OK, so some people are pitching this stuff at me. Sounds dodgy.
They’re looking for financial representation and come highly referred by a CPA I trust.
But I want to get my head around this stuff. It sure looks like the FDA isn’t happy with this stuff and shipments coming into the states have been intercepted and held from time to time. I don’t really understand the legalities of the whole thing.
So what’s the story? In a way of sounding sort of ‘food supplement’ dodgy, they tell me it’s a natural way to ease symptoms from opiate withdrawls - which sounds like it functions as an opiate itself - and has other beneficial unspecified health advantages.
What’s the scoop? Should I deal with these hippy-types or what?
Probably not. The FDA seizes shipments because it’s being sold to people for consumption, but the raw product and sellers aren’t approved for that. Think printing “for research purposes” or “not for human consumption” on packages with a wink-wink-nudge-nudge.
It contains a chemical, mitragynine, that is an opiate receptor agonist (but not an opioid itself). It’s definitely used like an “opiate-lite”. The DEA proposed scheduling it as Schedule I in 2017, but dropped it.
I would study up on it, before you make any decision. There is quite alot of info available from both the medical community and the proponents and sellers of kratom. I would find out the FDA’s plans for future action. They seem to be in a holding pattern regarding legality, and are accepting public input.
Anything that can help people get off/slow down their opioid problems should be given a good hard look.
Sure, you can deal with them. Just get paid up front.
Kratom is another in a line of not yet regulated pharmaceuticals that is pitched as being “all natural” without harmful side effects. BS on several fronts. Anything that has effects has side effects.
Kratom is also sold as a supplement, meaning no regulation on what is actually in the bag.
I remember reading about a new drug that was developed as a morphine substitute for cough suppressants that did not have morphine’s addictive side-effects. It was widely market by its maker, Bayer company, under its trademarked name, Heroin™.
But Bayer did make a good deal of money on this, before it was banned. Seems like these people (and your CPA!) are giving you an opportunity to get in at the start with this.
I think many a cautionary tale has started with those exact same thoughts.
Despite what I said earlier, I would stay far away unless you have experience with similar things, specifically marijuana. You are likely to have the same issues, local acceptance or at least non-interest, and a possible later intense interest from the Feds.
I wouldn’t Chance**** it.
Any kratom business comes with huge regulatory risk. Scott Gottlieb was going after it pretty hard (ever since he got a seat on the board of a drug company that was attempting to make a drug based on mitragynine) but has recently stepped down. The Kratom lobby, the AKA has been remarkably effective in keeping Kratom legal thus far. I’m a daily Kratom user for chronic pain and the stuff is a lifesaver. While users do develop some tolerance, Kratom seems to remain effective for the majority of users. It also helps many heroin users make the transition off drugs completely. It certainly could be addictive though I’ve stopped completely a couple of times with moderate tapering and suffered almost no side effects. Other people have had a more difficult time. I think that overall it’s a net benefit to society. Anyone who wants to get rid of Kratom should be stricken with chronic pain for a while. I think banning it would drive a not significant number of people to opiates. I’d like to see mandatory third party testing but that’s about it.
*"The FDA sent warning letters to Chillin Mix Kratom and Mitra Distributing over claims that the herbal product would “relieve opium withdrawals” and treats medical conditions, including diarrhea, depression, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stomach parasites, diverticulitis, anxiety, and alcoholism.
To date there have been no “adequate and well-controlled scientific studies” involving the use of kratom as a treatment for medical conditions or diseases in humans, the warning stated."*
Nice Pharma Shill gambit there re Dr. Gottlieb. :dubious:
Well, it’s actually a (mild) opioid, so it has (dis)advantages similar to other opioids. It makes you feel good, it relieves pain, it kills your dick and any sexual desire, it makes you lose appetite, it gives you dry mouth, it makes you constipated (high quality kratom always made my lips and asshole bleed) and it’s pretty addictive. Apart from that, people are also reporting elevated liver enzymes and seizures due to kratom. I wouldn’t invest in it, there are too many negative effects from this drug.
In what sense? Are you being asked to divest their earnings, or to manage their liquidity? Or are you being asked to take on some financial operational role such as acting as an external controller or setting up and managing their legal entity structure?
If it’s standard money-management, I don’t see any issues. I’d make sure you’ve got some anti-money laundering boiler-plate language in your contract, along with a break clause. But beyond that, it’s really a matter of how you pick your clients and what your personal red lines are. However, anything hands-on and the risk that comes to mind is being implicated in racketeering. What happens to someone involved in a business if a legal, unregulated product becomes illegal? Way too far outside my knowledge base to discuss meaningfully, but definitely tread carefully.
If exaggerated claims by a few companies made something illegitimate then nothing would be legitimate. Considering Gottlieb is on the product advisory board of Glaxo, the company who happens to have a patent on the crystallized form of mitragynine, and their patent says it is more effective than codeine, but with fewer side effects, I’d say that’s a conflict if interest.