We, we had a texter into the Adventure RV Text Club, 35270, who says, "What next? We're gonna have somebody come in, uh, to advocate for fentanyl u- use?" How do you respond to those that say this is a public health crisis that we're not taking seriously enough?

So the first premise everyone should follow is good science should dictate this.

There has been, because of the flood of these new synthetic products that are chemically manipulated, uh, there have been adverse events, including deaths, and medical examiners and coroners haven't made the distinguishing, uh, factor between the synthetic and the natural kratom.

The science demonstrates, and the FDA conducted what's called a, a dose-finding study, safety study, that even at very extremely high levels, there is low risk for any adverse event in a natural kratom product, but you flip that to a synthetic opioid, and then you have the same effects that opioids on the market do, including overdoses.

So an overreaction would be, based on bad information, this order that the governor has said, the emergency order, uh, until the special session is concluded, that people should remove kratom, the retailers should remove kratom from the shelves.

That's the wrong policy.

It's not consistent with what the FDA, HHS, and the DEA have said.

Where does influence, uh, end and corruption start?

But by that time, kratom already had a sizable market and enough money to hire lobbyists like Mac Haddo from the American Kratom Association.

My involvement came when the president of the AKA at the time called me and asked me if I would join their lobbying team, uh, because I have had extensive experience in dietary supplements.

I previously worked with Orrin Hatch, who was the champion of dietary supplements.

Uh, and I, I worked with him on the enactment of the Dietary Sup- Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994.

Here's Haddo again.

No vendor in the kratom space is permitted to use a therapeutic claim, uh, on a product in order to convince a consumer to purchase their product.

That's barred by law.

That doesn't mean that a consumer cannot consume a product for a health benefit that they perceive or actually experience.