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I spoke with Hannah earlier and suggested that she post here on the site for further assistance. She is doing this the right way and trying to learn everything she can about Kratom before reporting on it.

Thanks again Hannah for your efforts!

Thanks Hannah. Yes - there ARE those who are marketing it to our young people BUT the Kratom Assn stands AGAINST that type of thing. We encourage responsible ADULT use - not legal high, teenager abuse!! We (the KA) try to help legislators/lawmakers understand that it has definitely got valid good purposes such as assisting folks get UNaddicted to opiates, suboxone, heroin, alcohol, and even ciggarettes. Its very helpful to those who struggle with depression, OCD, PTSD, anxiety - that kind of thing. Personally, when I write lawmakers I encourage them to age restrict it (at least 18 or over)
I will see if I can locate any Michigan folks and refer them to you. Please keep us posted.

Hello Hannah, I definitely have nothing bad to say about kratom. I would love you to pm me and I can tell you my amazing story of what Kratom has done for me. I really hope you contace me. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Hey Hannah, I pm'd you just now so please check your inbox when you get a chance. THANKS!

Hannah Kratom has helped me to stay off heroin, and other pain killers. God and Kratom have saved my life. It is a mild plant, which is natural and not dangerous like the synthetic garbage sold at head shops. I use it for oioid/opiate dependency, pain, OCD/anxiety, depression, and energy for work. I used to be on Methadone and Suboxone and they are dangerous especially Methadone. Methadone has killed about 5 people I know! This plant is so beneficial. I have used it for a long time responsibly, and I am 31. Always show this natural and safe plant ina positive light. God bless.

Great post Richter! Thanks for bearing your heart!

Hi Hannah. I had a look at many of your other reports online for WZZM and theyre mostly quite upbeat and light-hearted subjects, do you intend to give any kratom report you make this slant? It would of course be wonderful if you did but you may find it a bit difficult delivering it that way given what many use it for (ie. Anxiety, pain, depression, stress etc). Maybe your report is more of a freelance offering for the media at large and outside the boundaries of WZZMs normal area of operation so you can give it the depth it deserves? Someone still needs to produce the definitive report on the subject (of that there is no doubt) but unbiased reporting is alas a thing which seems rare these days. It would be great to hear your angle on it all once youve collected the relevant information. Im sure we dont need to tell you that experience counts for a lot and many like to base their opinions on anecdote and hearsay (choosing to totally ignore the evidence) resulting in something like the bans we have seen for a leaf which has been grouped in with awful chemical narcotics. I guess you could start with the simple question: "How dangerous is kratom really?" In comparison to cigarettes, alcohol, and other substances considered to be "drugs". "Does it get you high?" - in relation to how cannabis, cocaine, mdma etc get you high. "Does it have a high addiction level?" Meaning would we see users stealing, or selling their pet cat to get money to buy it? Lol. Again, your report may not be as breakfast TV friendly as those youve done in the past, but we're certainly interested

Great Hannah! Welcome among us! Finally a serious journalist and also nice!



Silvyius

Dear ArchaicRevival of course! Our attention must always be vigilant! However, I think - or I hope so! - that if she wanted write a story on "negative kratom", wouldn't come here to tell us.

For example Kari Huus has written very negative about kratom, and she has always kept well away from us.

Usually people who speak negatively of kratom and make misinformation, always keep well away from us ... I wonder why! heheh


