DEA delays kratom ban, waits for word from FDA

From: Washington Times

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will hold off on a previously-announced ban of the herbal drug kratom while soliciting additional input from the public and the Food and Drug Administration.

A DEA announcement in August that it planned to add the psychoactive compounds in kratom to the list of schedule I drugs banned under the Controlled Substances Act drew outrage from individuals who believe the herbal supplement, which is derived from trees indigenous to Southeast Asia, can help individuals struggling with opioid addiction.

“Since publishing that notice, DEA has received numerous comments from members of the public challenging the scheduling action and requesting that the agency consider those comments and accompanying information before taking further action,” states a notice issued Wednesday by the DEA that it will withdraw its proposal to ban the substance.

But the decision to hold off on imposing the ban doesn’t mean the DEA won’t eventually make the drug illegal.

“Basically, we are postponing the road we are headed down right now,” said DEA spokesman Melvin Patterson.

In addition to accepting public comments on kratom through Dec. 1, the DEA has also asked for a scientific and medical evaluation of the drug by the FDA. Mr. Patterson said the DEA initially asked for such an assessment in 2014, but never received the results and opted to go forward with the ban without the assessment as the amount of kratom being shipped into the United States began to rise.

Claims: 
The copyrights of articles in the website belong to authors. Please inform us if there is any violation of intellectual property and we will delete the articles immediately.