Expanded 6th grade summary:

This paper tells the story of a 30-year-old man who became addicted to kratom. Kratom is a plant that comes from Southeast Asia. Some people use it to try to treat pain, anxiety, or opioid withdrawal. But it can also be very addictive.

The man in this story started using kratom when he was in his mid-20s. He used it to try to help with his social anxiety. At first, he only used a small amount. But over time, he needed to use more and more to get the same effects. When he tried to stop using kratom, he had very bad withdrawal symptoms like restlessness, muscle pain, runny nose, and diarrhea. This made him keep using it. Eventually, his addiction led him to overdose on other medications in a suicide attempt.

This study was done in the real world, not in a lab. It describes the case of one individual person,
not an experiment on animals.

Key takeaways:

• Kratom can be highly addictive, even when used to treat other problems like anxiety
• Kratom withdrawal can be very difficult and unpleasant
• Kratom addiction can lead to dangerous behaviors like suicide attempts
• More awareness and regulation of kratom is needed, as it is currently easy to access in many places.

For further reading:

Link: https://easapjournals.org/eaap2039

Full Citation:

Lai, C. L., & Wu, A. Y. (2021). Kratom Dependence: a Case report. East Asian Archives of Psychiatry, 31, 49-50.