Kratom crisis: Herbal remedy or harmful opioid?

Welcome back to Good Day Chicago. We told you a little bit earlier about Kratom. What did we say was gas station heroin? That's what it's been dubbed as, right? Yeah. It's pitched as a natural way to treat chronic pain, boost energy, and manage addiction. But Kratom can quickly turn on you and cause a life-destroying addiction of its own. Studies suggest up to 40% of Kratom users become addicted. In Illinois, it's legal as long as you're at least 18 years old. But But experts say a lot of people who try Kratom have no idea how. How dangerous it can be. Joining us now is Misty Nelson. She's founder and owner at SunKissed Greens in Mokena. Okay, so Misty, we understand that you do not sell this at your shop. Why not? So we're, full disclosure, we're not against Kratom. So where we come from is we're more on the gentler side of things. We mostly focus on CBD and we are due to hemp laws, we're converting our store. So with that being said, we don't bring Kratom in only because we do feel that it is amazing for certain people. But it does have the ability to go the wrong way. So you do have to use it responsibly because Kratom can cause addiction and death. So it should be regulated for sure. Do I feel you should go to any gas station for wellness products? I don't, because mostly these people need guidance and education before making those decisions. And unless you're versed in it, gas station people aren't always the best choice for that. But it does do amazing things for people. Okay. You said it does amazing things for people. And I want to kind of get to the statistics of how many people are using it. So an estimated 1.7 million Americans ages 12 and older reported using Kratom. This is the most recent information we have. That was in the year 2021. I want you to talk to me about the amazing part, and then maybe you can talk about kind of where it goes wrong for Sure, so we do have a lot of people coming in asking for Kratom and most of those people are trying to get through some serious pain, which we know can very much change your life. And people nowadays are looking for more avenues other than big pharma. And again, that's not a bad thing, but people are looking into more natural ways. But just because it's natural doesn't always mean it can be safe. You do have to use it responsibly. But I'd say the biggest thing people are looking for is that pain relief that we see. Does it surprise you, and I'm bringing this up because you mentioned it, that the state is banning hemp-derived products, but yet they don't ban kratom, which is also highly unregulated? Yeah, that's a hard one because I wish that people were in my shoes. We focus on people getting better with natural solutions. And the people that come through my door are people who are just looking for natural ways, but they do need guidance. And I would recommend that. You only get one body. You do need to know what you're putting in your body. And that's for everything you do, even down to our food. Do I think it's wrong about the hemp laws? Kind of. In my situation, it is because I do educate. I do events for education. And this is a good avenue for people. But do I think there needs to be regulations? Absolutely, there needs to be regulations for a lot of things. So it's unfortunate because it's a great avenue also for pain and among many other things, veterans use it. We have a lot of senior citizens that rely on this. And we've had our customers in tears over these hemp laws and that hurts my heart because you get reputations with everyone and you just wanna help them and these laws are rough. I know you make a lot of your stuff right there on the premises versus some other places that are getting the stuff shipped in. What have been some of the concerns? You mentioned your customers. Some of them have wanted to try Kratom. What has been some of their challenges in terms of their health and why they felt Kratom was a better option maybe than Big Pharma? What were they going through medically? Sure, so what happens with a lot of people is they get addicted to pain medications and as you know, things can come with side effects and now you get side effects and now we have to treat these side effects and where does it stop? So I think people are just kinda looking for something a little more gentler on the body, a little more natural and really focusing on that nature part which at the end of the day, we feel nature knows best. There's no monetary agenda behind nature. They give us our medicine and we should really explore that more. What, Misty, what is the difference between synthetic and natural kratom? Sure. So, I mean, you, I mean, much like a lot of things, you can do things synthetically and that's where the regulation needs to come in. And that's even with Delta 8. That's with anything that can be made synthetically. We need to have better control on. A lot of things, guys. It's not even just our supplements. It gets deep in this world. We need to stop doing things in a fast-paced, sloppy kind of way and get back your good quality control and regulate these things, test these things, know what's on the shelves, and know it's safe. I sleep at night knowing that I make my own products. And I take a lot of pride in having a very clean and tested laboratory where we focus on nature and we do things the right way. Unfortunately, like every other industry, people do things the right way and the wrong way. And that is where regulation should come to play. Why did you do that? Why did you decide to have your own lab? Because there are a lot of businesses, like I said, they're making decent profit just getting the stuff shipped in. And what made you decide to actually make it on the premises yourself? Knowing it's done right, if we're being honest, I'm the one that's behind the scenes, it's my husband and I. And we take natural wellness classes, we're plant certified, we're holistic health certified for dogs. We do things the right way and we've been doing this a long time, not even just in CBD world, but in natural wellness world. I grew up making my own soaps and shampoos and things the natural way. My family's Dutch and we just learned this when That's when we were young and that's just the way I was brought up and we- We feel good about what we do. We're really happy just making people feel good. And I wish I had a camera in on my store just so you guys can hear the conversations. And I think that's where maybe politicians lacked is just hearing the opposite side of the spectrum with a health food store kind of basis and not a gas station. We shouldn't all be lumped up into the same categories like this because there's a lot of love and we do a lot of great things where we're at. Well, it's good to hear your side of the story, Misty, and get some more information about Kratom. Misty Nelson, thanks for joining us. Thank you, guys. It was so great being here. I appreciate you. All right. We'll see you next time.