kratom_just-a-billIn an ever-increasing race to combat the bills popping out of the woodwork across the United States, the Botanical Defense Team has scored a victory with one of it’s first efforts to effect change on this latest battlefield.  In short, Kratom is being incorrectly lumped in with “synthetics”, “research chemicals” and “street drugs”, and our sole goal is to educate our Congresspeople so they understand the difference, and remove Kratom from their sights.

In a letter to Eddie Farnsworth, the Arizona Senator responsible for House Bill 2453, we simply looked to educate Mr. Farnsworth on the simple fact that Kratom is being incorrectly targeted as a “synthetic” alkaloid.  Kratom has a long history of safe and effective use, and we’re finding that all we need to do is educate our Senators on this fact, to actually effect policy change.

Thanks to you, Mr. Farnsworth received a flood of letters into his office!  Yes, because YOU chose to personalize the letter we provided, because YOU chose to take action, because you decided that YOU were going to help make a difference; IT MADE A DIFFERENCE!  Once Mr. Farmsworth was made aware of the true nature of Kratom, he immediately agreed to remove any reference to Kratom and its alkaloids from his current bill.

This is a HUGE victory and sets a precendent for the ensuing battle that we plan to fight in every single state as it arises.  As of this writing, Oklahoma is next on the list, and we’re crafting a letter for Oklahoma that will be quite similar to the one below.

Speaking of, as much as we deeply appreciate all of the efforts of everyone who wants to get involved, we ask that personal letters that stray from the below example are kept to a minimum.  Some argue that having the same letter show up on a Senator’s desk is a bad thing, and that personal letters would be far more effective; it turns out that that is NOT the case. 

The sheer volume of letters are all that needed, as the power of that combined voice is what matters.  It’s very easy to have a very positive intent with the content of your letter, that isn’t worded in the very narrow format that letters that get heard are written in.  We’ve worked closely with our lobbyists and former letter-writers to Congress, and have come up with a 1-page letter that addresses the exact items in exactly the way they need to be addressed in order to be “heard” by the Congressperson you’re hoping to reach.

My name is Keith Cleversley and I can be reached anytime at admin at entheology dot org to answer any questions you may have, and to provide you with concrete ways of helping us fight this battle that we have already scored a major victory in Arizona thanks to the intelligent, forward-thinking decisions made by Senator Eddie Farnsworth.

THE LETTER TO THE ARIZONA SENATOR:

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip

Eddie Farnsworth
House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington – Room 302
Phoenix AZ 85007

Dear Mr Farnsworth,

I understand that you are sponsoring House Bill 2453, which would make the medicinal herb, Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) and/or its constituents Mitragynine and 7-hydroxy-mitragynine, Schedule I in your state.  I implore you to make an informed decision on the relative safety of this plant before placing a law in place that would incorrectly label Kratom as a plant with no medical potential whatsoever.

A casual look at available information revealed this regarding Kratom on Wikipedia:  “With Arizona being the landmark state championing alternative medicine with the development of the world renowned Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona with Dr. Andrew Weil, plants like kratom could be an invaluable medicine that the state, in particular, would want to support.”

The following are pertinent facts for your consideration:

•    The alkaloids in Kratom are natural, and not synthetic cannabanoids
•    Kratom is a plant, not a synthetic chemical or a “Street Drug”
•    Kratom is in the same family as the coffee tree (Rubiaceae)
•    Kratom is no more habit forming than coffee
•    Kratom has been safely used for thousands of years as a medicine
•    No one has ever died from taking Kratom
•    It is impossible to overdose on Kratom

Current peer reviewed studies on Kratom and its constituents have shown that Kratom has no acute toxicity , displays powerful antioxidant and antibacterial properties , assists with drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms , contains several oxindole alkaloids which have exhibited potent immunomodulation properties, and even contains constituents that have exhibited anti-cancer properties!   A brief search in any scholarly database will present hundreds of peer reviewed studies and clinical trials that can attest to the medical potential of this plant.  In short, Kratom does not present a significant threat to human health or safety.

If you insist on regulating Kratom, please regulate to 18 and over.  This would ensure only responsible adults have access to this safe and mild herbal alternative and allow researchers to continue to develop valuable medicines that would benefit MILLIONS of Americans.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at the above address or my cell phone is 626-689-1274

Thank you for your consideration,

Your Name Here