UK - Kratom-- "Herbal remedy" killed my son'

[chillinwill]

A MOTHER has warned others about the dangers of buying drugs online after her son died from an addiction to unprescribed medication.

Oliver Cohen of Walsingham Close, Hatfield, suffered from major heart complications, which eventually led to his death on September 22 last year, after repeatedly ordering vitamins and steroids - to which he became addicted - over the internet.

An inquest into the 30-year-old's death last week concluded that consumption of illegal supplements bought online over a period of five years together with a long-standing drug habit had caused extensive damage to his heart.

His mother, Janet Koganovitch, who witnessed Oliver's spiralling addiction to the deadly supplements feeling almost powerless to prevent his self-destruction, has since spoken exclusively to the Review about the dangers of using the internet as a supermarket to buy unprescribed medication.

She said Oliver, who suffered with ADHD, had been ordering a herbal supplement called Kratom - an opium substitute banned in the UK but widely used overseas as a natural stimulant - from an online company for the past two years to help ease his hyperactive personality.

"He was quite hyper and found it difficult to concentrate on his work," she said. "At the time he was working on his business, he was very into his music - he wanted to become a musician but he couldn't focus enough. He felt this (Kratom) was helping him in the beginning, it was only over time that he became addicted to it.

Janet's persistent warnings about the risks of buying drugs from online sources failed to convince Oliver, who insisted the medication was helping him.

At the time Oliver, who had developed a complex about his slight frame, was also taking steroids purchased from an online company to bulk up.

"He convinced me that if it's taken occasionally it wouldn't do any harm," she said.

"I always used to say to him 'be careful you don't know what you're getting online - go to the doctor if you need help'.

"He used to say to me 'stop worrying mum, they're harmless, they're not going to do anything, it's helping me with my work and I can't work without it'.

"He didn't think anything would happen to him - he thought he knew best."

Janet insists traffic to websites selling such substances is increasing as thrill seekers look to experiment with new ways of getting a high.

"Teens are looking for something new, ecstacy and other similar drugs aren't enough anymore - they're looking for something else now.

"Oliver was looking for new things all the time"

A near death experience following an overdose even failed to wheen Oliver off the drugs.

Janet said: "He said to me after that 'this is very selfish, it's terrible what I'm doing.' I stressed to him how valuable life is and he promised me many times that he would stop."

But his survival, rather than detering Oliver, gave him an incentive to continue using.

Oliver, a gifted musician, eventually died from heart failure - prompted by his drug abuse - at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City just one month after celebrating his 30th birthday.

Janet concluded: "It's more dangerous buying something online than buying anywhere else because you don't know what you're getting or what's in it.

"Parents need to talk as much as possible to their kids to make them aware of the dangers."

Recording a verdict of misadventure at the inquest last Wednesday, coroner Edward Thomas also pointed out the dangers of ordering unprescribed medication over the internet. He said: "It's so important that what people take is properly prescribed - the implications of not doing this can be very serious."

By Alexandra Barham
February 11, 2009
St Albans & Harpenden Review
http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news...the_internet_/

[N0ly]

Ok... was it kratom specifically or the other things he was buying online that lead to his death, this article is really vague as to exactly how his heart was damaged.

[Alfa]

I think this is a prime example of the bullshit that the media can produce. They state his former use of kratom or other drugs are indirectly responsible for his heart failure. Mind that this person was not using any of these drugs when he died. And they even blame vitamins.

[entheogensmurf]

Using steroids without doctor visits to make sure your body isn't being raped is rather important from what I hear.

It would see that he would have died nevertheless, if he had an "addiction."

With that, I can only assume he was using so many drugs that he wore his body out.

What a POS article.

[snapper]

Also the near death experience was surely not brought about by kratom. The worst kratom overdoses consist of abdominal pain and nausea. SWIM suspects that cocaine or IV drugs may have been also involved. Depending on the roids and how they were used, SWIM could see heart damage being caused as well. Kratom should not have ahd anything to do with it though unless there's something about it that no one knows. Hopefully this will not prompt controlling the so far unmolested leaf.

