Doctors are sounding the alarm about the number one new substance addiction they’re seeing in this area. It’s something called kratom. Synthetic kratom, known as “gas station heroin” is marketed as an herbal remedy, and it’s killing dozens of people in New York a year.<\/p>\n
Doctors are sounding the alarm about the number one new substance addiction they\u2019re seeing in this area. It\u2019s something called kratom. Synthetic kratom, known as \u201cgas station heroin\u201d is marketed as an herbal remedy, and it\u2019s killing dozens of people in New York a year.<\/p>\n
One man in recovery we talked to thinks it\u2019s pretty crazy that kratom can just be bought over the counter. He is in treatment at St. Peter\u2019s Addiction Recovery Center (SPARC).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very similar to a pharmaceutical opioids, where it actually grabs on to the same receptors in your brain that opioids do to give you that euphoric feeling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He says he turned to kratom because it was so easily accessible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time I tried it, it was a liquid form. I tried the liquid and it actually knocked me right out. Put me to sleep. But when I woke up, a feeling of euphoria. Kind of liked the way it felt. Then I found out they sold it in pill forms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started taking more and more, and realized he had a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped taking it, and once I stopped taking it, the withdrawal was very, very intense. Body aches, like my whole entire body, I could not move. My whole body was sore. I could not sleep, hot flashes, sweating, cold, very painful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kratom is an herb from Southeast Asia. It\u2019s been used around the world for centuries.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., it\u2019s not regulated at the federal level, and not approved by the FDA.<\/p>\n
Some people say it works wonders.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s marketed as a natural, herbal supplement to treat anxiety, insomnia, depression, and pain.<\/p>\n
Dr. Angad Madan is the medical director of SPARC.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany patients do not know that it\u2019s a substance of addiction or misuse and many patients just think it\u2019s a herbal supplement. I think it\u2019s false advertising and it\u2019s resulting in another opioid epidemic that the state of New York doesn\u2019t really need,\u201d said Dr. Madan.<\/p>\n
Experts say it\u2019s almost an introductory opioid, but one that you can find at your corner store.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s banned in many countries and in six states, including Vermont.<\/p>\n
In our area, it\u2019s also banned in Washington County.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a kratom product called 7-OH.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo 7-OH which is also available just over the counter at various stores that sell it is extremely potent. More potent than morphine,\u201d said Frank Babich, Physician Assistant at SPARC Cohoes. \u201cSo it produces dependency much quicker, and people do experience much worse withdrawal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKratom, also known as 7OH or 7-hydroxymitragynine, is the number one new substance addiction that I\u2019ve seen in SPARC, the St. Peter\u2019s Addiction Recovery Center, at all levels of care,\u201d said Dr. Madan.<\/p>\n
The New York governor\u2019s office says almost 1% of all young people in the U.S. report having used kratom in the last year.<\/p>\n
Governor Kathy Hochul says in New York State, kratom is listed as the cause of death in more than 100 overdose cases in a one year period.<\/p>\n
We spoke to another man in recovery who had turned to kratom when he couldn\u2019t get opiates anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, okay, what am I going to do. I heard about Kratom. I was like, okay, that works. And it did work. It got me off of opiates very well. It did exactly what I was told it was going to do. And then turned into its own problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he tried 7-OH.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, they are strong and it really\u2013 it will destroy your life. Completely. In every way possible. Your finances. It\u2019s very expensive, especially the tablets. It\u2019s like $50 for a pack of 4, some of these packets that you get.\u201d<\/p>\n
He estimates he spent close to $50,000 in two years.<\/p>\n
Both men say they found the right support and community at SPARC, St. Peter\u2019s Addiction Recovery Center.<\/p>\n
They want to warn people about kratom and 7-OH, from experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe withdrawal from it\u2013 worst time of my life.\u201d He said the fact that it\u2019s so readily available is extremely dangerous.<\/p>\n
New York just passed new regulations. Now people have be 21 to buy kratom.<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is concerned about drinking, drug use, or overuse of opiate pain medications,\u00a0 Wednesday we will take a look at the legislation just passed, and more underway right now, plus you will hear from a Ballston Spa mother whose son died from kratom.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0substance<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Recovery<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0kratom<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Doctors<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Addiction<\/a>\u00a0\u00a013investigates<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doctors are sounding the alarm about the number one new substance addiction they’re seeing in this area. It’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[306140,9038,28,3281,36524,683,37968],"class_list":["post-709619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-13investigates","tag-addiction","tag-business","tag-doctors","tag-kratom","tag-recovery","tag-substance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
St. Peter\u2019s Addiction Recovery Center can help. SPARC offers detox, outpatient addiction services, inpatient rehabilitation, mental health services, and more. To learn more, their 24\/7 access line is 1-833-688-3480, or https:\/\/www.sphp.com\/services\/addiction\/st-peters-addiction-recovery-center<\/a><\/p>\n