February has come to a close!
As we head into this last month of winter, there are a few kratom-related topics to touch on. Most notable were two public health announcements made by the United States Food and Drug Administration, which stirred the pot of kratom controversy further.
That aside, we've got a few new site fixes and a pretty sweet kratom discount for ya - so be sure to read on for more details!
According to the United States FDA and CDC, a rare salmonella strain has hospitalized 28 people in 20 states with symptoms of diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
The culprit? According to these investigating organizations, it's kratom - as eight of the eleven hospitalized patients interviewed admitted to consuming kratom in various forms prior to becoming ill. So far, there have been no reported deaths.
The original FDA announcement also included the following statement, which is consistent with the organization's current stance on kratom thus far:
The FDA advises consumers to avoid kratom in any form. In addition to the public health concerns raised by this outbreak, kratom affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine and appears to have properties that expose people who consume kratom to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence.
The following day, the FDA issued another statement announcing the recall and destruction of kratom products manufactured and sold by Divinity Products Distribution. The company was also instructed by the FDA to cease selling all kratom-containing products immediately.
Going a step further, the FDA recommended that all United States kratom vendors should comply similarly:
... the FDA encourages all companies currently involved in the sale of products containing kratom intended for human consumption to take similar steps to take their products off the market and submit any necessary evidence, as appropriate, to the FDA to evaluate them ...
This statement has been met with heavy criticism by many within the kratom community. Notably, the Chairman of the American Kratom Association, Dave Herman, issued the following response:
Why is a mere 23 cases linked to some kratom supplements—a number which accounts for less than 0.00002 percent of the total food-related salmonella cases in the U.S. each year—enough for the CDC to recommend millions of Americans stop using this healthy and naturally occurring substance? Why should American kratom vendors voluntarily recall and "destroy" all kratom supplements as the FDA suggests because of this fractional number of cases involving potential salmonella contamination? AKA supports appropriate product regulation to ensure safety and purity standards for kratom-based supplements—not barring access to the millions of Americans who utilize this plant’s many benefits without issue.
To usher in the new month of March, BKBUSA is holding a flash sale on all kratom products for the next 24 hours only!
Use discount code SALE20 for 20% off until March 1st, 2018!
We've added a few new vendors since our last update on February 16th. If you're a vendor who's interested in working with us, please visit this page!
No new strains were added since the last update! If we’re totally slacking and missed one, let us know!
We've fixed up our FAQ page to better address and consolidate our answers to common questions our users might have. Check it out here!
Post thumbnails should be displaying properly now
The "related posts" image sizes have been somewhat resized
That’s it for this week’s update. Thanks for reading, and all the best to you in March!
Love,
Kratomaton
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