[allyourbase]

as an adrenal stimulant, SWIM anticipated these problems, particularly in those prone to heart disease. however, regardless of his parents need to blame someone or something for their child's untimely death, it was he who consumed the material, he who overused it. as both a stimulant and a narcotic one really ought to approach kratom with a bit of caution.

[Jasim]

Great, more negative publicity for swims cherished market of to-your-door lifestyle enhancers.

[nate81]

What insanity, I realize the family is upset and wants to blame something, but blaming anything and everything belongs in the grieving process instead of in news articles.

This reminds me of the magic mushroom deaths in europe the past few years. Many blamed the mushrooms but forgot that the autopsies almost always showed multiple drugs and a high number of those cases had suicidal/depressive histories. But it's easy to blame the scary mushroom monster.

The bad thing is that drug policies in nations are often influenced by this stuff. In america, the prohibition of marijuana began when Anslinger cited marijuana as the cause of violent acts.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

Great, now here will come the KILLER DRUG KRATOM!! headlines and SwIm will no longer be able to order his painkilling, addiction fighting, nutritious, immune system-boosting harmless herb online. Do any SWIYs think that maybe, just maybe, it was the fuckin' STEROIDS?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................

[honourableone]

The article states that kratom is banned in the UK. That is bullshit. When an article blatantly lies outright you know that anything else it says is highly doubtful. This man could have taken kratom once every 6 months, had a multivitamin he ordered from Holland & Barrett, and had a serious cocaine habit (though surely this would have been jumped on? Maybe the masses are getting bored with hearing about how evil cocaine is?).

[Alfa]

The article really mixes a lot of facts up and is poorly written. However, the article has been used as a basis for new articles, which are now in more prominent newspapers. This shows how the media often works. Journalists often do not check their facts and just reproduce other media articles. The new articles do not mention any other drugs or vitamin, except kratom and make it seem as if Kratom is to blame.

'Herbal remedy killed my son'

6:13pm Thursday 12th February 2009

By Suruchi Sharma

A 30-year-old man who was addicted to a legal herbal drug bought on the internet has died after it caused major heart problems.

The inquest into the death of Oliver Cohen, who grew up in Borehamwood, found last Wednesday that his two-year addiction to kratom, along with other drugs, led to heart failure.

His mother, Janet Koganovitch, of Manor Way, is campaigning to stop people buying unprescribed medicine online.

She said her son suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and had been ordering a herbal supplement called kratom from an online company to help ease his symptoms.

Kratom, an opium substitute derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia, is widely used overseas as a natural stimulant. It is not banned in the UK but is not prescribed by doctors.

One UK website boasts that kratom is “the world’s most effective herbal legal painkiller and herbal high”.

Ms Koganovitch said: “He didn’t think anything would happen to him. He thought he knew best.

“He was quite hyper and found it difficult to concentrate on his work. He wanted to become a musician but he couldn’t focus enough. At the time [of his death] he was working on his business — he was very into his music.

“He felt this [kratom] was helping him in the beginning. It was only over time that he became addicted to it.”

Ms Koganovitch’s persistent warnings about the risks of buying drugs online failed to convince her son.

He had developed insecurities about his slight frame and was also taking steroids, also bought online, to bulk up.

“He convinced me that if it’s taken occasionally it wouldn’t do any harm,” she said. “I always used to say to him, ‘be careful, you don’t know what you’re getting online. Go to the doctor if you need help’.

“He used to say to me, ‘stop worrying, they’re harmless, they’re not going to do anything, they are helping me with my work and I can’t work without them’.”

Ms Koganovitch says more people are using websites to buy substances such as kratom, as thrill-seekers look to experiment with new ways of getting a high.

“Teens are looking for something new — ecstasy and other, similar, drugs aren’t enough anymore. They’re looking for something else now.

“Oliver was looking for new things all the time.”

Ms Koganovitch said a near-death experience following an overdose failed to wean Mr Cohen off the drugs.

She added: “He said to me after that, ‘this is very selfish, it’s terrible what I’m doing.’ I stressed to him how valuable life is and he promised me many times he would stop.”

