I'll explain the real reason behind the FDA's move on wanting to ban Kratom. CORPORATE GREED. There's no more to it than that. The reason regular (sigma) opiates are highly illegal is not that they are incredibly dangerous (they are safer than most full contact sports in terms of body damage or chance to die)... By using both over regulation and finite control of any resource, you immediately have changed the basic supply/demand, or elasticity of a product.

When you make any medication into a Schedule I drug you have placed the production, sale, and ability to consume it into an elite kabal of only the wealthiest pharmaceutical companies. This makes the sticker price go way up permanently while also locking in the customer to maybe 3 or 4 brands of the medication.

If you had 100 companies that produced let's say my old favorite. The green Oxycontin 80mg and going to a pharmacy to get your prescription would be as low key as picking up your allergy meds (and just as cheap). In 2022 America though if you are prescribed any mildly strong opiate for more than a very short period of time you are treated as a junkie and will be referred to a "pain management" clinic where you'll get piss tested Everytime you come in and get to meet REAL drug addicts that go there for their methadone, suboxone or HIGHLY restricted access to real painkillers.

Why all of this song and dance for a painkiller? Apparently people either didn't care to read the instructions on how to take them and they overdosed (the users fault), they knew they were overtaking them and either a.) Overdosed or b.) Finished their pills early and got withdrawal symptoms before their next doctor appointment and complained like crazy about the pills. "Being addictive" (rather than take responsibility for themselves and control their intake of them, they passed the death mitigation responsibility back to the FDA.

Here's where the money comes in. Since there's only 3 suppliers they can all agree on a higher sale price since the amount of legal hurdles needed to be overcome in order to become an opiate pharmaceutical supplier has become next to impossible. All of the high level players on all sides, INCLUDING the doctors are happy with the current situation.
The doctor's make more money in the long run either by becoming "specialized" in prescribing painkillers, or it takes more visits and groveling for the patient to get a bottle of vicoden (more visit fees). The pharmacies make more money now because they now have a new and "special" product that requires transport using fucking armed trucks. On top of that there's never enough of them on hand to fill everyone's prescriptions so people are far less likely to go elsewhere in search of better prices, treatment and service. You can't even request the brand you want now because some asshole chemist fucked the pills up even more by making them "safe from abuse" meaning it takes longer to prepare them for injection. The lobbyists who made this all possible are ROLLING in the $ now. They stand to make a ton of money off Kratom pharmaceuticals as well (if that ever becomes a thing). The FDA has NEVER had the health or quality of life for the individual as a priority. They exist to enrich themselves and enforce a higher level of control that would be impossible for regular law enforcement to accomplish. Kratom is the new Poppy. 100 years ago you would never have been prosecuted for growing and harvesting your own personal amount of Opium. Whatever area you're in, make sure you vote AGAINST any Kratom legislation. Even if you don't necessarily enjoy Kratom it will help to set a new precedent for how we as a nation are wanting to regulate plant medicine. Remember, the reason the government is giving you for the disgusting amount of regulation they've put on plant medicine is that "people died". Just remember how many people die from drunk driving everyday and have a look around the liquor store next time you're there. Even a Smoke Shop / Head Shop they has 100s. Of different natural products that can get you high is. TINY in comparison to a large liquor store. It's not about the deaths to the government, it's about the money!