenzaprine (a muscle relaxer), and sumatriptan, as needed. Usually on a weekly basis. I still sometimes resort to those medicines, but only rarely now. Instead of once per week, I might use them once in 2-3 months, to handle a severe migraine, for example, because Kratom does not get rid of extreme pain. Kratom is not addictive. I can, and do, choose not to use it on any given day. There are no withdrawal symptoms - just the knowledge that if you don't take it, you may feel the pain, and if you do take it, the pain will go away, and you will have a general feeling of well-being. It is nothing like caffeine, for example, where you get headaches if you don't have a cup of coffee. You simply know that if you take the Kratom, the pain will go away and you can more easily get on with your day. There is very little motivation to abuse Kratom. It doesn't taste very good! Moreover, it's not like hydrocodone or meperidine (the two controlled substances that I've had experience with ...), where after a few doses a little voice in your head urges you to take more to feel even better. While I've never taken "too much" Kratom, my understanding is that you get jittery if you do - something like drinking too much coffee. For those that haven't used Kratom, it might be useful to compare it to caffeine and alcohol, which almost everyone has tried. After taking Kratom for four years, my experience is that coffee is substantially more addictive. That is, while you may have some mental desire to ingest Kratom or caffeine, you will have a strong physical need to ingest caffeine - and you will feel terrible if you don't. That doesn't happen with Kratom. Alcohol is even more addictive, mentally and physically. As to abuse, taking too much Kratom is about the same as taking too much coffee, and much less dangerous than taking too much alcohol. In short, Kratom is economical, and generally safe.  Indeed, about 20% of people don't respond to it, at all. On the other hand, many do respond, and it is very useful to the millions that take it on a daily basis to help make their lives better, and more easily manage pain. For most, it means they don't have to resort to hydrocodone, or some other addictive, or expensive substance. Kratom can be abused, but as a society, we know that's true of just about anything. However, the abuse of Kratom is much less of a problem than other substances. And its benefits far outweigh any problems it might cause. Please take the time to look into the academic research on this substance, and even more important, listen to the voices of many that have daily experience with it. In fact, you can easily order it yourself, online, at very low cost. Try a quarter- to half-teaspoon of the powder in a small glass of warm water and see for yourself. Drink the powder/water combination like tea. Depending on your body weight, it might take as much as a full teaspoon. Start small and don't take more than a teaspoon if it's your first time. The effects are felt within 10-15 minutes. If you are over 50 years old, with the usual aches and pains, I think you will find it makes a substantial difference - for the better! Thanks for your kind consideration.