WEST MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD) — Kratom, is a derivative of an Asian evergreen tree, that contains multiple stimulants and is used by as many as 5 million people in the United States. The substance has been touted as an alternative approach to pain management.
It is an opioid base and they have attempted to move the ingredients in a way to move it away from that and push it legally in the United States.
Dr. Thomas Estis, Clinical Director & Owner of Aim Well Recovery Center.
Kratom comes in three forms a pill form, a powder form, and a liquid form all have an opioid base. Kratom can be purchased by anyone 18 years or older at any gas station or smoke shop that sells Kratom. You can even purchase Kratom over the counter at certain pharmacies.
It needs to be totally banned. It needs to be banned in every state across the country because it is an opioid like substance, and it has the same effect on opioid receptors in the brain.
Dr. Thomas Estis, Clinical Director & Owner of Aim Well Recovery Center.
The Prefrontal Cortex of the human brain for anyone who is not fully developed can be extremely damaged by drugs like Kratom.
Decision making, judgment, conscious of right and wrong and impulse control are all effected by Kratom use. When people start speeding that into the brain before certain ages and the brain is not fully developed the person is setting themselves up for addiction.
Dr. Thomas Estis, Clinical Director & Owner of Aim Well Recovery Center.
The Louisiana Department of Health wants to visit schools across the state to educate students on the dangers of Kratom.
