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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday (February 6) that kratom, a popular herbal supplement, is a dangerous drug with “opioid properties.” The announcement came after the FDA evaluated the potential for kratom abuse using the Public Health Assessment via Structural Evaluation (PHASE) methodology, which simulates the molecular structures of a substance using 3-D computer modeling.
“[W]e feel confident in calling compounds found in kratom, opioids,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb declared in the statement. “And it’s an opioid that’s associated with novel risks because of the variability in how it’s being formulated, sold and used recreationally and by those who are seeking to self-medicate for pain or who use kratom to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.”
Clinical toxicologist Oliver Grundmann of the University of ...
