Kratom has not been classified as a drug by the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) and, therefore, should not be subjected to a “critical review,” potentially allaying concerns that the plant will be regulated internationally as a narcotic.

After a preliminary look at kratom and its components in October, the WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) determined that there was insufficient evidence to recommend an intensive examination of kratom. The expert committee also came to the identical conclusion regarding two kratom components, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine.

The ECDD, a non-profit organization of medical experts dedicated to drug and medical research, called for the WHO Secretary to keep kratom, mitragynine, and 7-hydroxymitragynine under surveillance.

The World Health Organization’s decision not to place kratom in the same category as drugs such as heroin and cocaine, which is what many kratom advocates had feared, came as a relief to supporters. The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) might eventually move to “schedule” (as a drug) kratom internationally

However, the latest findings may put such worries to rest, at least for now.

According to a document dated Nov. 18 detailing the ECDD’s recommendations, INITIATED a pre-review of kratom and its components, in part, based on what “a country-level study suggesting that mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine might cause dependence, abuse, and public health harm,” according

“Kratom can produce serious toxicity in people who use high doses, but the number of cases is probably low as a proportion of the total number of people who use kratom,” WHO stated in the document. “Although mitragynine has been analytically confirmed in a number of deaths, almost all involve use of other substances, so the degree to which kratom use has been a contributory factor to fatalities is unclear.”

The American Kratom Association praised the decision, noting that it “reaffirms the comments you submitted and the science we presented to the WHO ECDD,” while tens of thousands of customers flooded FDA and WHO with comments expressing their opposition to a ban. In a Dec. 7 email to its members, the American Kratom Association (AKA)

“The AKA, and kratom consumers around the world, are extremely grateful for the extensive review and the overwhelming consensus by the ECDD that [there] was insufficient evidence to recommend kratom be subjected to a full critical review,” Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy with AKA, said in a press release.

“There can be no doubt that kratom should not be scheduled and that it should be responsibly regulated to protect against dangerously adulterated kratom products,” Haddow emphasized.

However, in a statement on its website, Kratom Alliance writes that it remains to be seen how WHO’s suggestion will affect future kratom evaluations.

“What exactly this will mean for kratom internationally and potential future reviews is unclear, but we can be certain that kratom’s enemies will try to bring it up again,” observed the kratom group in its email, which acknowledged one member of the ECDD was in favor of a critical review of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine.

Kratom, a leafy South Asian tree that grows in the wild, is now being sold as a legal dietary supplement. Kratom is derived from Thai and Sumatran strains of the Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine ketone classes of Corynanthe alkaloid family. Mitragynine has been found

“Kratom has been reported to have narcotic and stimulant-like effects, as well as withdrawal symptoms that include irritability, agitation, excessive crying, muscular and bone aches and pains, and jerking limb movements.” According to a notice published in the Federal Register on WHO’s October meeting to evaluate kratom and six others substances.

The FDA has maintained an import alert on dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients containing kratom for years. A producer of kratom supplements involved in a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice agreed to destroy products taken by authorities as part of the deal.

FDA declined to comment on the ECDD’s recent recommendations pertaining to kratom and its constituents.