Kratom saved my life. Idaho lawmakers shouldn’t ban it | Opinion
When I was 7, I fell from a roof access hatch and injured my spine. The impact hyper-compressed my L4 and L5 vertebrae. As I grew, so did the injury. That type of spinal damage has no good repair solutions. Surgery is an option, but the high cost and unreliable outcomes have always been a barrier. Physical therapy and narcotic painkillers were the only Band-Aids I could afford. To the surprise of absolutely no one, this led to a full-blown addiction. No one told me these pills were dangerous, and by the time I figured it out, it was too late.
In the throes of depression and addiction, I met my amazing wife. We fell deeply in love, and I made the choice to get sober — for her, for our future children and most importantly, for myself. That said, just because you want to get sober doesn’t mean you’re magically healed. The root cause of my addiction was still there, and it made it impossible to even get out of bed. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen barely took the edge off; I would hit the daily recommended dosage by 10:30 in the morning. Lying in bed, unable to sit up — let alone go to work — my future looked very dark.
It was then that a family friend introduced me to kratom. He knew what I was going through and brought some over. I was skeptical at first. “A plant? You mean it’s just powdered leaves? Like a tea?”
“Yup, that’s it, man. Trust me — it helped me, and I think it will help you.”
So I gave it a try. Two hours later, I was standing next to the barbecue, making burgers for my soon-to-be father-in-law. It wasn’t a magical fix-all. I was still in pain, but it gave me a path forward that was free of narcotic painkillers.
For me, the hardest part of maintaining sobriety is that the main reason I started using pills in the first place is still with me: I’m still in chronic pain. I’ve seen that a lot of other people face the same challenge. Kratom is not a magical cure-all, but it gives people another option — something stronger than Tylenol or ibuprofen, but not as heavy-duty as hydrocodone or OxyContin.
Most people use the natural whole-leaf plant in powder form. It can be taken as a pill or mixed with water or into a smoothie. A typical dose can last 4 to 8 hours. Unlike opioids, it doesn’t completely numb the pain, so you can still feel if you’ve pushed yourself too far. This helps avoid re-injury or making the condition worse.
Like anything else in life, kratom can be abused. Overconsumption can cause severe nausea and vomiting, but unlike opioids, natural whole-leaf kratom does not suppress respiratory function. These attributes make it a safer alternative when used appropriately.
Kratom saved my life. Plain and simple. If I hadn’t found it, I would have been staring down the barrel of a very miserable existence. I don’t think I’d be here. I wouldn’t have my wife or kids, and my chosen career wouldn’t be an option. Now I can get out of bed, go to work, come home and throw my kids in the air, love my wife and maintain a healthy lifestyle — without the “monkey on my back” of narcotics addiction.
Currently, there is a bill proposed (House Bill 864) in the Idaho Legislature that would ban natural whole-leaf kratom, potentially making it a felony for people like myself. This ban would turn law-abiding citizens into criminals and drive us into a black market with zero safeguards or recourse for bad products. Fortunately, a second bill — the Kratom Consumer Protection Act — is also being proposed. If enacted, it would provide age restrictions, sale restrictions, quality control, and content certifications. It would help educate others and keep kratom in the hands of responsible adults, empowering distributors and consumers alike for safe and responsible usage.
Mason Mollette lives in Meridian.