As a person who takes kratom, it’s important to be aware of, and to support, organizations fighting for us. The American Kratom Association is one of these groups. It’s an advocate for kratom legality and research and is also a good source of information on kratom.
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The American Kratom Association (AKA) is dedicated to protecting the rights of all Americans to legally consume safe kratom to better manage their overall health and well-being.
The American Kratom Association has 5 main goals:
Support Consumers. We believe many political and private entities don’t make the needs of the consumer and constituents a priority. Our goal is to change that.
Educate. Kratom has many beneficial purposes and is an all-natural alternative. Our goal is to educate all Americans—from potential consumers to regulators and everyone in between.
Amplify. We represent thousands of Americans that each have a story to tell. We believe the current environment in the United States often does not listen to individual voices and together we will make our voice heard.
Global Awareness. We hope to demonstrate responsible use and practical knowledge other countries may study when considering Kratom legislation.
Protect Natural Resources. Kratom is a precious natural resource. We support and advocate for sustainable harvesting techniques and reforestation efforts.
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Powerful forces, including Big Pharma and the FDA, are opposed to natural substances, because they hurt profits of corporations. People who turn to kratom, cannabis, dandelion, golden seal, mullein, and other herbs are turning away from expensive, potentially dangerous medicines offered by establishment medical professionals.
Greed appears to be the main driving factor here. Big Pharma pushes its products to doctors who then prescribe them to patients. Doctors are often bribed and unduly influenced by pharmaceutical company sales personnel. Gift certificates to steak houses, filling up the Escalade gas tank, and other favors, some unsavory, are used to lure physicians into doing the bidding of Big Pharma.
Even the AMA has reported misgivings about the FDA in regard to the opioid crisis.
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-fda-failures-contributed-opioid-crisis/2020-08
People tend to trust their health providers. They don’t like to think about extravagant profit motives or unethical schemes. But Big Pharma has been found guilty in courts for disinformation, deceptive practices, and damage to patients.
Chances are, even though pharmaceutical companies have been real angels, saving people from certain death, alleviating much suffering, curing many plagues and diseases – still you probably have experienced something negative from Big Pharma.
Side effects that were worse than the ailment the drugs were prescribed for. Medications for survival that are outrageously expensive, and not subsidized. Doctors who weren’t interested in learning about nutrition, preventive regimens, or herbal remedies. Vaccine damage. Adderall and Ritalin “crystal meth for children” issues with teens.
The classic example is how Purdue Pharmaceuticals lied about opioid medications. It’s just one among many instances of Big Pharma lying, bribing, spreading malicious self-serving propaganda, and being sleazy.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-purdue-pharma-opioids-plea/oxycontin-maker-purdue-pharma-pleads-guilty-to-criminal-charges-idUSKBN2842SQ
Read the US Justice Department’s own report on the scandal here:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/opioid-manufacturer-purdue-pharma-pleads-guilty-fraud-and-kickback-conspiracies
Purdue executives communicated to doctors that they should “Get in the Swing with Oxycontin”, as the ad campaign expressed it. They told doctors that Oxycontin was “safe and non-addictive”, encouraging them to prescribe it for every little ache and pain they encountered. Doctors complied and many of them over-prescribed Oxycontin.
This scenario is what experts attribute a large part of the opioid epidemic to: the deception and vile tactics employed by Big Pharma.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/17/sackler-family-hearing-opioids/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/purdue-pharma-maker-of-oxycontin-pleads-guilty-in-criminal-case
It gets worse. Purdue Pharmaceuticals executives issued memos to physicians that said if a patient does get habituated to (hooked on) Oxycontin, and starts demanding more and more, just blame the patient for being a low-life who exhibits drug seeking behavior for hoped for chemically induced thrills.
This is who we’re up against. It’s ugly. It’s upsetting. Millions of lives are at stake. Horrible suffering needs to be dealt with, safely and effectively. For many people, both cannabis and kratom are two natural solutions.
