FDA is looking for public input on whether the UN should ban kratom globally

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now accepting public comments on a United Nations (UN) proposal to ban kratom in most of the world.

This fall, the World Health Organization (WHO) Committee of Experts on Drug Addiction will meet to discuss whether several drugs, including kratom, should be added to the world’s banned drugs list. The FDA will make a formal recommendation to the WHO on the ban, but beforehand the agency must accept public comments on the matter in order to make its final decision.

In a notice published in the Federal Register last week, the agency “calls on interested persons to comment on the potential for abuse, actual abuse, medical benefits, human trafficking and the effects of changes in schedule on the availability for medical use of seven drug substances. These comments will be taken into account in preparing a United States response to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the liability for abuse and diversion of these drugs. “

At first glance, it may seem like the FDA’s request for comment is well-intentioned, but on further investigation it is clear that the agency has an agenda. FDA officials consider kratom a dangerous and addicting drug and have already tried to ban this herbal compound domestically. These domestic efforts have not been successful, but if the UN banned kratom globally, the US would almost certainly follow suit.

Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow of Public Policy at the American Kratom Association (AKA), told Marijuana Moment that if the WHO added kratom to its controlled substance list, “37 countries that are part of this international treaty will effectively ban kratom become”. the world. The FDA can’t have kratom planned under the criteria of the Controlled Substances Act here in the United States, so they bypass that and go to the WHO.

Haddow accused federal agencies of “waging a war on kratom to criminalize more than 15 million Americans, and they are ignoring the public health impact of kratom users who are forced into highly addictive opioids that can be fatal … more deaths by overdosing “will happen when kratom is banned, and that is exactly what the FDA is trying to do.”

The FDA notification clearly shows that the agency has already made a decision on this opioid alternative. “Kratom is abused for its ability to produce opioid-like effects,” the agency wrote. “Kratom comes in a variety of forms, including dried / crushed leaves, powders, capsules, tablets, liquids, and gum / resin. Kratom is an increasingly popular drug of abuse and is readily available in the recreational drug market in the United States. “

In particular, the agency looks for research studies and well-researched public policy recommendations that either support or oppose the kratom ban. Interested parties must adhere to strict rules to submit their comments – but federal agencies only take comments until Aug.

“The FDA’s request for public comment on such an important matter involving the international classification of kratom is an extraordinary abuse of its authority,” Haddow told Marijuana Moment. The agency’s deadline allows “just three weeks for scientists, policymakers and consumers to provide well-researched answers that meet the complex requirements for data and information under review by the WHO Expert Committee”.

The AKA hopes to collect thousands of comments in favor of kratom, but Haddow warns that those comments need to be addressed to the WHO, not the FDA. “We don’t want people to complain about the FDA being exceeded because we can fight this battle on a separate battlefield, but we want WHO to inform about the strong experiences people have had with kratom,” said he.