Summary: No, while kratom may temporarily reduce the severity of some symptoms of opioid withdrawal, kratom does not help addiction recovery.
Key Points:
- Kratom is not an illegal substance, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) identifies it as a drug and chemical of concern.
- Kratom is available over the counter in gas stations and other locations around the country in as a drink or liquid extract, a capsule, or a tablet, but people in recovery should not misinterpret this easy access: during recovery, it’s best to avoid kratom.
- Chemical compounds in kratom have various and unpredictable effects on the same brain mechanisms associated with pleasure, reward, and addiction, which means kratom can complicate recovery, and in some cases, lead to opioid addiction.
What Everyone Should Know About Kratom
While we generally discourage people from becoming internet physicians and self-diagnosing disease or mental health and/or addiction disorders online, or getting primary information for health and wellness from websites designed to make money from advertising rather than serve the public good, there are some online sources we trust, based on their reputation and the quality of their online content.
One such outlet we trust is The Mayo Clinic. Here’s the title of their resource article on kratom:
Kratom: Unsafe And Ineffective
We’ll share more information from that resource in a moment. First, we’ll share information from another source we trust, also based on reputation and consistent quality of content: Yale Medicine. In the article “Kratom: What Is It and Is It Safe?,” Dr. Melissa Weimer, an addiction specialist at Yale, offers her assessment of the one way kratom might possibly help addiction recovery:
“There are evidence-based treatments that are highly effective for opioid use disorder. Utilizing a non-evidence-based strategy like kratom could place your life at risk.”
In addition, Dr. Weimar warns against the use of kratom for its stimulant, sedative, or analgesic properties – more on that below – for the following reason:
“Like any substance you use, it can have negative effects if you’re using it too much, in large quantities, or for too long. And if you use it regularly enough, say consistently for two weeks, then you’re going to be at risk for opioid withdrawal and dependence because of its opioid properties.”
That’s the big-picture view on kratom:
- Yes, it’s legal.
- No, it’s not necessarily safe.
- Because of its chemical properties and effects, people in addiction recovery should avoid it.
Let’s take a closer look at those properties and effects now.
How Kratom Works in the Body
According to the peer-reviewed journal article “The Neuropharmacology of Kratom, A Novel Psychoactive Natural Product,” kratom is derived from the leaves of a species of tree native to Southeast Asia called Mitragyna speciosa.
The compounds in kratom we know the most about are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which exert an effect on the following receptors in the human brain and body:
- Opioid
- Noradrenergic
- Serotonergic
- Dopaminergic
Those receptors – and the brain areas they affect – play a role in the way our brain processes pleasure, pain, and reward, all of which have a direct impact on addiction. Disrupting those processes can have a negative impact on addiction recovery.
In low doses, the compounds in kratom can have a stimulant effect, which is why people use it for energy and symptom of depression. In higher doses, the compounds in kratom can have a sedative effect, which is why people use it for stress relief, relaxation, or to help symptoms of depression.
The Dangers of Kratom: Physical and Neurological Effects
The Mayo Clinic identifies the following physical side-effects of kratom:
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Increased blood pressure
- Liver problems
- Muscular pain/discomfort
- Weight loss
- Tremors
In addition, kratom exerts the following effects on the nervous system and brain:
- Drowsiness
- Sensory hallucinations
- Delusions
- Confusion
- Depressive symptoms
- Respiratory depression
While all those side effects can have negative consequences, experts raise concerns about that last bullet point in particular:
“The FDA has flagged this compound [7-hydroxymitragynine] specifically as an opioid threat because of its high affinity and full agonist activity at mu receptors, along with its ability to produce respiratory depression at doses more than three times as potent as morphine.”
In addition, physicians who’ve examined case studies on the use of kratom have concluded:
“There is growing concern about the various adverse effects of kratom. It is rapidly becoming a drug of abuse and the FDA warns against its use given its potential for abuse and unknown pharmacological profile with multiple reported deaths.”
We’ll offer our final thoughts on the use of kratom during addiction recovery below.
Kratom: Not Safe, Not Effective in Recovery, Dangerous Side Effects
The heading sums up our point of view on kratom, which aligns with the conclusions published by research scientists, addiction experts, and physicians about the substance: kratom does not help addiction recovery.
In fact, it can do the opposite. We know people who’ve escalated from the use of gas station kratom to full opioid addiction, and people in recovery who’ve attempted to use kratom for opioid withdrawal, but instead found it increased risk of relapse. Those are anecdotes, certainly, and not evidence from peer-review journal articles.
However, we offer those observations based on years of experience supporting people seeking sobriety and our daily work in addiction treatment. We encourage people to follow the advice of medical experts like those from Yale and the Mayo Clinic, and understand that kratom is neither a safe nor effective approach to help addiction recovery, or any known medical, mental health, or behavioral disorder.
