The secrets of kratom – Interview with Jay McLaughlin
The secrets of kratom – Interview with Jay McLaughlin To better understand the science of psychedelics, and how we can make the bridge to implementing them in practice, Blossom is conducting a series of interviews with psychedelic scientists. Their editor-at-large, George Fejer, speaks to Dr. Jay McLaughlin, Professor of Pharmacodynamics at the University of Florida, and one of the leading experts on kratom. Key Insights Kratom and its active alkaloids are promising candidates to treat opioid addiction because they interact with different opioid receptor subtypes, which can counteract respiratory depression, opioid addiction, and its withdrawal symptoms. Salvinorin A is also an interesting candidate for treating addiction because it completely blocks out the rewarding effects of drugs, however, this is also accompanied by unpleasant subjective effects that could potentially cause drug relapse. Scientists are now developing multifunctional (partial) agonists, which ini...