The DEA and the Assassination of Common Sense

By Ida Lawrence

I took this quote from one of many articles I’ve been reading about the plant medicine called kratom: “A patient requiring constant medication is, from a business standpoint, preferable to people getting pain relief from a plant.”

The list of things we can’t do according to the law is getting longer and longer. In a month another will be added to the list. I’d just like to give the readers a head’s up on what’s going on in the US, within our strangely backward drug enforcement agency (DEA).

We all rise to the cause of life and truth, and we serve however we can. On the activist level we’re fighting for the earth, the people, the clean water, the air, the food, the animals, and the plant medicines. We’re standing up against the anti-life forces in increasing numbers and we’re winning in some areas… slowly and surely people are becoming aware, taking a stand, and sometimes turning the tide.

A few days ago, without any expert or public consultation of any sort, the DEA made kratom, which I use for relief from chronic hip pain, illegal. Imagine that – going to prison for using kratom. They probably won’t focus on jailing old white ladies; they’ll just eliminate access to it.

The DEA has long been working to restrict plant medicines, herbal products, and anything effective that the pharmaceutical companies are unable to profit from. In a month, kratom will be a Schedule-1 substance… deemed as dangerous; a public health menace with no medical use. It is made from the leaf of a tree similar to the coffee tree, and like most plant medicines it has been used for a long time. In its unadulterated powder form it is an excellent pain reliever. Since I began using kratom nearly a year ago, I’ve been able to stop taking the synthetic opiate Tramadol.

I decided to do some testing myself, just to see if the fear mongering about kratom is true or untrue, so I have stopped taking it for a few days every month. There were no withdrawal symptoms. The only thing that I experienced was the return of pain and the need to go back to taking my ‘safe’ Tramadol.

As with so many of these confrontations with the moneyed powers, we are at a turnaround point. Recently the DEA refused to acknowledge the medicinal value of cannabis, and there was quite a public reaction. It was like, “Are they crazy?” Both cannabis, a plant with incredible health-related uses, and kratom, another very effective plant medicine, are substances the DEA must protect us from? Rebellion is in the air.

It’s possible the will of the people will overcome. Activists are preparing to file an injunction in federal court to stop the DEA, and I’ve been signing petitions and offering to testify as to my successful use of this plant. I don’t know if, like with cannabis, voters in various states can overrule the DEA and make medicinal use legal, but I’m sure the American Kratom Association is doing what it can on that front.

I’ll close with a quote from the article’s comments section: “To take a plant that is so benign, with very limited side effects, that helps people with pain management and that helps others get off of hard drugs, and to make it illegal in the same category as meth and heroin is criminal.”

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If you’d like more information or if you’d like to sign a petition, here are some links.

Petition

The DEA Now Thinks Kratom is as Dangerous as Heroin

DEA to Ban All Sales of Kratom

How a Leafy Asian Tree Could Help Combat Addiction

This article, The DEA and the Assassination of Common Sense, was contributed by Ida Lawrence of Talk2Momz where it appeared first and appears at Natural Blaze with express permission of the author.

Ida Lawrence is the founder of Talk 2 Momz and is the author of The Warrior’s Way to Heaven and Earth. She is a 2015 recipient of the “Nobull Peace Prize” (google it!) and offers English and writing services. Check it out!

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