CBD Kratom’s Customers Swear By Its Product. The Feds Want to Make It Illegal
On Morganford Road in Tower Grove South, between a fitness studio and a sports bar, sits CBD Kratom. What at least a few neighbors have mistaken for a large pot leaf is decaled on the store’s window. Written in chalk on the sign out front are the questions, “In Pain? Anxious?”
Inside, the wall behind the counter is lined with jars filled with kratom, a drug that looks like pale green sawdust. Affixed to each jar is a label: Red Bali, White Gold, Green Sumatra, Yellow Borneo. There are more than 40 different strains.
Kratom powder looks like it should dissolve in liquid, but it absolutely will not do that. It’s like sand in that way. It’s also incredibly bitter on the tongue. Some consumers brew it into a tea; others scoop the powder into a capsule. Many settle for what is called a toss and wash, putting kratom on their tongues and washing it down as quickly as possible. Kratom is sticky, though, and a toss and wash are a lot like trying to do the same thing with cinnamon; it’s probably going to take several swigs. David Palatnik, the 28-year-old owner of CBD Kratom, takes some of the energy-boosting Green Malay strain every morning in lieu of drinking coffee. He mixes it in a smoothie or, if he’s feeling lazy, washes it down with orange juice.
A lot of the people who stop in CBD Kratom think of their purchase the way most people think of coffee: a little boost to make the day easier. Others swear kratom is a wonder drug, something just short of a miracle. It alleviates their chronic pain. It cured their depression. The Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency both say kratom is deadly and should be illegal.
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