User:N8tegr8/sandbox

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Article Evaluation

Background

I decided to evaluate this article about Kratom, a controversial plant based drug. I know this is not related to personality theory at all, but I wrote a paper about the potential benefits and risks associated with kratom back in 2016 and was struck by the clear bias and inaccuracies reflected in this article. I order to provide some background and disclose some of my own bias i have attached a link to the literature review I wrote in 2016. You definitely do not need to read it (It's not my best work but it is not super long). Anyways, I myself firmly believe that the prohibitionist approach to drug policy is only making the problems associated with drug use worse. There are quite a few researchers who agree with this position and many are in fact pushing for policy change. I firmly believe that in order to stem the continual increase in rate of overdoses in the United States we should focus on treatment and reform the current punitive laws in favor of harm reduction drug policy based in science. I have had a close friend die due to opioid overdose and thus have a personal stake in the matter as well. I hope this gives some insight into my perspective and intrest in the matter.

Largest Criticisms

Respiratory Depression

The most glaring inaccuracy in the article is the claim that kratom causes respiratory depression. This is part of the greater misconception perpetuated by the article which overemphasizes the risks of kratom particularly in it's similarity to much more dangerous opiates. The chemical structure of the alkaloids in kratom are chemically distinct and not related to opiates despite having some similar subjective effects and the ability to reduce opiate withdrawal. Most sources I have found state that while, Kratom may have a number of negative side effects and overdoses are possible, kratom does not cause respiratory depression. This concern has been addressed by another user in the talk section. There seems to have been quite a bit of drama surrounding this concern. Some attempt has been made to address this in the respiratory depression section of the article, but it does not do so in an objective manner. This distinction is vitally important, because respiratory depression is largest contributing factor in opioid overdose deaths. This alone suggests that some of the alkaloids may be better alternatives to the commonly prescribed opiates. Especially with regard to opioid replacement therapy, because many of the currently prescribed replacement opiates are extremely powerful and have cause an increasing number of overdoses.

General Tone and Bias

I believe that the article reflects a general bias supportive of prohibitory drug policies and outweighs the risks of kratom with regard to potential benefits. I will admit that this is a highly controversial topic, but this article seems to be cherry picking it's sources and relying heavily on the biased attitudes expressed by the FDA and DEA. I have found a journal article which discusses the topic in a much more even keeled manner. I have even found at least one article pointing to the therapeutic potential. The article also overstates the deaths associated with kratom, many of which reveal other detected drugs and alternate causes of death. Overall there are many issues with the reporting and wording of this article that do not reflect the objective unbiased ideals of wikipedia.

I am running out of time to really get into depth with all of my criticisms, and I should probably be focusing on a personality related topic. However, I appreciate that I am learning how to contribute to wikipedia, and will hopefully be able to help edit this article which has bothered me for a long time. I might need to reexamine my personal bias and find better evidence before I am properly equipped to edit this article, but I appreciate you bearing with this tangential rant (even though you have no real choice in the matter as you will be grading this assignment :).