An exploration of the green substances:
BRI HEANEY NEWS EDITOR:
Eighty jars filled with an array different of earth toned powders lined the walls. Brightly colored circular labels on the jars detailed where the contents of the jar originate,d which is mostly the countries that make up Southeast Asia. Some are named after the county they come from while some get more literary names like “Red Gold” or “The Red Horned Mang Da.” Regardless of their color, origin or name, they all come from the leaves of same type of tree, the Mitragyna Speciosa and they all have been processed into a substance called Kratom. On the side walls there are two glass cases filled with everything from bath bombs – joints – olive oils – teas – and pill capsules etc. Nearly everything in these cases contains CBD, a by-product of cannabis. This store labeled Kratom and CBD sells just that and is one of the first locations in St. Louis to do so.
CBD:
“I’m looking to quit smoking,” said a woman to one of the shopkeepers as she leans in looking at the CBD vaporizers. “Have you ever been addicted to cigarettes?” she asked him. “I smoked cigarettes for, let’s see.., 15 years,” the shopkeeper said, pausing and counting with his fingers, “but I have not smoked a single one in 18 months.” CBD is a by-product of two plants from the cannibus family; Hemp and Marijuana. The two are different plants with differences in Tetrahydrocannaboinol or THC concentrations. While Hemp has about .3 percent concentration of THC, Marjuana has between 15-40 percent concentrations of THC. CBD that comes from marijuana is illegal and falls under the same drug category as Marijuana. CBD that comes from hemp is completely legal and has been since 2014; this is the CBD that the store Kratom CBD sells. In between, the colorful wall of jars and the cashier is Micaela M., an Employee at Kratom CBD, advocate and user of CBD. “Sadly, hemp should have been legal a lot sooner as there is 50 thousand different uses, from making shoes, to blankets to plastic,” said Micaela. CBD can be used to address multiple health issues from nausea, appetite suppression anti-inflammatory purposes, nerve pain, anxiety, stress, depression, and is a known to inhibit tumor growth, she said. “It’s one of the best anti-inflammatory medicines available,” said Micaela, gesturing toward her wrists and knees. The rule of thumb to reap any of these benefits is to take 1-2 milligrams for every ten pounds of body weight. However, depending on someone’s metabolism, or pre-existing medication, a person may need to take more or less, said Micaela. “It’s always best to talk to your doctor,” said Micaela. Medication and pre-existing conditions can play a major role in choosing to use CBD and in how much should be used. “It can make your blood thinner so, if you are on blood thinners, then you need to definitely take extra precaution. I’ve also heard that if a medication tells you not to mix it with grapefruit juice than you also shouldn’t take CBD with that medication,” said Micaela. Kratom and CBD have 10 locations in the St. Louis metro, three of which are in Illinois. While all locations sell many of the same products, the Illinois locations are able to sell a larger range of CBD products because of differences in current laws, said Micaela. Emilio Trowbridge is a student at Forest Park and an avid CBD user. “It has helped me so much. There are a lot of people out there with anxiety who need to try this,” said Trowbridge. “It’s totally legal. If you get drug tested like I do it’s not something that you have to worry about.”
Kratom:
In the hills of South East Asia, from a plant that is a close relative to the coffee plant, the leaves are picked and dried out into Kratom. It has been used in this region as medicine for tens of thousands of years, and it is currently the most widely used drug in Asia. “It’s a relative to coffee and opium plants and can be used to getting off of opiates as well as pain management, nerve pain, and relaxation,” said Micaela M., an employee at Kratom CBD. According to Micaela, Kratom is not addicting and unlike opiates, it attaches without binding to brain receptors. “It’s a good option for people who can’t, or don’t, use opiates,” said Miceala. “Its a smart drug, you cannot overdose on it. If you take too much you might puke but you won’t die.” When Kratom first started showing up to head shops in his area, Emilio Trowbridge, a Forest Park student and avid CBD user, was given free samples and tried Kratom for the first time. “It was these little black bags, with about five pills each,” said Trowbridge. “It gave me energy when I just took five, but then when I took more I got really sleepy and chill.” It quickly escalated, said Trowbridge. “I felt like Johnny Cash, like they were helping me or something,” said Trowbridge staring at the ground. “I’d go and buy hundreds of them, which made sense because I was taking 100 pills a day about.” Trowbridge doesn’t believe in occasional use of the drug. “It’s something that I can’t imagine someone just does here or there. It’s like if you are going to be taking it, it’s so hard not to take it a lot, and then it’s almost out of control… and then it is out of control,” said Trowbridge. Trowbridge said that some of the side effects of taking them every day was complete loss of appetite, body aches, nausea, weakness, and extreme fatigue. To alleviate these symptoms, Trowbridge said his only option was to take more. “I spent my money on those pills before bills,” said Trowbridge. “I spent a lot of my money on buying them to have for work. Then spending even more on the days I was off.” Once Trowbridge realized that he needed to stop and began the withdrawal process. He said that he was violently sick for two days. “After those two days I began the process of living without Kratom,” said Trowbridge. Kratom has received a great deal of skepticism with six states making the sale of Kratom illegal and the Mayo Clinic reporting that “The dangers outweigh the benefits.” The Mayo Clinic also suggests that people who use Kratom to get off of opioids are at another risk of becoming addicted to Kratom itself. “I don’t know how many people use it to stop using opiates. I’m not all that confident that it would even help them, but it seems like a whole lot of non-opiate users are getting addicted to it on their own by just trying it at head shops,” said Trowbridge. Trowbridge touts himself as someone who is always interested in herbal or homeopathic alternatives, including but not limited to the legalization of marijuana and the wide acceptance and usage of CBD. “I can’t get on board with [kratom]. It seems like just another thing to get addicted to,” said Trowbridge.
