I suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, and pain issues that aren’t always controlled well by medications. When I discovered and tried kratom, it greatly improved my life and taking it daily has been very helpful to my health as a natural alternative to “as needed” prescription drugs. Over the many years I have been taking it, I've never experienced any harmful side effects. By using it, I don’t have to take my "as-needed" controlled substance prescription* as frequently as I used to and it also helps with my depression as a supplement to antidepressants. So I ask that you vote in favor of the “Michigan Kratom Consumer Protection Act.” I think it’s fair to establish regulations and requirements to ensure that kratom that is being sold is safe and authentic kratom. There are some kratom products that are questionable in places like gas stations and tobacco/vape stores.

The only so-called "examples" of adverse reactions to kratom in which kratom erroneously being considered the cause, do not involve the use of authentic kratom products. It is not possible to overdose on genuine kratom. The few cases in which kratom is blamed involve the use of synthetic and/or otherwise adulterated "kratom" laced with additives and other ingredients that can be harmful, especially synthetic alkaloids. This legislation will ensure that only safe, pure, genuine kratom will be marketed and sold while targeting and removing the danger of synthetic kratom alkaloids and otherwise impure kratom. So, I urge you to please vote in favor of this legislation that will allow users of genuine kratom to continue using it safely & experiencing its benefits while removing unsafe and potentially harmful perversion of kratom, or at least products that claim to be "kratom."

I highly recommend researching the science and studies that have been conducted at the website: "https://kratomanswers.org". I think this would be very helpful and beneficial to establish said regulations and again, I ask that you would vote in favor of the, "Michigan Kratom Consumer Protection Act.

Thank you for your service to the state of Michigan and for being open to hearing what your constituents have to say about it!"

*Disclaimer: Please note the intentional emphasis that the prescription is "as-needed" as it is optional. This is not meant to encourage or suggest that you stop taking any medications. Always take any medications prescribed by your doctor as instructed.

I have been married for 36 years, I am also the mom to 2 adult children who are now ages 25, and 27.

Back in 2005 my kids were 5 ,and 7 yrs old. I had a thriving life that was soon going to disappear, I just didn't realize it yet. I started having severe facial pain. In 2007 I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia. If you do a Google search, you will find that Neurology literature labels this as one of the worst pains known in all of medicine. And it also carries the moniker of being the "suicide disease.” Why ? Because the pain is so severe, and the treatments don't typically help, so many patients opt for this as a way to permanently end their pain.

Soon I stopped working, I also stopped socializing because the severity of the pain. And I began spending all my time in bed 24/7. And every single day I battled very dark thoughts about how i knew 100% i could finally end this pain. All day those thoughts would barrage my mind.

My family stuck by helplessly watching as i shrunk back from living, to just existing.

In 2018 my team of Drs let me know there was nothing more they could try, they tried all the medications, and surgical interventions including 2 brain surgeries, in an attempt to manage the pain. Every thing failed to do that. The hopelessness i had was indescribable. Because of my family, I fought still and I prayed non stop.

In 2019 I found out about this leaf Kratom. I began taking pure Kratom leaf, it was the 1st thing that helped manage my pain, and it didn't have awful side effects that all those prescriptions came with. In fact it helped me so much, that I started living life fully again. I am starting to consider working again, I am able to do hobbies, I am able to help take care of my home, and family once again. And the biggest help, was that once I started using this leaf, i was able to stop those prescriptions. I was on 3 that were prescribed together that carried warnings of suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Once I stopped those medications, and had my pain managed ,I never once had those thoughts again.

This leaf, this pure Kratom leaf is what saved me, and helped me live life fully once again. My husband has his wife back, my children have their mom back. My extended family, and friends have me back too.

Kratom saved my life, and gave me back to my family, and to society . I am grateful for this leaf. Instead of praying desperately for help, I now pray daily in gratitude that I found this leaf.

