Recently, I treated a patient struggling with depression and substance abuse who had found a legal way to get high.  He had ordered Kratom capsules on the Internet.  Lots of his friends have ordered up supplies, too. I hadn’t heard of Kratom, and you probably haven’t, either, but I think you will.  

It mimics some of the effects of opiates (like morphine and opium) and can relieve physical pain and produce a sense of increased well-being and increased energy. Depending on the dose taken and the way it is used (smoking versus chewing leaves versus drinking Kratom tea), it can cause anything from euphoria to sedation.

Kratom trees are native to Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Malaysia, but plants can be and are being grown in this country, as well. While Kratom may turn out to have medicinal uses in treating chronic pain, helping people detox from heroin and even in controlling anxiety and depression, very little is known about its real risks and benefits. It can certainly be addictive, especially for those who end up using Kratom on a daily basis.  Abruptly stopping it can lead to severe depression and severe anxiety.

With marijuana decriminalization potentially on the horizon across the country, I expect to see even more of the long-term effects of daily marijuana use in my psychiatric practice.  I have treated many patients who have lost motivation, succumbed to chronic depression and found it difficult to focus their attention after months or years of smoking marijuana. Kratom could be another “quick fix” that young people flock to in order to avoid their complicated emotions and the complex realities of the world in which we live.  

Only time will tell, but I can tell you this:  My patient didn’t limit his substance abuse to Kratom. He ended up using cocaine, too.  And Oxycontin.   Underneath it all, there’s an epidemic of anxiety and depression in our population. Ultimately, that epidemic will only be addressed through introspection, counseling and the judicious use of approved medications. Kratom, alcohol, marijuana and the rest of the quick fixes for unwieldy feelings are really only roads to my office and those of my colleagues.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement including www.livingthetruth.com. Dr. Ablow can be emailed at info@keithablow.com.

I want to know what you think.

Eight states are considering passing legislation that would require random drug testing for people to receive food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare.

Click here to read the article, “States Consider Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients”

Supporters of this legislation feel that it’s necessary in response to an ever-growing population of Americans applying for government-funded aid as a result of the economic downturn. These lawmakers feel it would help to identify the potential health risks and the probability of those receiving aid getting back on their feet when the economy turns around — and that it would also send a clear message: In America, you don’t get something for nothing.

Why not get tested? Millions of Americans are drug tested at random for their jobs every day — the same Americans whose taxes are funding government assistance programs like food stamps, unemployment and welfare. And as American citizens, we need to take responsibility for our own well-being and that of our families.

Now, I’m not getting down on the millions of Americans who may be down on their luck, or for whatever reason, must rely on government aid to help them through tough times while they try their best to get back on their feet. But then if that’s the case, a random drug test should not be a problem, right?

But there are two sides to every argument — and there may be a couple of questions worth asking when considering this proposal …

What about the unintentional effects that limiting aid to a family — especially one with children — may have in failing to provide them with necessities as basic as food on their plates? We don’t want to punish the children for their parents’ actions. But then, in some cases, with severely drug-addicted parents, how can we be sure that the money is going to support the children, rather than to support the habit?

Just last year, a contest in southern California called “There Ought to Be a Law,” yielded a disabled 16-year-old winner whose life challenges inspired his proposal of legislation to mandate random drug testing for all pregnant women on welfare. R.J. Feild was born weighing just 2 pounds, 2 ounces with traces of heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, alcohol and cocaine in his system due to his mother’s drug use while she was pregnant.  And while the “R.J.’s Law” never made it into legislation, it brought to light an important issue.

But then what happens to people who test positive for drugs while on public assistance? Would the states flat-out refuse help forever, or would they help them get into a rehabilitation center to kick the habit? Right now, most states can’t even meet their Medicaid requirements for people to get routine health care. Perhaps a better plan might be to pump the government aid they would normally receive directly into rehabilitating them.

So I’d like to know what you think, because at the end of the day, we’re the ones funding these programs.

Yes, I know you probably know all about alcohol, pot, cocaine and heroin. But in this rapidly-advancing world of technology we live in, teenagers are getting more creative finding new ways to get high and putting themselves – as well those around them – in danger while they’re at it.

We still have drug dealers walking the streets and preying on the impressionable minds of our youth with their rhetoric. But in 2008, those drug dealers are coming right into your home with the promise to teens that their next high is just a click away. And worst of all: it’s perfectly legal.

If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to make yourself a cup of tea, sit down at your home computer, and search a topic like “Driving on Salvia” on Youtube. What you see WILL surprise you.

Now, many of you may be wondering what salvia is. Well, known as salvia divinorum, this leafy “houseplant” is a highly potent relative of sage and mint plants. But unlike its spicy cousins, salvia leaves are sold as a legal alternative to marijuana because of the intense psychedelic effects people get from smoking it.

In fact, according to one federal survey, almost 2 million people have admitted to using it to get high in this country alone, and 3 percent of men aged 18-25 said they’d used it in the past year. The problem is that salvia has an unpredictable effect on many young brains – and those effects could be devastating.

Another drug that’s recently made headlines because if it’s popularity among teens and young adults on the Internet is a pill called “SNURF.” This highly popular pill has been touted by Web distributors as a form of “herbal ecstacy,” because it contains mostly DXM, or dextromethorphan, a chemical found in cough medicine. But because “SNURF” pills have 10 to 15 times more DXM than cough medicine, they can have dangerous euphoric and even hallucinogenic effects on users.

So, what’s the answer?

Get better informed! Search the Web more frequently. Talk to your children.

And, as it turns out, if you see your houseplants disappearing, you may have a problem!

Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.

The latest analysis from the University of Mississippi’s Potency Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75 percent the previous year.

The 9.6 percent level represents more than a doubling of marijuana potency since 1983, when it averaged just under 4 percent.

Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Click here to read the full report

Minneapolis resident Lynn Rubenstein Nicholson said she is tired of feeling like a criminal every time she smokes marijuana.

In fact, she is part of a Minnesota state-wide campaign that is urging lawmakers to let marijuana become legal to individuals who need it for medicinal purposes; it is being reported by the Pioneer Press.

Do you think marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes?