Subjectively it is well-known that Kratom causes very little withdrawal in comparison to opiates and synthetic opioids. Further, Kratom has never been scientifically linked to a death in history, as opposed to synthetic opioids and opiates which kill tens of thousands of people in the United States every year. This article details the scientific reasons why Kratom is fundamentally different than synthetic opioids and opiates.
Kratom’s primary alkaloids are Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, and a scientific study found that these alkaloids are mu-opioid agonists, which results in pain and stress relief, but simultaneously are delta opioid antagonists and fail to recruit beta-arrestin-2.
Basically, beta-arrestin-2 is an intracellular protein that causes the suppression of norepinephrine, i.e. adrenaline. Essentially, Morphine-like opioids suppress norepinephrine via recruiting beta-arrestin-2, and this suppression of norepinephrine is what leads to respiratory depression and the potential for overdose due to the respiratory system shutting down.
Further, the suppression of norepinephrine is the primary cause of physical addiction and withdrawals for morphine-like opioids. Essentially, when a morphine-like opioid is discontinued, norepinephrine surges through the body, causing restless legs, insomnia, nausea, anxiety, and shaking, i.e. dope sickness.
On the other hand, Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine recruit basically zero beta-arrestin-2 in comparison to morphine-like opioids. Theoretically this should mean that Kratom’s alkaloids cause very little respiratory depression and very little physical addiction and withdrawal, and this was verified through a series of tests on mice in this scientific study.
Simultaneously, the scientific study verified that Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine induce significant pain relief, i.e. analgesia and antinociception.
Further, this scientific study found that tolerance to Kratom’s analgesic effects builds much more slowly than tolerance to Morphine-like opioids, and complete tolerance never fully develops. This is unlike Morphine where complete tolerance develops quickly.
In other words, users of Morphine-like opioids will need to take a higher and higher dose to achieve the desired effects, and eventually complete tolerance develops, so no matter how high a dose is the desired pain relieving effects will not be achieved. This is what can lead to an overdose, since a user will take so much of the drug while chasing the desired effects that their lungs will shutdown.
On the other hand, this data shows that a Kratom user does not need to increase their dose much long term to achieve the desired effects, since tolerance builds slowly, and Kratom will always provide proper pain relief long term since complete tolerance never occurs.
Finally, this study confirms that Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine cause little reward, i.e. feelings of euphoria and pleasure, in comparison to Morphine-like opioids. This is why the psychological addiction to Kratom is very little, whereas the psychological addiction to Morphine-like opioids is severe.
Overall, this study presents scientific proof that confirms Kratom is a miracle plant. It shows how Kratom can provide powerful pain relief, while simultaneously causing little respiratory depression and little addiction or withdrawal due to the lack of beta-arrestin-2 recruitment. Essentially, Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragyne are atypical opioids, and are fundamentally much safer than Morphine-like opioids.