How it Started
This blog reflects the thoughts and opinions of the contributors to this blog.
Contributor: David Bregger
Our Son and Jeff’s brother, and best friend, died on August 29,2021. He was found dead in his apartment in Denver Colorado. Due to COVID we were not able to obtain the autopsy and toxicology report for three months. His death was listed as “the combined toxic effects of mitragynine (KRATOM) and diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl and most of the over-the-counter sleep aids)”. When we received the report, I had no idea what mitragynine was. After checking the internet, I soon learned that the street name is KRATOM. One of first searches I did came up with all of the “benefits” of Kratom. One of the top supposed benefits was to help relieve anxiety. His brother and I both knew that that was the reason he had been taking it as he was regularly dealing with significant anxiety and always looking for “natural” ways to help deal with it. Other “claims” include:
Reduction of anxiety
Pain relief
Improved focus and concentration
Increased energy levels
Relaxation and stress reduction
Assistance with opioid withdrawal
Natural alternative to opioids
Enhancement of mood and social interactions
Improvement of alertness
Boost of sociability
Motivation and focus
Kind of makes you want to give it a try it doesn’t it? Well digging deeper, I found that none of these claims have been proven or substantiated. Additionally I soon found that this product is highly addictive and has caused thousands of deaths across the country and deaths have been growing exponentially in recent years.
In Denver at the time of Dan’s death you could purchase Kratom at vape stores, convenience stores and gas stations, literally hanging next to Juicy Fruit gum and sour patch candy. In my home state of New Hampshire it is now only in sold in Vape stores but as has happened in other states it will migrate to convenience stores and gas stations as well. That is one of the reasons I am working to have it banned in New Hampshire.
As I began my quest to have this substance treated as the powerful addictive and deadly drug that it is I quickly came to realize that this product has become a 1-2 BILLION$$ cash cow. Because of the revenue of course the lobbyists smell money and slither out to get their share of it. It is shocking to me to see how far these advocates will go to hide the truth. Despite the deaths growing exponentially they continue to claim that Kratom is not causing deaths. Not only do they know it but they know exactly how people die from Kratom. One of their warnings of overdose symptoms include “becoming delusional, hallucinating, vomiting and passing out. If you are alone and experiencing any of these symptoms call 911”. This is exactly the way Dan died, they just left out the final step after passing out as DEATH. Exactly when was Dan supposed to call 911? When he was delusional? When he was hallucinating? When he was vomiting, or when he passed out??
The deeper I dig the more disgusted I am with these advocates. Comments after the December Tampa Bay article was published brought out people from both sides. One that caught my attention was someone commenting that one of the deaths sited in the article was due to other anti-depression meds in his system. He claimed that “I have been taking Kratom for two years now and have experienced no problems “Someone replied to him ” Just wait until you try and get off of it”. Yes, it is highly addictive and many that are addicted take more and more as their tolerance goes down spending large amounts of money and in some cases losing their jobs, families and homes.
I just recently visited my first vape shop. I was shocked to see about a 5-foot display case filled with Kratom in pill form, powders, Tea bags and liquids. I asked the three 25ish employees if they had ever taken the substance. All three said no and I told them about my son’s death and warned them not to try it. On my way out totally unsolicited one of the employees stated that “we have a lot of regular customers who come in a couple of times a week or more spending very large sums of money on Kratom” I asked her if she knew why that was and she stated “of course, they are addicted to Kratom.”
Lots more to share in future posts. I appreciate you reading this and please forward a link to our site to anyone you think could benefit from this information especially your children.
Best,
Dave