Silvyius

I cant speak (much) for the American press, but based on organisations like FOX News and that radio channel we had on here (i forget their name) who openly promoted a "drug rehabilitation center" which turned out to be a money making exercise it doesnt bode well. It does seem like a lot of the time the mass media cant be trusted.
But maybe its just about the target audience - low level reporting brings low level readers. Its shocking how many people here buy "news" papers like The Sun for example. A truly awful piece of journalism including topless models and a top story (for them) being some footballers wife seen coming out of a bar drunk at 1am (i mean really, like thats news?) her picture then strewn across the front page. Compare that to recent stories by the Guardian where they spent weeks on the investigation of the Vatican, discovering they have been buying properties in central London, including owning buildings on Oxford St etc all bought by secret middle men with the aim of having no trace back to Rome. God only knows (pardon the pun) what the intention is there. Or where the paper provided a solicitor free to a woman who wanted to take the British government to the European courts over its new policy where those on unemployment benefit have to work for nothing wherever they are told to, or lose their benefits. The person in question had graduated from university with a degree in geology and had been working voluntarily in a local museum (obviously hoping to gain work experience in her selected area) but the new policy forced her to leave there and move to a £1 store stocking shelves. Totally pointless and slightly degrading when she wasnt even getting paid. The case went to court, and 3 high level judges concluded that the policy amounted to slavery and must be abolished. Totally destroying a nationwide UK scheme devised by those in power and all fuelled by the Guardian paper. Now tell me THATS not reporting and the true power of the press. Of course these kind of stories take time, money, and effort, and it takes a certain level of pride and dignity in sticking to what you stand for to produce them. Im sure all reporters first go into journalism wanting to be truthful and to deliver the true facts of a tale, but many get swayed by their employers chosen agenda and end up spouting gutter garbage just like the rest. When it comes to a tale of questionable substances its probably never good to be seen to promote them in a "positive" light. The UK government fired its own drug advisor (an established scientist) a few years ago because he (correctly) stated that cigarettes and alcohol were much more dangerous than any known recreational (or banned) drug out there. His team resigned along with him and recently set up their own center where they have assigned themselves the sole purpose of reporting for the media the absolute REAL and unbiased truth about drugs - legal and illegal (hopefully one day they will work on kratom) all of this backed up by reviewed testing, research and paperwork. Sounds promising to me.
Again, shock headlines sell papers. Some people lack intelligence, and some people are too lazy to take the time to read a fine piece of reportage. So meanwhile we end up with "killer kratom craze ruins the nation" (or something). Its time someone put that right.

Yes yes of course! but I totally agree with you! We only see like to go to finish! Also have too much fear is counterproductive, because it's tantamount to saying "Yes you are right! Kratom can be dangerous! And you, my dear journalist, don’t have to say anything!"

No. kratom for me is just like Ginseng. Those who don’t want to believe this, is either ignorant or has its own (as you said it well) economic advantage (open disposal sites for drug addicts, - the irony is intentional! - defense lethal industries of alcohol and cigarettes etc.).



Silvyius

Her email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Well, she has ignored my pm's and my posts. I have her email address at WZZM and she did not respond to that either. I am not quite sure what is going on with her. I hope she is not taking a one sided view of kratom. I know many people who support keeping kratom available are professionals such as myself with a career and a family. I guess I am concerned because I live right here where she works so I would think she would want my input. I have been watching channel 13 news locally and have yet to see a report on Kratom. The station will hear from me if the report is skewed. I hope her misconception isn't that everyone supporting keeping kratom legal is a hardcore drug user. I know of none, but it has helped many people overcome heroin addiction and if an herb that doesn't get you high as a kite can keep addicts away from medications like methadone, wouldn't that be a good thing?! No one has ever od'd from taking kratom(only). I am not an addict and do not even use kratom every day, but it has changed my life and kept me from needing medications that did more physical harm to my body than the condition that necessitated the meds! Also, I in no way mean to discredit anyone who has had addictions in the past, so forgive me if I come across that way. I just know that when she mentioned parents' of kids taking kratom to get high--that may be where she is headed with her report. I never got high from kratom and have never met an adult who took it for that purpose. Kids do many irresponsible things...I guess I just hope she realizes this.

Maybe we shouldn't get too worried at the moment. I am sure she is too busy to respond to everyone. If they decided not to report on it at the moment, maybe that is best. If there are parents locally hopping mad and she does not see the extreme danger that the overzealous parents do, it may be best for the station to hold off on the report till later. She did come here to the KA originally so I am sure she has an open mind.