He eventually died from heart failure, at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, a month after celebrating his 30th birthday.

Ms Koganovitch concluded: “It’s more dangerous buying something online than buying anywhere else, because you don’t know what you’re getting or what’s in it.

“Parents need to talk as much as possible to their kids to make them aware of the dangers.”

Recording a verdict of misadventure at the inquest last week, coroner Edward Thomas also pointed out the dangers of ordering unprescribed medication over the internet.

He said: “It’s so important that what people take is properly prescribed. The implications of not doing this can be very serious.”

You can leave reactions to the articles here and here.

[enquirewithin]

A 30-year-old man who was addicted to a legal herbal drug bought on the internet has died after it caused major heart problems.

The inquest into the death of Oliver Cohen, who grew up in Borehamwood, found last Wednesday that his two-year addiction to kratom, along with other drugs, led to heart failure.
His mother, Janet Koganovitch, of Manor Way, is campaigning to stop people buying unprescribed medicine online.

She said her son suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and had been ordering a herbal supplement called kratom from an online company to help ease his symptoms.

Kratom, an opium substitute derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia, is widely used overseas as a natural stimulant. It is not banned in the UK but is not prescribed by doctors.

One UK website boasts that kratom is “the world’s most effective herbal legal painkiller and herbal high”.

Ms Koganovitch said: “He didn’t think anything would happen to him. He thought he knew best.

“He was quite hyper and found it difficult to concentrate on his work. He wanted to become a musician but he couldn’t focus enough. At the time [of his death] he was working on his business — he was very into his music.

“He felt this [kratom] was helping him in the beginning. It was only over time that he became addicted to it.”

Ms Koganovitch’s persistent warnings about the risks of buying drugs online failed to convince her son.

He had developed insecurities about his slight frame and was also taking steroids, also bought online, to bulk up.

“He convinced me that if it’s taken occasionally it wouldn’t do any harm,” she said. “I always used to say to him, ‘be careful, you don’t know what you’re getting online. Go to the doctor if you need help’.

“He used to say to me, ‘stop worrying, they’re harmless, they’re not going to do anything, they are helping me with my work and I can’t work without them’.”

Ms Koganovitch says more people are using websites to buy substances such as kratom, as thrill-seekers look to experiment with new ways of getting a high.

“Teens are looking for something new — ecstasy and other, similar, drugs aren’t enough anymore. They’re looking for something else now.

“Oliver was looking for new things all the time.”

Ms Koganovitch said a near-death experience following an overdose failed to wean Mr Cohen off the drugs.

She added: “He said to me after that, ‘this is very selfish, it’s terrible what I’m doing.’ I stressed to him how valuable life is and he promised me many times he would stop.”

He eventually died from heart failure, at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, a month after celebrating his 30th birthday.

Ms Koganovitch concluded: “It’s more dangerous buying something online than buying anywhere else, because you don’t know what you’re getting or what’s in it.

“Parents need to talk as much as possible to their kids to make them aware of the dangers.”

Recording a verdict of misadventure at the inquest last week, coroner Edward Thomas also pointed out the dangers of ordering unprescribed medication over the internet.

He said: “It’s so important that what people take is properly prescribed. The implications of not doing this can be very serious.”

6:13pm Thursday 12th February 2009
By Suruchi Sharma »

http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/ne...illed_my_son_/

Reputation Comments on this post:

interesting article, disgusting how they blame the wrong substances

[enquirewithin]

Note he was also taking steroids, etc. This person had bigger problems than kratom-- it doesn't seem very likely that it killed him.

[Herbal Healer 019]

Total bullshit...

This woman is in the wrong for demonizing kratom simply because her son used & abused it for a long period of time without considering that the other substances he used most likely caused his heart attack. In all honesty I seriously doubt that the man's kratom use had anything at all to do with his heart attack, & if anything I'd be more than willing to bet that his use of anabolic steroids most likely caused his heart attack (steroids are notorious for wreaking havoc on the heart and other internal organs).

