Tighter laws on kratom leading to more detox admissions
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The federal government could reclassify some concentrated forms of kratom as early as Aug. 5 and many types of concentrated forms of the plant have been banned in Florida since June.
Less accessibility to the drug is leading people to seek out treatment, and kratom is a tough drug to kick. The withdrawal is similar to traditional opioids.
Experts tell us that kratom is an addictive plant with opioid-like effects, meaning people can use it to get high, especially in the more concentrated forms.
“Hearing from the patients that it’s usually worse than fentanyl or really any kind of opiate that they detox off of, I think that calls for some sort of regulation and no accessibility to the general public, of course,” said Hannah Allen, a licensed clinical social worker and the clinical director at Sunrise Detox in Orlando.
Sunrise Detox is seeing more cases of kratom detoxes coming in and the patients themselves are sharing the struggle of trying to get off such an addictive substance.
“Yesterday he said on the smoking patio, like, ‘This is worse than fentanyl. I’ve never been through it like this,'” Allen said.
“It gets people hooked like any kind of opiate does. The symptoms of withdrawal are pretty much parallel,” said Levi Turney, a registered nurse at Sunrise Detox.
Florida has already banned some concentrated forms of kratom as similar rules have been proposed by the federal government.
If you are struggling with addiction, Levi at Sunrise Detox has a message for you:
“Don’t give up. There’s people out here that love you. We need you. You can use your trials and tribulations to help someone else and take power from it, and you’re never alone,” he said.