When I spoke to her on the phone she seemed genuinely interested in learning more. Consider this, she's the one that reached out to someone because she wanted to know more than the BS she quickly found when searching on Google. That's when I pointed her to the KA for more assistance. Most reporters and so-called journalists do not even attempt to do anything like this. They try to turn a story around in a day and only grab the low-hanging fruit they can find through a quick Google search, and we all know what kinds of stories those are.

If she's still interested in covering Kratom she's probably super busy and has other stories that are quick turn-arounds that she needs to get out of the way first. After all, she still has a job to do.

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Ooh! Very well!



Silvyius

It's also important to realize that one of the real problems of kratom is its presentation by smartshops in very negative terms as a "Substitute for opium", even hallucinogenic! The headshops are 95% of the cause of our problems with the kratom misinformation.



Silvyius

Hi Hannah, I started using Kratom powdered leaf 5 months ago after i quit drinking and taking addictive anti-anxiety medication. Needless to say I wasn't feeling too hot and looked into Kratom as a natural alternative to help me through the real rough patches of home detox. It worked wonders, although it wasn't perfect I used it daily for about 4 months straight, minus the few days I took off to assess how I was doing personally with my recovery and to ensure I would'nt build a tolerance to the beneficial effects. In January I moved and abrupty ceased use of kratom for 2 weeks. During which I drove from Florida to Connecticut took everything that was packed up a flight of stairs then the next day without much rest caught an airplane out to California. Now what was the point of that story? Well simply put if Kratom was a dangerous addictive substance that move would've been IMPOSSIBLE to do as painlessly as I did. In fact all I noticed in way of "withdrawl" was fatigue and the return of my anxiety and depression I had been using kratom to treat, obviously. This last month my use of Kratom has been a real rariety by choice, I just don't feel I personally need it as much anymore. After my experience I've come to the conclusion that Kratom is NOT a dangerous substance by any stretch of the mile. Kratom also is NOT a replacement for drugs or alcohol, if somebody hasn't made the choice in their heart and mind to stay sober kratom is probably not going to be very benificial to them at all. That said not everybody who uses kratom is an ex-junkie or recovering alcoholic either, some people would just prefer to consume something safe and natural for their ailment/s as opposed to using harsh sythetic derivatives that can cause bodily damage or addiction and make life worse in the long run. As for the "kratom scare" that seems to be sensationalized as of late just boils down to this. Headshops and irresponsible business men see an herbal remedy thats not available in health food/supplement shops and decide to cash in while the gettings good. They figure they can say anything they want since its really not well known of and throw in in there someplace with "salvia" or "bath salts", so they spout such garbage as "its like opium" or "you'll hallucinate" regardless of how much damage they are causing to the image of this helpful gentle herb. Even worse yet, some of these scammers actually add dangerous synthetic chemicals to try to back these ridiculous claims. This of course is just a scam to get guilable irresponsable teenagers whos parents dont pay enough attention to buy these expensive products. Sad thing is it works, and all these negative reports are proof of that. So the rest is history, teenagers consume said product in an irresponsable manner and get sick, either from taking way too much poor quality kratom, or from the chemical additives from these bad products. THEN the parents start to care, doctors dont know what "kratom" is and find these bad vendors and assume the worst, parents freak out, accusations fly, this misinformation hits the news, now theres a kratom hysteria of sorts. Now everybody who knows what this stuff really is has to fight tooth and nail to try and undo the damage to this poor plants name all because some people with bad business tactics wanted to make a quick buck regardless of who or what they hurt. Getting this herb banned would be an attrocity to mankind, it helps so many people and very well may have saved my life, everyone who knows and loves me is glad to finally have the old me back after all these years. I ask that you please don't go the way the other stories about kratom have gone. Please don't add to the stigma thats being attached to people who genuinely use kratom responsibly to have better quality of life. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day!