Researchers say a majority of kratom users<\/a> consume the plant to relieve pain. In some cases, people report using it effectively to treat opioid dependence. Others use it to alleviate mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.<\/p>\nIn the last few years, a synthetic version of kratom refined to its psychoactive compound 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, has grown in popularity. The much more potent form of the largely unregulated drug has become a concern for public health officials and advocates.<\/p>\n
But toxicologists say there isn\u2019t enough research to provide a comprehensive understanding of what concentrations of kratom or 7-OH can be acutely toxic in the body when alone.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s likely they can also cause dangerous reactions when combined with other drugs that could amplify their effects, experts said, but the lack of research means doctors just don\u2019t know what they are. That\u2019s where the most concerning risks lie, said Craig Smollin, medical director of the San Francisco division of the California Poison Control System.<\/p>\n
In cases where kratom and 7-OH are found in the bodies of a recent accidental death, typically toxicologists have found evidence of polysubstance use \u2014 when two or more drugs are taken together either intentionally or unintentionally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t claim to have investigated all the reports about kratom deaths, but I haven\u2019t seen too many reports of single-drug ingestions of kratom causing death,\u201d Smollin said.<\/p>\n
And while there\u2019s an effective method to test for the quantity of kratom in the body, there isn\u2019t a similarly accurate test for 7-OH. Current tests can only say whether or not it is present. In all six L.A. County deaths, it was.<\/p>\n
But, Papsun notes, when kratom is metabolized in the body, part of the breakdown includes 7-OH, which means it will likely show up in medical exams whenever kratom does.<\/p>\n
Toxicology labs face significant challenges when trying to quickly develop tests for emerging drugs like 7-OH for use in post-mortem medical examinations, Papsun said. \u201cAdding something to a scope of testing is not easy from a forensic point of view because you have to develop it, validate the test, have available commercial material and it has to be scientifically rigorous because these results can end up in court,\u201d Papsun said.<\/p>\n
A further challenge to testing for 7-OH, specifically, is that the compound is \u201cincredibly unstable,\u201d she said. It can be detected in the body at the time of death but by the time the sample is collected and tested, the compound may have started to break down already, leading to inaccurate results.<\/p>\n
Robert Powers, a forensic toxicologist at the University of New Haven, agreed that it was difficult to tell whether kratom and 7-OH played a direct role in the L.A. County deaths. \u201cMost of the problems that arise with this drug are in combination with other respiratory depressant type drugs: opiates, benzodiazepines, alcohol,\u201d he said, though he added that the deaths are \u201cnot an easy picture\u201d to understand.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why, he said, the L.A. County health department\u2019s move to pull these products off the shelves makes sense. \u201cI think it\u2019s reasonable to recognize that in these cases, kratom could have indeed played a contributory role. And I understand the interest in trying to limit the potential effects of this drug in those mixed cases, so I understand why people would be interested in controlling this drug.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smollin, the San Francisco poison center director, concurred, pointing out how much the county still might not know about kratom and 7-OH.<\/p>\n
That lack of information trickles down to consumers, who often rely on guidance from local, state and federal agencies about the risks of products like kratom and 7-OH.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Dee Macaluso, 74, said she\u2019s had to take it upon herself to seek out other sources of guidance, and experiment with different amounts of daily dosage to alleviate her symptoms of fatigue and trouble breathing from years of chronic lung illnesses.<\/p>\n
When she learned of the county\u2019s decision, \u201cit scared me to death that they were going to pull\u201d kratom products. \u201cI told my husband, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do if I don\u2019t have it and then I won\u2019t be able to get out of bed, or paint or do the little bit that I can do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Macaluso was an actor and comedian who in her 60s lived in Park City, Utah, but more recently moved to L.A. when her health declined due to pneumonia that progressed to debilitating infections in her lungs.<\/p>\n
Macaluso used to have an active lifestyle, but the damage to her lungs made it so she could barely go up and down the stairs of her Utah home without feeling winded. She also felt the elevation in Park City was straining her health \u2014 it\u2019s one reason she chose to move to Los Angeles, which is mostly low-altitude.<\/p>\n
She saw a number of specialists, but none offered any options that helped alleviate her symptoms. Then, she stumbled on a documentary that highlighted the benefits of kratom in regards to chronic pain and mental health. She decided to try it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t use it very often, but when I did I found that it helped so many of my issues,\u201d Macaluso said.<\/p>\n
She described the effect as a boost of energy that in turn gave her the motivation and strength to get out of bed. \u201cThis was much more of a subtle feeling of just relief from being in a state of someone who is unwell and tired,\u201d Macaluso said. \u201cI loved it and I still use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As her illness has progressed, Macaluso has continued to rely on kratom whenever she knows she\u2019ll have a long day or has to attend a function and be sociable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made me feel like my old self \u2014 smart mouth, funny and quick. I was a stand-up comic, I did all these things and I was becoming this old tired lady that got winded going up a few stairs and it pissed me off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Macaluso doesn\u2019t advocate for 7-OH but she doesn\u2019t want kratom to be banned; she\u2019d rather it be regulated and available to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the government should give us the leeway to educate ourselves,\u201d she said. \u201dThere\u2019s always going to be people that misuse it but I don\u2019t think that those of us who are using it responsibly and getting benefit from it should be penalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Business owners like Abdullah Mamun, who started the company Authentic Kratom 12 years ago, agree with Macaluso\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
Authentic Kratom began as an e-commerce business based in Canoga Park, and has since grown into three brick-and-mortar locations in Canoga Park, Woodland Hills and Hollywood.<\/p>\n
Mamun believes 7-OH is a real risk, and that L.A. County should focus its efforts there. A blanket ban on all kratom products, however, is counterproductive, he said. First of all, based on what his customers have told him over the past decade or so, he believes \u201ckratom doesn\u2019t cure you, but it gives people the relief that they\u2019re looking for and the ability to manage their pain.\u201d Second, red-tagging kratom products would directly affect his Authentic Kratom and the livelihood of his seven full-time employees.<\/p>\n
And he welcomes regulation on kratom products.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want them to be properly labeled for customers because people should know what they\u2019re putting in their body,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recently, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported it had linked the deaths of six L.A. County…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28838,2789,1436,38066,339,38061,38064,38065,6874,28837,38063,38062,48,52,51,47,50,49,3651,3729,4746],"class_list":{"0":"post-63207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-7-oh","9":"tag-body","10":"tag-case","11":"tag-craig-smollin","12":"tag-death","13":"tag-dee-mascalusco","14":"tag-different-toxicologist","15":"tag-donna-papsun","16":"tag-drug","17":"tag-kratom","18":"tag-kratom-user","19":"tag-l-a-county-resident","20":"tag-la","21":"tag-la-headlines","22":"tag-la-news","23":"tag-los-angeles","24":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","25":"tag-los-angeles-news","26":"tag-product","27":"tag-report","28":"tag-use"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}