This woman's sensless and unfounded propaganda will probably gain kratom negative media attention & eventually lead to kratom's illegalization, if not on a federal level than on a state level (as seen with salvia D in the case of the dude who commited suicide "as a result of his salvia use").

[Matt The Funk]

Originally Posted by Herbal Healer 019

Total bullshit...

This woman is in the wrong for demonizing kratom simply because her son used & abused it for a long period of time without considering that the other substances he used most likely caused his heart attack. In all honesty I seriously doubt that the man's kratom use had anything at all to do with his heart attack, & if anything I'd be more than willing to bet that his use of anabolic steroids most likely caused his heart attack (steroids are notorious for wreaking havoc on the heart and other internal organs).

This woman's sensless and unfounded propaganda will probably gain kratom negative media attention & eventually lead to kratom's illegalization, if not on a federal level than on a state level (as seen with salvia D in the case of the dude who commited suicide "as a result of his salvia use").

I completely agree with this post. It's so sad how propaganda is ruining our country and has been for so long. Guess this means SWIM better stock up on Kratom like he did Salvia (which it turns out he didn't have to). Also I don't understand, what does kratom have to do with ecstasy (MDMA)? And what would it have to do with people trying new things, since opiates and opiods are readily available on the black market?


EDIT: Inquire if that was directed at me I was simply stating that I don't see why kratom would become a huge epidemic drug, since there are different substances with similar effects that are more powerful and euphoric, which is what most "street users" are looking for.

[enquirewithin]

Thankfully it's only in a local paper. Otherwise, it could lead to trouble, although we are seeing that in the UK it takes years to ban these things anyway.

SWIM says he resents kratom being called an opium substitute- it's more than that!

[allyourbase]

her son had to know of its narcotic properties, as such one cannot claim he was self medicating. the very fact that he died proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had a narcotic problem, be it with this drug or another. he was mixing them with steroids which in the best of cases have sympathomimmetic effects. kratom is not to blame for the man's death, he is. one does not mix adrenal stimulants and expect to have a "normal day" or "ADD symptom free" day. his over use was his own fault. his parents need to accept that and leave everyone else alone.

[enquirewithin]

^ Perhaps there were some parenting problems as well? It's easier to blame a drug than examine how you may have brought up a 'problem child.'

[allyourbase]

indeed, Id hate to blame the mother, but her insistence that her son was "troubled" speaks far more to her frame of mind than his.

[Alfa]

Threads merged. This is nothing more than poor journalism. This article is a rewrite of a rewrite. The son was using steroids as well. The original article was even blaming vitamins. This may be were the self-medication story comes from. The information is skewed and twisted. Kratom does not kill people.

[chillinwill]

'UK Must Ban Drug That Helped Kill My Son'

The mother of a 30-year-old man from Hatfield, who died after battling an addiction to a herbal supplement he bought online, said yesterday she would like to see the drug banned in the UK.

Last week, an inquest found that Kratom, along with other drugs, contributed to Oliver Cohen's death from heart failure in September 2008.

The aspiring musician had been taking the supplements - which are legal in the UK but banned in Australia and many areas of South Asia where the plant grows -to treat his ADHD, using the pills for their calming effect.

Janet Koganovitch of Borehamwood told the Jewish News how the drug took hold of her son: "He experimented with lots of different drugs he bought online including Kratom. It can be very addictive and I don't think this is stressed strongly enough. If it is taken in high amounts it can be like taking heroin."

Cohen tried on several occasions to stop taking the pills, but resumed medicating when withdrawal symptoms like nausea, shaking and physical pain became too much to bear.

"He was saying to me how selfish it was what he was doing," Koganovitch said. "He went to drug counselling but because the doctors weren't familiar with the drug they didn't know what to tell him. They told him to just wean himself off the pills and he tried to several times, but the withdrawals were so bad he would always start taking them again."

Cohen died last year at the QE II Hospital in Welwyn Garden City just one month after celebrating his 30th birthday.

Now, Koganovitch is trying to spread the word and is taking every opportunity to share her son's story in the hope that future losses can be prevented.

