The past decade’s surging opioid epidemic continues leaving a wake of dependency and overdoses across entire communities. Desperation for safer alternatives has spurred increased analysis around the centuries-old botanical Mitragyna speciosa, better known as Kratom, as a possible solution.
Kratom’s pain-relieving, calming and even mild euphoric effects at appropriate doses arise primarily from two central constituents – Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, classified as indole alkaloids selective to mu-opioid receptors throughout the body and brain. By stimulating these same targets as classic opioids, similar benefits manifest but without extreme receptor activity and sedative downturns. Not technically an opioid itself, kratom instead appears to modulate multiple neurotransmitter systems beyond just mu receptors, including adrenergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic pathways to provide more balanced, nuanced sensations Opioids might narrowly target single areas. Hence side effects and addiction rates for kratom remain far lower.
How do extracts further augment properties?
Though dried raw leaf powder offers versatility, through advanced extraction methods, producers can isolate and concentrate kratom’s most beneficial compounds like Mitragynine into resins, tinctures, or enhanced powders to create essentially “purified” alkaloid products. Much smaller doses of these 20x, 50x, or beyond extracts then hold the potency of raw leaf multiples, enabling precise, convenient use as alternatives for delivering opioid-like pain relief, relaxation, and stable energy boosts but without extreme risks given intrinsic pharmacological differences. For managing withdrawal symptoms in particular during opioid cessation, kratom extracts in controlled amounts demonstrate genuine utility.
What does the early research show?
how long does kratom stay in your system? Kratom is detected in hair follicles for a longer period, sometimes up to 90 days. Though formal clinical trials remain limited due to kratom’s checkered legal status, initial medical surveys and physician reports affirm multiple beneficial applications for kratom extracts helping combat addiction and overdoses including,
- Preventing opioid relapses during abstinence attempts using kratom as a step-down tool for tapering off dependency long term instead of going cold turkey. Extracts provide stabilizing effects during gradual withdrawal.
- Blending crushed extract powder into existing opioid medications at 10-20% ratios to help potentiate their strength so prescribed doses stretch further. This lowers expenses and gradually builds down daily opioid intake thresholds.
- Serving as an urgent intervention to rapidly reverse near-fatal respiratory depression from excessive opioid doses through kratom’s interactions at delta and kappa opioid receptors, restoring breathing drive. Pre-measured nasal sprays and injectors provide emergency delivery.
The collective early data and anecdotes around kratom extracts for opioid harm reduction and cessation point optimistically towards a practical solution integrated alongside traditional dependency treatments.
Addressing known unknowns
Despite supportive evidence, aspects requiring further research persist around long-term extract risks dividing medical opinion. These include defining the extent of dependency and withdrawal from chronic high-dose use. Resolution of contraindications when pairing extracts with specific medications and pre-existing conditions. Yet considering the sheer magnitude of the opioid crisis’s damage yearly, the scale tips clearly in favor of further analyzing kratom and its high-efficiency extracts place in therapeutic applications as alternates based on their unique pharmacodynamics. With proper controls in place, unlike purely synthetic opioids, kratom presents low risks and sustainable benefits for pain that invite continued investigation.