But using herbal substances is frowned upon by medical authorities. They’re protecting the profits of their masters, the Big Pharma corporations, who try to influence you too, with heavy TV and radio advertising. A patient cured is a customer lost, for this global conglomerate. They want us all to be totally and unquestioningly dependent upon them, not on nature, your garden, or the woods.
But notice also the many commercials from law firms about legal recourse for damages derived from pharmaceutical products! Look at how many FDA-approved pharmaceutical products have been taken off the shelves, like Darvocet, because they were KILLING people!
Even in the Covid-19 crisis, the emphasis in lame stream media and public health officials is on Big Pharma answers, masks, social distancing, vaccines…but total silence about strengthening the immune system with fresh air, sunshine, exercise, stress reduction, comedy, etc.
Why the silence on self-care? Because there’s no money in it for Big Pharma. Every time you choose nature over Big Pharma, you anger them. They crave more and more money. They seek to crush anything and anyone that offers people a safer, more natural solution. Spreading lies about marijuana, kratom, magic mushrooms, and other substances found in nature is one of their primary tactics.
Turning away from Big Pharma and orthodox healthcare, to pursue an alternative path – this is a gigantic threat to how much money Big Pharma can make. It’s profits first, people second or third, in this messy realm.
Thus, there is a ferocious battle going on. Will kratom remain legal where it is currently decriminalized? Will places where kratom is still illegal have a change of policy and make it legit? What is kratom research thus far telling us? How can we stop the tide of anti-kratom legislation?
Enter the American Kratom Association. All these concerns are issues they deal with for us who enjoy kratom as a dietary supplement and a solution for various problems.
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The American Kratom Association (AKA) recognizes that every effort should be made to keep kratom risks low, and protect consumers from adulterated and contaminated kratom products.
With appropriate FDA consumer regulation, we can maximize the potential for kratom to be responsibly used for the improvement of health and well-being of individuals and public health in America. To that end, AKA supports the following efforts:
REGULATION: AKA supports appropriate FDA regulations to ensure the safety and purity of kratom products. AKA is committed to work with the FDA to share information and collaborate in the development of regulations that will protect consumers from adulteration and contamination of kratom products.
CHILDREN: While Federal surveys have not identified use of kratom products in children as an emerging problem, AKA nonetheless supports efforts to prevent youth use, such as consideration of minimum age of procurement laws, e.g., age 18.
CHILD EXPOSURE CONCERNS: Although we are not aware of child or infant poisonings, AKA supports appropriate child resistant packaging.
PRODUCT PURITY: AKA believes that most manufacturers compete to provide the highest quality and purest products, and to ensure consumers can have confidence in the kratom products they purchase, AKA supports standards for product purity just as there are for most food products.
POTENTIAL ADULTERANTS: AKA believes that responsible marketers do not adulterate their products with other substances, which is a concern that has been raised by FDA. However, AKA would welcome FDA standards to prevent contamination or adulteration of kratom products with dangerous substances. AKA also supports appropriate monitoring to reassure consumers that their lawfully purchased products meet purity and manufacturing standards.
CLAIMS CONSISTENT WITH DSHEA: AKA is committed to limiting claims associated with the use of kratom products to conform with the standards set in DSHEA for dietary supplements. AKA is committed to continuing to work with dietary experts and legal counsel, and will work with the FDA to ensure that AKA’s statements do not constitute inappropriate claims.
LABELING: AKA welcomes FDA development of labeling and encourages FDA to work with manufactures and marketers to develop labeling that is helpful to consumers.
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Please go to their website, read relevant pages, and consider helping the AKA and other organizations, financially or in any way you can, contributing your time and talents.
https://www.americankratom.org/
Make your life count for something that benefits all humanity! Be a Kratom Activist, struggling for our rights to natural substances put here on Earth for our blessing and benefit.
