The United States government is at it again with their archaic logic and actions regarding our right to choose what we put in our bodies. The SITSA act aka the “Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017” is the latest act put forth by the dinosaurs in the House of Representatives. The act proposes an amendment to the ancient Controlled Substances Act of 1970, an already outdated act responsible for the incarceration of millions of non-violent drug offenders, and billions of dollars wasted.

The amendment  will add additional scheduling for synthetic compounds which at present remain in a legal grey area.

Diving into the act itself we find the criteria for what compounds might fall under the umbrella of the new scheduling:

“(6) Schedule A.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—The drug or substance—

“(i) has—

“(I) a chemical structure that is substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V; and

“(II) an actual or predicted stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V;

In other words, anything you can use as an alternative to commonly prescribed drugs/illegal drugs. It’s no secret – Kratom is widely used because it delivers effects on par with standard opioid medications. The difference is that Kratom has a much higher safety profile. Compare the overdoses of Kratom with something like Oxycontin and the numbers speak for themselves. Yet, under this new act Kratom could be labeled as “an actual or predicted stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V;”

Kratom however is not well studied as of present and its effects on the central nervous system across humans have yet to be fully understood. This is good news and a potential win for Kratom under this proposed act.

Should we worry?

First off, nothing is in stone yet. The act still must pass the Senate before it’s offloaded to the president for a final ruling. Even if passed, I don’t see SITSA effecting nootropics like Piracetam etc, or even Kratom in the same way it’s going to effect synthetic analogues like Etizolam, which is very similar in structure to other Benzodiazepines but with only minor differences. You could easily argue Etizolam is “substantially similar” in structure to standard benzodiazepines. At some juncture government will need to bring in experts on chemical structure to shed light on exactly where the line is.

1P-LSD is another research drug very similar to LSD. Structurally, 1P-LSD looks exactly like LSD with only minor variations.

I see this act effecting mostly research chemicals like Etizolam, 1P-LSD and POSSIBLY Kratom if passed. Phenibut might also come under scrutiny.

Regardless, this act is a step back for society and shows us that we as monkeys have a long way to go before we come to our senses. This is government telling us what we can and can’t do with our bodies and showing their complete ignorance for safe plants like Kratom. It’s easy to see what is going on here – Big PHARMA is dropping BIG BUCKS on legislation to eradicate anything that cuts into their profit margins.

Taking action

As of this writing (6.22.18) the act is slated to be voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Individuals are urged to contact their state senators and explain the detriments this bill will have on society. Notable points are the failed war on the drugs, the billions spent on the war on drugs, and the concentration of power which will be given to the Attorney General to schedule compounds without justified due process and scientific examination.