Public opinion about Kratom seems to be getting worse

[Stimie]

I really hope things start turning around, Kratom has been getting a worse name in the last few months and I'm sure it has to do with the 'smear campaign' that has been launched against it.

It just doesn't seem fair for something that has been helpful for so many people and doesn't kill to get such a bad rap, plus people have been using it for hundreds if not thousands of years.

I'm not sure what it will take to improve it, I'm not even sure if remaining legal at a national level will help, or if people who don't understand would be even interested in hearing anything else at this point because they have already formed their opinion about it.

[whiffypants]

Kratom has been getting a worse name in the last few months...

What makes you say that, Stimie? I'm not disagreeing with you because I don't see the news much, but it seems like the news about kratom I do see is getting more positive. I researched it for over a year before actually taking the plunge, and I remember when it was mostly just horror stories likening it to bath salts that always featured multiple toxin deaths front and center, like the other 20 things the guy took had -nothing- to do with his demise, no, it was ALL the Demon Kratom!!1!!111!!

...and I'm sure it has to do with the 'smear campaign' that has been launched against it.

On this we are 100% agreed, unfortunately. That's why it was banned as early as the 1920s in some places in Southeast Asia: it was cutting into opium profits. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

[g-otis]

We’ll just have to wait and see. People just need to use it responsibly and not give government any statistics. This government should take care of real issues that affect public health, like meth, which is a major problem in my neck of the woods.
Doctors have recently tightened up on handing out opiates, or at least mine has, and that’s a good thing, because people are dropping dead left and right from overdose.
That brings me back to kratom. I’m a fairly new user, but in the past few months, I have not had a single opiate or benzo nor have I even wanted them. That is a miracle. I even turned down a handful of pain pills. Unheard of 3-4 months ago. I use kratom for moderate pain management and anxiety. Occasionally I have done it recreationally too, for the euphoria and mood lift. Usually that is accidental if I happen to get a particularly sweet strain.

Anyway I hope it remains legal and inexpensive, because it works better for me than any pharmaceutical ever has. And in my long past, I’ve tried ‘em all, so I’m loving the kratom!

Have a good weekend.
go

[Stimie]

One of the reasons I think this way is because CC companies are refusing to do business with Vendors and forcing them to survive with other payment options.

6 months ago it seemed that CC purchases were the way to go and then there's the 'Not for Human Consumption' ruling on that statement.

I really hope that the entity that started sounding all the alarms gets shut down about this.

There are many bigger problems that need attention, and I'm not sure if remaining legal will be enough to stop the nonsense.

I think what I need to do is stop from falling into the 'negativity trap' and you are correct that there has been much positive information coming from the Scientific community lately.

Plus I really shouldn't waste time thinking about what could happen because it is out of my control anyway.

[BallzDeep9]

We do know that kratom's popularity is steady, and rising .. because of retail sales, vendor sales and # new vendors. Anecdotal because I don't know if AKA is keeping hard statistics on # product sold.

I think in liberal states where Weed is legal, people are generally curious about kratom .. And there is a definite momentum in favor of kratom. There's been an over-supply of weed. This was documented in the WW article a couple months ago. There's just weed, CBD, pot, cannabis, and reefer - about everywhere you look! So .. there HAS been a growing "Kratom is better than Weed" movement.

Nationally? IT IS breaking down by political party folks .. YES. Did anyone pay attention to how Congress voted, on the recent SITSA Act in the House? They denied all motions from Democrats, to exempt kratom from the bill. Then, the vote split along party lines. ALL Republicans voted against kratom. ALL Democrats voted in favor of kratom.

So a LOT of the political/ legal stuff, is on hold until after this November election

[heme2016]

IT IS breaking down by political party folks .. YES. Did anyone pay attention to how Congress voted, on the recent SITSA Act in the House? They denied all motions from Democrats, to exempt kratom from the bill. Then, the vote split along party lines. ALL Republicans voted against kratom. ALL Democrats voted in favor of kratom.

This. All politicians will screw us some of the time, but the clowns currently running things want to screw us ALL of the time. Remember this in November.