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'Scores of scientists and consumers of an herbal remedy used to produce mild, opioid-like painkilling effects, are incensed that the Obama administration is set to add it to a list of Schedule I drugs the same list where much more potent opioids like heroin are listed.
Marijuana – nowhere nearly as dangerous or potent as heroin – was also recently reclassified to the list by the agency, a confusing signal from an administration that has refused to sue states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use though it remains against federal law.
But now, likely in deference to Big Pharma, Obama's DEA is set to classify the substance as, under federal policy, something that has "no currently acceptable medical use" ('acceptable' to whom has always meant the federal government).
The classification will instantly make kratom illegal to possess or sell, while making it more restricted that oxycodone or even cocaine.
The DEA will now open up a period for public comment until Dec. 1 of this year. It is also asking the FDA to expedite a "scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation" for the active chemical compounds in kratom.
At the close of the comment period, a number of things could happen. The DEA could decide to permanently place the plant in a schedule of the Controlled Substances Act, which would require an additional period for lawmakers and the public to weigh in. It could also decide to temporarily schedule kratom, which would not require any additional comment.
It could also decide to leave kratom unregulated.
Not quite out of the woods yet, but it is shocking to see the DEA pull back.
The DEA will now open up a period for public comment until Dec. 1 of this year.
The DEA cited more than 600 poison control center calls related to the drug between 2010 and 2015. It also noted 15 deaths linked to kratom use between 2014 and 2016 although in only one of those cases was kratom the only drug involved.
Researchers are welcoming the move, but they point out that the future of their work with the plant is an uncertain one.
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