Kratom Lords

To end the drug crisis, bring addiction out of the shadows Far too often, shame and stigma fuel addiction and prevent treatment, argues Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But replacing judgment with compassion can save lives. When I was six years old, as I was having dinner with my mother and three sisters, my mother received a telegram. She broke down crying as she read it. Her father — my grandfather — had died. In her grief, she locked herself in her room and would not let me console her. The memory of my inability to relieve my mother’s suffering still haunts me. My sisters and I were led to believe that our grandfather had died of a heart attack. It was only decades later, when I had already been an addiction researcher for several years and my mother was herself dying, that she revealed the truth: My grandfather had had an alcohol addiction. Unable to stop drinking, he had taken his own life in a final moment of futility and shame. People...

Kratom’s two primary alkaloids — 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine — are responsible for producing most of its many pharmacological effects. Alkaloids are organic compounds containing nitrogen, an extremely broad category that includes chemicals like ephedrine, caffeine, and morphine; 7-hydroxymitragynine is unique because it’s a derivative of mitragynine. Alkaloid concentrations can vary between kratom strains, but, on average, 7-hydroxymitragynine makes up only 2% of kratom’s alkaloid budget. For comparison, mitragynine comprises up to 66% of alkaloids in some Thai kratom strains. However, the concentrations alone don’t tell the whole picture, and even minimal 7-hydroxymitragynine concentrations play an important role in influencing kratom’s pharmacological effects. Where Does 7-hydroxymitragynine Come From? Kratom plants produce mitragynine as part of their natural life cycle. As the plants mature, mitragynine is converted to 7-hydroxymitragynine through oxidation, th...