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Comment by rms | Hacker News Reader

Why? And why do you have such a hostile response? I usually mention Kratom whenever other drugs like alcohol or caffeine come up.

This specific submission was in response to this. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=71368

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There is a difference between a drug pusher and a pharmaceutical company. Both groups reap huge profits at the expense of their customers/victims, but the difference is this:

The pharmaceutical company says "Product A could help you with Symptom B. Why not talk to your doctor about it? Be forewarned, side effects can include fever, paranoia, and death."

The drug pusher says "Product A could help you with Symptom B. It's a great product! Why not buy some from me!"

I've seen you promote kratom on this site several times, and this is the first time I've ever seen you mention side effects and the need to speak to a physician. Recreational drug use should ALWAYS be discussed with a competent physician.

In addition, while kratom is currently legal in the US, it is illegal in the region of the world from which it originates. The US DEA says "there is no legitimate medical use for kratom in the U. S." and has placed it on its list of "drugs and chemicals of concern". You would do well to inform your prospective customers of these facts.

Lastly, I believe you misinterpreted the post to which you replied (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=71262). Xichekolas wasn't talking about the benefits of alcohol or caffeine; he was pointing out the downsides to chemically altering your brain function, and then you come along promoting kratom. Take a step back and try to realize how this looks to the rest of us.

>The US DEA says "there is no legitimate medical use for kratom in the U. S." and has placed it on its list of "drugs and chemicals of concern".

This means nothing. Alcohol can also be said to have no medical use. The active ingredient in Kratom however, 7-hydroxymitragynine, is absolutely an opiate and consequently a pain killer. Therefore, it absolutely DOES have medical use.

so then by your definition heroin has a legitimate medical use? That is absurd.

Who cares if things have a "medical" use or not? Heroin and alcohol both have human uses for which people want them.

Sure, heroin is very good at killing pain. At least as good as morphine. We as a society have chosen not to use it medically because it developed a reputation as being easily abused, but it's not like morphine is any worse as a recreational drug.

well, for one, it's disingenuous for someone who sells it to couch its benefits in an "ask yc" post without any kind of disclosure (you'll probably edit your post now, but that's where the hostility came from)

That's true. Edited. Note that I'm really not trying to make a profit on selling kratom to the news.yc community. I have had two sales that I can specifically track here. Most of our business is coming from Europe now, the collapse of the US dollar is really helping us out.

That and the fact that we're way more tolerant about drugs. You really should focus on the european market.

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