Can Kratom Combat Withdrawal from Opiates?

Despite massive public attention, opioid addiction remains a major public health concern in the United States. In a single year, as many as 50,000 Americans will lose their lives to opioid-involved overdoses.

And that doesn’t even consider the incalculable damage done to the communities affected by these drugs.

But even though many users want to quit opiates for good, withdrawal from opiates can be brutal. And sometimes, even life-threatening.

But some users have found an unlikely aid in the form of kratom. To see why this is the case and whether or not it’s truly effective, let’s examine what kratom is and how it affects a person experiencing opiate withdrawal.

What Is Kratom?

Kratom is an herbal extract sourced from a particular evergreen tree (Mitragyna speciosa) native to Southeast Asia. It has a long history of use in its native lands, and around the turn of the millennium, it started to make its way to the west as well.

You can often find it in tea shops and supplement stores, where proponents of the herbs will talk up its purported energizing and mood-boosting properties. And to its credit, many of those who use it often rill wear by it. It’s not uncommon for users to buy kratom in bulk just to ensure they have a reliable supply.

But we’re here to talk about how it can help treat drug abuse, specifically. And the answer to that question lies in some of the interesting ways the herb can mimic the effects of opiates.

So Can It Ease Withdrawal From Opiates?

In most forms of substance abuse, what we see is the body — and often the brain in particular — becoming accustomed to the presence of some foreign substance. This is called dependency.

Remove that substance from the body for long enough, and it sets off alarm bells in the body that trigger the symptoms we associate with withdrawal. This is why so many users have trouble getting off a given substance. Withdrawal can feel like you’re dying because as far as your body knows, it is.

So a tried and true method to get people off of drugs like heroin or prescription opiates is to use a less-harmful drug that mimics their effects on the body, like methadone.

And that’s the idea behind using kratom to ease withdrawal symptoms. It appears to act on the body’s opioid receptors, much like methadone, and so it has the potential to help a user ease themselves off of opiates.

It’s important to note that major clinical research is needed on how well kratom works in this respect and how safe it is to use. However, a survey of individuals who self-treated their withdrawal with kratom showed some positive outcomes.

A Potential Tool for Treating Substance Abuse

Opiate treatment has existed for about a hundred years now. As humans have used opiates, people have become addicted to them. But for much of that time, the subject wasn’t considered a high priority.

Now, amid an addiction epidemic, treating addiction and managing withdrawal from opiates is finally becoming a major topic. Using kratom as aid is only the beginning, and new treatments will emerge as research advances.

To follow these advances as they emerge, be sure to keep up with our latest health and wellness news.