Opioid-Alternative Painkiller Now Available in Oklahoma City
Earthly Mist, a regional supplier of the herbal painkiller Kratom, opened its new store in Oklahoma City on April 17.
“Kratom is making scientists excited about its potential as a safe alternative to opioid painkillers,” said LeJuan Williams. “It’s been used across Southeast Asia for centuries for pain, and the research coming out now shows it can also help people who’ve become addicted to opioids recover.”
One of the researchers credited in the study, Susruta Majumdar, who works as a chemist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, was quoted in a Scientific American article saying that Kratom’s unique mix of chemical compounds seems to kill pain while not inducing the addictive side effects of opioids.
20,101 Americans died in 2015 from overdosing on prescription opioid painkillers, according to a report from the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Williams said that high-quality Kratom supplements could prevent these deaths and help many people overcome or even avoid opioid addiction.
The new Earthly Mist store at 2220 SW 74th St. sells Kratom in Oklahoma City. Williams said they double check their suppliers to make sure they are selling only the purest Kratom, which comes from Southeast Asian trees similar to coffee plants.
Williams said that although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tried to have the substance controlled back in 2016, they used incorrect data and the ban never happened.
“They claimed 14 deaths were caused by Kratom,” said Williams, “But once they looked deeper into the data, they discovered those people had other drugs in their system that was the more likely causes of death.”
“Kratom has a long history and the science to back up its safe painkilling properties,” said Williams. “I hope more people try it. It’s a lot safer than opioids. If you can get pain relief and avoid addiction, you owe it to yourself to try.”