She said: "I think young people need to be very wary. It's just so easy to purchase these things, and parents should be made aware so we can discuss these things with our children."

by Erica Morris
Thursday 19th February 2009
Totally Jewish
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/na...d-kill-my-son/

[cannabis-sam]

I'm really intrested in what other drugs were involved in the case which all articles seem to avoid, it seems the blatent disregard for complete facts, and preference towards editing the facts so they can right any headline they want. For instance the headline 'Smoking one joint can increase chances of schizophrenia by %50" It gave the impression that half of all people who smoked a joint would become schizophrenic when all that was being said was something like the chances increased from %1 to %1.5.

Journalists seem to right articles on what's the best headline rather than what are the facts. I can't remember the last time I saw solid FACT in newspapers. Even if it's not a complete lie it's often a half truth or a missing bit of info. What happened to journalistic integratity eh? Journalism has lost it's way.
Sorry if I've gone a little off topic back to it.

In all articles it mentions multiple drugs not only kratom and steroids, he was using a mulitude of drugs together from what I understand, he was also 'troubled'. This certainly is not the full picture.

If only newspapers were like wikipedia and cited their sources so I could go and get the full picture and find out for myself.

Can anyone find more info please.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by chillinwill

'"He went to drug counselling but because the doctors weren't familiar with the drug they didn't know what to tell him. They told him to just wean himself off the pills and he tried to several times, but the withdrawals were so bad he would always start taking them again."

Thank god we live in the fucking 19th century where internet has yet to be invented.

I will not comment the rest of the article or the actions of the mother (although I love the heroin statement. WOD in it's purest form) because I'm just sick and tired of the stupidity.

[oggy]

It only makes you wonder why kratom was banned in Thailand!

Swims girlfriend has tried kratom twice and both times she had terrible feelings of despair, low self worth, paranoid thoughts about me being evil to her and dragging her down to a very dark place and low self worth. This happened when the kratom wore off and she now knows and believes kratom to be the most evil drug out there and she has tried much stronger opiates before with no problems.

Swims personally been having terrible psychological withrdawls from daily use and agrees that kratom should be banned.

Swim believes now after his girlfriend telling him how much damage kratom was doing to his soul that it was in fact the kratom that induced his psychosis, but this subject is for another thread.

[Frond]

This article isn't only bullshit, it's flat-out insanity, and flat-out hypocrisy.

Kratom is not known to cause heart problems. Steroids, however, are. So, when a person takes drug A, that isn't known to cause heart problems, and drug B, that is known to cause heart problems, at the same time, and eventually develops heart problems, which drug does it make sense to blame?

Apparently, in our society, it makes sense to blame drug A because it's like illegal drugs except that you can buy it legally online. Even though that has nothing whatsoever to do with the situation at hand.

Kratom can be a great herb. It can genuinely help people. So can other opiates for that matter, but that's a different story. It's also addictive, but because the active ingredient is essentially a tryptamine structurally it really is nowhere near as addictive or destructive as other opiates of similar strength. Long-term Kratom abuse hasn't shown to produce any serious health problems and the method of Kratom administration (tea or chewing leaves) isn't associated with health risks like the methods for administration of many other opiates (i.e. IV heroin or hydromorphone). It doesn't depress respiration or heart rate enough to be considered a serious overdose danger, and it causes severe but relatively harmless nausea well before it can cause any medically significant symptoms, and actually ODing on it is hard.

So, this is politics, and scaremongering, pure and simple. I would wager to say that the media is using this poor woman to demonize yet another drug. Some lawyer out there somewhere probably thinks "you know, I could make a good deal of money from this if I just blow this smoldering case into a legal brushfire," and somewhere nearby there's a politician thinking "you know, I could make a career on this, banning a new drug that has this kind of history would be easy to sell to the voters."

Enough! Fuck off, and leave this helpful and harmless herb alone. Politics are changing. People are changing. Drug awareness is spreading throughout the world. You can make a career on this now, but your days are numbered, and soon enough the new generation will show you - with their votes - that they don't need you anymore. Prohibition is the curse of the 20th century, and the 21st will do away with it (if only to usher in a whole new set of problems).