Recovery experts and local businesses at odds over kratom in Colorado
PALMER LAKE, Colo. (KRDO) -- Kratom, a substance that can give a user sedative effects, has gone viral on TikTok as users balance the benefits with concerns over addiction.
The FDA has urged consumers to avoid products with 7-OH, and has even asked that it be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, the strictest level, alongside heroin and LSD.
Several botanical tonics made with kratom are available at gas stations. But experts working at rehabilitation and recovery centers say easily-accessible drinks can lead someone down a path to addiction.
“In most cases hard opioids like fentanyl, like heroin they kinda know what they’re getting themselves into, like if i ever, if i stop this it’s gonna suck and with these individuals they don’t even realize that this substance is so powerful," says Marko Miskov a recovering addict and senior community outreach coordinator at The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake.
However, advocates say that kratom can provide help to those dealing with PTSD or those who are suffering from chronic pain.
"It activates opioid receptors, it could be a good pain killer, it can give you energy, it can help you sleep, you can use it as pre-workout, some people use it to curve other habits,” says James Baucom, who works at Mr. Nice Guy's on E Platte Ave.
Some see it as just another beverage. But with the FDA calling for tighter restrictions, the future of 7-OH products is uncertain.
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