Kratom, the new "deadly menace"?

[Caduceus Mercurius]

[Note: it's not clear from this article, but the man was using steroids, proven to cause heart problems when abused, CM]

'UK Must Ban Drug That Helped Kill My Son'

The mother of a 30-year-old man from Hatfield, who died after battling an addiction to a herbal supplement he bought online, said yesterday she would like to see the drug banned in the UK.

Last week, an inquest found that Kratom, along with other drugs, contributed to Oliver Cohen's death from heart failure in September 2008.

The aspiring musician had been taking the supplements - which are legal in the UK but banned in Australia and many areas of South Asia where the plant grows -to treat his ADHD, using the pills for their calming effect.

Janet Koganovitch of Borehamwood told the Jewish News how the drug took hold of her son: "He experimented with lots of different drugs he bought online including Kratom. It can be very addictive and I don't think this is stressed strongly enough. If it is taken in high amounts it can be like taking heroin."

Cohen tried on several occasions to stop taking the pills, but resumed medicating when withdrawal symptoms like nausea, shaking and physical pain became too much to bear.

"He was saying to me how selfish it was what he was doing," Koganovitch said. "He went to drug counselling but because the doctors weren't familiar with the drug they didn't know what to tell him. They told him to just wean himself off the pills and he tried to several times, but the withdrawals were so bad he would always start taking them again."

Cohen died last year at the QE II Hospital in Welwyn Garden City just one month after celebrating his 30th birthday.

Now, Koganovitch is trying to spread the word and is taking every opportunity to share her son's story in the hope that future losses can be prevented.

She said: "I think young people need to be very wary. It's just so easy to purchase these things, and parents should be made aware so we can discuss these things with our children."

http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/national/c-11210/uk-must-ban-drug-that-helped-kill-my-son/

The following news report stresses the danger of webshops even more:

http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/4122912._Herbal_remedy_killed_my_son_/

At least this article tells the truth: "Oliver Cohen of Walsingham Close, Hatfield, suffered from major heart complications, which eventually led to his death on September 22 last year, after repeatedly ordering vitamins and steroids - to which he became addicted - over the internet."

http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/4118138._My_son_died_of_an_addiction_to_drugs_bought_online_/


For factual information on kratom, visit www.kratom.nl

 

[Jeniger]

'UK Must Ban People That Helped Killing My freedom' :evil:

 

[Guest]

I guess it eases her pain to blame a substance instead of her son's attitude.

 

[TheSearchForSoma]

"Oliver Cohen of Walsingham Close, Hatfield, suffered from major heart complications, which eventually led to his death on September 22 last year, after repeatedly ordering vitamins and steroids - to which he became addicted - over the internet."

If i was the lady,I would think twice and maaaaybe blame it mostly on the freakin' healthblowing steroids & who knows which other "vitamins"..

Although i understand it must hurt hell of a lot to loose your son..I hate that emotalk, sadly, politicians don't..

 

[achilless]

it would be a waste of paper to print that

 

[st.bot.32]

anyway i wouldn't worry. most people in this part of the world have never heard of kratom, there's no media outcry.. there's no real evidence or proof for her claims either.

what i am worried about more is that at least in canada the government has made moves to severely clamp down on the availability of herbs in general. if the media decides to exploit fears regarding herb shops, etc, all they need are a bunch of vague hearsay stories like the above

 

[cyroxos]

anyway i wouldn't worry. most people in this part of the world have never heard of kratom, there's no media outcry.. there's no real evidence or proof for her claims either.

what i am worried about more is that at least in canada the government has made moves to severely clamp down on the availability of herbs in general. if the media decides to exploit fears regarding herb shops, etc, all they need are a bunch of vague hearsay stories like the above

Yea but the unfortunate thing is, even if there is no 'evidence' or 'outcry', if many people hear of something that's a "drug" then they will go full force to make sure its illegal. Ive seen people convinced Dihydrogen Monoxide should be banned...

 

[st.bot.32]

You weren't kidding!

I love the little rant/speech in the middle. Awesome.

 

[Guest]

Bye-bye more freedom in the UK, if this old hag gets her way...

It really irritates me when these absurd and over-zealous crusades (and that really is the best word for them) get media attention... A while back it was salvia, if I recall correctly.

These people have no real evidence that what they are blaming is what is responsible for the death of their child, and more importantly no evidence that it isn't an isolated incident - because it always is.

Even if the Kratom was entirely, mostly or even just partially responsible for his death, the fact is that it can be and is used by many others without it proving dangerous. The guy was 30, for christ's sake; he can make his own decisions, and take his own risks.

Ok, I'm done. Rant over.

 

[Dantediv86]

'Asshole should have gotten himself in rehab' is the correct title that should be on the news
and i BET that if he'd gotten in at least one of the thousand centres that exist in the "civilised" world he would have survived. an opioid addiction ain't like smoking.

 

[Guest]

'Asshole should have gotten himself in rehab' is the correct title that should be on the news
and i BET that if he'd gotten in at least one of the thousand centres that exist in the "civilised" world he would have survived. an opioid addiction ain't like smoking.

Point to note: An opioid addiction also doesn't tend to kill you in the first place. You could be on clean diamorphine your whole life and not die from it. Oh, granted if you were taking unclean street drugs, and shooting up, then you're bound to die of a related risk sooner or later... But the point is that the opioids don't tend to kill you. The exception being an overdose; and if he overdosed himself, then it's still not the opioids fault, just his.

 

[Twilight]

You weren't kidding!

I love the little rant/speech in the middle. Awesome.

Wow, great vid!

 

[time2poop]

so something that has been used for God knows how long in other countries should be banned because of one person's irresponsible use? there's a thing called research and reading, most people do both prior to consuming unknown substances.

i like that penn & teller vid, good find

 

[Guest]

so something that has been used for God knows how long in other countries should be banned because of one person's irresponsible use?

I've already saw this happen somewhere.

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

LOL, Penn and Teller FTW!! The last sentence especially is right on the mark.

The kratom news item (as it appears on different webpages) seems to focus mainly on the online availability of medication (chemical and natural) rather than herbals alone. Kratom is very often mentioned in such discussions.

There are other examples here:

http://kratom.nl/news_10.htm

http://kratom.nl/news_9.htm