Patterns and reasons for kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) use among current and former opioid poly-drug users

Singh D 1 , Yeou Chear NJ 2 , Narayanan S 3 , Leon F 4 , Sharma A 5 , McCurdy CR 4 Show all authors , Avery BA 5 , Balasingam V 2

Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: darshan@usm.my
  • 2 Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia
  • 3 School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
  • 5 Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
J Ethnopharmacol, 2020 Mar 01;249:112462.
PMID: 31816368 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.112462

Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a native medicinal plant of Southeast Asia widely reported to be used to reduce opioid dependence and mitigate withdrawal symptoms. There is also evidence to suggest that opioid poly-drug users were using kratom to abstain from opioids.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To determine the patterns and reasons for kratom use among current and former opioid poly-drug users in Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 204 opioid poly-drug users (142 current users vs. 62 former users) with current kratom use history were enrolled into this cross-sectional study. A validated UPLC-MS/MS method was used to evaluate the alkaloid content of a kratom street sample.

RESULTS: Results from Chi-square analysis showed that there were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between current and former opioid poly-drug users except with respect to marital status. Current users had higher odds of being single (OR: 2.2: 95%CI: 1.21-4.11; p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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