Lauren talks to James this week. He struggled silently with kratom for years, escalating from casual use to a dangerous 7OH addiction that nearly destroyed his health, memory, and finances. Sharing his expertise as an addiction RN, James ultimately got sober through Ibogaine treatment, disciplined diet and exercise, and leaning on his faith and family.

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Our quitting interviews this week fell through due to technical and scheduling issues. We will return next week to our normal format of sharing stories of people overcoming kratom addiction.

Past guest Hilary (episode #65) is now the executive director of a new organization called End Kratom Addiction. The nonprofit hosted a panel discussion: "America's Kratom Crisis Virtual Panel Discussion" for U.S. congressional staff June 25, 2026. We are replaying the audio here on our feed.

Kratom policy and legality is rapidly changing in the U.S. The DEA is propsing a nationwide temporary ban of 7-OH products, along with three related compounds – mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MP), MGM-15, and MGM-16 – by placing them into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act by early August 2026. This year Connecticut, Kansas and Tennessee all enacted full kratom bans. Kentucky passed a kratom ban scheduled to go into effect next year, and about 75 cities and counties have also enacted local bans across 12 states in 2026 alone. This panel explains why this is happening, though we realize not all listeners will agree with these actions.

Outside of the use of Suboxone for kratom addiction, the most controversial topic among our audience is whether to ban kratom or not. For the most part, we try to stay neutral on the issue at the podcast.

One thing we do want to take a stand on the issue of kratom toxicity and mitragynine lethality. It is an absolute myth that there have been 0 mitragynine-caused deaths from kratom leaf products. A new peer-reviewed study recently provided additional confirmatory evidence disproving the "zero kratom death" misinformation. While people of good faith can disagree on the issue of kratom legality, it not accurate or scientific to base your policy position on kratom never causing deaths.

Orlando Kratom Death Case Control Study: https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkag017

Kratom Overdose Policy Study: https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2026.2670611

More from "End Kratom Addiction: https://www.endkratomaddiction.org/

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Ron shares his journey with Lauren, discussing his experience through opioid addiction, alcohol abuse, and kratom dependence over decades, describing how each substance provided temporary relief but ultimately led to secretive, destructive behavior. With his wife's steady support through multiple tapers and renewed commitment to NA/AA meetings, he's now 44 days clean from kratom and focused on building a lasting support system rather than facing recovery alone.

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Lauren and Rocky talk about his 10-year kratom addiction, starting with kratom powder, then to liquid extracts, and ending on 7-OH, like so many in 2026. Off all substances since January 2025, Rocky had many restarts along his path, which required a stint in residential rehab and sober living along with MOUD injection. Rocky had a previous history of addiction, but kratom wasn't the solution to his substance abuse challenges, and at several points during his decade using kratom, he also became addicted to cocaine and Adderall.

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Our guest this week is Ty, who quit kratom in August 2023. He is a podcast editor, producer, and a person in recovery based in Cadiz, Ohio. See below how to get in contact with him, his book, and podcasts. Kratom quitting communities for more support: Kratom Anonymous - https://www.kratom-anonymous.org/ Quitting Kratom Support - https://kratomquitters.com/ MORE ABOUT THIS WEEK's GUEST Ty is also the author of Surviving Addiction One Day at a Time, available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Addiction-One-Day-Time/dp/B0DR97YNFJ/

Podcasts:

• Humble Heartbeat Speaks — Host, Editor & Creator (active)
• Long Term Podcast — Editor & Producer
• Life After The Party — Editor, Producer & Studio Tech
• The Cup of Joe Show — Guest & Episode Mixing
• The People I Know (Larry Howard) — Editor & Audio Mixer

Socials & Links:

• Email: ty.howell2007@gmail.com
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thehumbleheartbeat
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyhowell2007
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ty.howell8
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1bYJCMrLFq/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18oTijMTZo/
• X: https://x.com/TyHowell2007

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Lauren interviews Kara, who shares her journey through years of opioid and heroin addiction, a period of sustained recovery, and an unexpected relapse into kratom use she discovered unknowingly through a drink at a music festival. Kara details the physical and emotional toll of kratom withdrawal, her eventual detox and treatment at the ANR Clinic using advanced neuro-regulation therapy, and the friend whose generosity made her recovery possible. She closes by encouraging listeners struggling with addiction to seek support, practice mindfulness, and recognize their own strength and worth. Quote of the show: "Harder the lesson, the bigger the blessing."

ANR treatment: https://anrclinic.com

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This week Hans shares his quitting story with Lauren. 35 years old working in a high-stress corporate consulting career, Hans is ambitious and fitness-driven. In his late teens and early twenties, he was addicted to opiates, completed a 30-day rehab and has been clean from those drugs for 13 years. Around three years ago, he decided to quit drinking and began using kratom extracts in the evenings as a substitute. Combined with Adderall for work, togeather this made him feel "superhuman".

This eventually became unsustainable. Hans began a cycle of quit attempts (going 70 days, 49 days, and 40 days clean) each time relapsing. In 2025, curiosity led him to try 7-OH. He was immediately alarmed by how much it reminded him of his opiate days, but still became quickly addicted. That lead to two inpatient treatment programs and taking FMLA leave from work in the last year.

His current sober date is April 27, 2026, giving him 50 days at the time of recording. His 7-OH sobriety date remains April 5, 2025, 14 months clean. Han's recovery toolkit includes 12-step meetings, a sponsor, a tight-knit sober brotherhood from treatment, sober softball, sauna and cold plunge sessions, yoga, breathwork, meditation, gratitude journaling, and strict daily routines around sleep and exercise.

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After many failed cold turkey attempts, Pasha talks about his quit from about 25g per day by tapering; he was inspired to create a new app for quitting at www.kratomcut.com. Available for iPhone users now.

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