Kratom helped me overcome my crippling addiction to alcohol and helped immensely with my depression

Kratom has helped me relax at night and get sleep without the use of prescription medication. It has changed my life for the better no doubt

Please do not make natural Kratom leaf a scheduled substance. I used to have problems with alcohol addiction and thru the use of kratom and counseling, I am proud to say I have been clean for 8 years now.

I am a happy and productive member of society, currently working as an aerospace engineer. I do not know what I will do if kratom is made illegal.

I do not believe it should be made illegal, it is nothing like alcohol or other drugs or the synthetic kratom extracts and has vastly improved my quality of life

Kratom is a wonderful plant that helped keep me from having withdrawals when I quit my legally prescribed pain medication. I quit because I wanted to see if the other alternative treatments helped lessen my pain. Kratom helped to control my pain. I stoped taking Kratom for my pain control when I got a batch that seemed like it had sand or something else in it. Regulating Kratom is a good idea. But please do not schedule it. With the darkness that a lot of chronic pain patients are facing due to prescribing physicians being pressured to stop prescribing opiates and properly caring for chronic pain patients, we need pain control, and Kratom does help. Please do not schedule Kratom, but please do regulate it.

As a pain patient advocate who works for The Doctor Patient Forum, kratom is saving lives.

Doctors here won’t RX opioids thanks to University of Michigan OPEN, let these people live in less pain

I have used kratom for years. It helps with chronic pain I suffer from as a result of a major surgery. It also helps my social anxiety and helps my energy levels so I can stay focused at work

"After being loosely prescribed harmful addictive opioid medications for pain doctors couldn't diagnose and without fibromyalgia testing available at the time I was left taking pharmaceuticals after covid and my doctor being in trouble for prescribing said opioids to herself and other patients. I was taken off without any help. I suffered for years down a dark path of addiction. After I finally had enough of that life but still suffering, I was introduced by a person I always hold dear to my heart the wonderful plant kratom and my life has changed drastically. Now I'm on no medications nor do I have any desire or need for any medications as kratom serves as a pain reliever and an anxiety treatment for me and so many others. I stand by this plant. I respect this plant and I am here to attest that it is safe and if you use it correctly, it can change your life just like it did mine.”

"Kratom has helped me through a lot of anxiety, and hasn’t affected my day to day life in a way that would endanger myself or others. The effects are very mild and have helped curb other addictions such as frequent alcohol consumption. It would be a disservice to struggling individuals like myself who struggle with severe anxiety and have tried SSRI’s and had bad experiences with them.”

"Kratom is a supplement that has been utilized for hundreds of years safely. It has helped me live again and bring some semblance of normalcy to my life despite my many physical illnesses. I attempted to go the conventional medicine route and I ended up on 21 prescribed pills a day and sicker than ever with no improvement in sight. I was and still am passed from doctor to doctor and it never ends in a solution or a root cause for the issues. All it ends with is more pills and then more to treat the nasty side effects until your a shell of the human you once resembled. Kratom and medicinal plants in general are truly amazing and so beneficial.”

"Hello. I am a 57-year-old woman who has had my share of struggles with addiction. I have been through both inpatient and outpatient programs and have frankly found little long-term success with either. It was only when I began using kratom in 2018 that I was able to successfully manage my addiction, avoid opioid use completely, and focus on my life goals. I have since completed my bachelor’s degree at Western Illinois University and am one semester away from completing my master’s at Michigan State University. Kratom, when used successfully is life-changing. I do not experience a “high” when I use it but have only gained a sense of control over any cravings. I currently take a low dosage for maintenance and have had no compulsion to turn back to opioids. Losing access to kratom could have a potentially devastating, life-altering impact on those individuals who have found freedom from addiction and new hope for their lives through its use. Please consider the science of kratom, not the provocative talking points of those who either have no true experience with it or pharmaceutical operatives who feel threatened by its availability to the public."

"I used opiates for about 5 years due to chronic back pain when they clamped down and took almost everything away from us because of others misusing them so when I found Kratom it was a miracle to me and saved me from a life full of misery. I tell everyone I know about its benefits and will always stand by its use. We need more natural alternatives like this so we aren't poisoning ourselves while trying to have a decent quality of life."