News

Into the blue

Assemblymember Jason Frierson and Sen. Aaron Ford will hold the two most powerful positions in the Nevada Legislature when it convenes in Carson City in February.

Ford, who served as the Senate minority leader during the 2015 session, will continue in this role now that the Democrats have regained an 11-10 majority in that house. And Frierson is the first black legislator to be named speaker in the Nevada Assembly, where Democrats hold a wide majority of 27-15. Frierson is returning to the Legislature after losing re-election in 2014.

Sen. Michael Roberson will remain the leader of the senate Republicans, and Assemblymember Paul Anderson will be the minority assembly leader.

These appointments will be formalized when the legislature convenes next year.

—Jeri Chadwell-Singley

not so hardy

Politicians who thought the Bundys were popular and got close to them got a shock in the election.

Cresent Hardy, Victoria Dooling, Michele Fiore, David Gardner, Brent Jones, John Moore, Victoria Seaman and Shelly Shelton all publicly identified themselves with Cliven Bundy and his family, who were involved in a heavily armed standoff with federal officials near Bunkerville over Bundy’s long past due bills.

And all eight were defeated for reelection.

Battle Born Progress put out a statement saying the eight “have been complicit in the growth of this lawless movement and have never taken responsibility for helping hate grow.” —denniS MyerS

What else Is neWs?

Journalist and political commentator Jon Ralston is preparing to launch a new online news site. The nonprofit Nevada Independent is expected to begin coverage in January—just a month before the Nevada Legislature convenes for its 79th session.

Ralston has been covering politics in Nevada for more than a quarter of century. His show, Ralston Live,which aired weekdays on KNPB and Vegas PBS, was canceled on June 21.

The website is up and running already. Its homepage reads: “2016 has been a truly amazing year, leading many of us to ask ... Is partisan hype poisoning our democracy? Where can we turn for reliable news and smart opinions? Should we all just move to Canada ... ? Now more than ever, Nevada needs a credible, nonpartisan news source on policy, politics, government, education and business. We are that source. Our mission? To change the face of journalism in Nevada and establish a new paradigm for nonprofit, community-supported news organizations.”

In a recent Nieman Lab article, Ralston told reporter Ricardo Bilton that the Nevada Independent will focus heavily on the state legislature, covering it “in a way that no one has ever seen before: With daily reporting, with in-depth issue reporting, and with data-driven reporting that has never had the kind of resources devoted to it that we are going to.”

So far, two other journalists have been announced as joining the Nevada Independent team. Elizabeth Thompson, political commentator and former co-house of Vegas PBS’s Nevada Week in Review will serve as managing editor. Former Associated Press legislative reporter and Nevada Politifact researcher and reporter Riley Snyder will be a reporter for the new outlet. The Melting Pot World Emporium has been selling kratom products for about two years.

PHOTO/JERI CHADWELL-SINGLEY

High profile

Another Schedule I drug?

an obscure herbal remedy has gained attention in the news recently. Advocates say it relieves pain, anxiety and depression. Some retailers market it as a natural alternative to weening addicts off of opioid medications—a possibility currently being explored by multiple scientific studies. But the Drug Enforcement Agency may soon place the herb’s active ingredients on the list of Schedule I drugs—a classification that would render sales illegal and put up serious barriers to future scientific research.

Mitragyna speciosa Korth, commonly known as kratom, is a plant indigenous to Southeast Asia. According to a 2015 article in the journal BioMed Research International, kratom has been used for centuries “to combat fatigue and improve work productivity … in Southeast Asia” and has “recently become popular as a novel psychoactive substance in Western countries.” It’s sold as capsules, liquids, gums, powders and dried leaves for tea. The effects are dose-dependent and mirror those of opioids—with small doses providing a stimulant, pain-relieving effect and larger doses delivering a sedative, euphoric effect.

Kratom is available at shops around the Truckee Meadows.

In late August, the DEA announced its intention to temporarily place kratom on the list of Schedule I drugs—alongside 10 others, including LSD, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana. The Schedule I designation is the most restrictive of the categories established by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. It’s reserved for drugs that the government deems to “have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.” A “temporary” designation on this list can prove to be anything but, as has been the case with marijuana, which has been the subject of several rescheduling petitions since the 1970s but remains Schedule I today—deemed a greater threat to public safety than Schedule II drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine.

The DEA’s announcement was met with public outcry from consumers, retailers and the scientific community. And on Sept. 26, more than four dozen members of Congress—including Nevada’s Joe Heck—sent a letter urging the DEA to “delay finalizing the decision to define kratom as a Schedule I substance.” The letter went on to say that hasty scheduling of the substance without public input would threaten “the transparency of the scheduling process and its responsiveness” to citizens and the scientific community.

On Oct. 13, the Drug Enforcement agency responded by suspending immediate plans to schedule kratom and opening a public comment period— which closes on Dec. 1. As of the time of this writing, there were more than 6,000 public comments posted to the regulations.gov website, and a petition on whitehouse.gov to prevent kratom’s scheduling had nearly 150,000 signatures.

DEA action can often have unintended consequences. In 1985, when psychiatrists were having good luck with the new medication 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine in treating their patients, it was also occasionally used recreationally. The press learned about it, dubbed it ecstasy, and the DEA got interested. The drug was banned outright, resulting in illicit use skyrocketing and legitimate use ending.

drug War of Words

As with most prospective government regulations, there are parties armed with conflicting “fact sheets” on both sides of this issue. While the kratom debate boils down to three main factors—its efficacy, risks and potential for abuse—even its definition depends on the source.

The American Kratom Association is one of several advocacy groups. A banner on its website tells visitors that kratom is “a natural botanical that’s improving health and wellness from coast to coast.” According the website, “Kratom is not a drug. Kratom is not an opiate. … Naturally occurring kratom is a safe herbal supplement that’s more akin to tea and coffee than any other substances.” The website’s fact page also states that, “when taken in appropriate amounts,” kratom is non-habit forming, can increase energy and provide pain relief, and that “many find relief from a variety of other mental and physical ailments.”

But the DEA has a kratom fact sheet of its own—one that paints a

very different picture. The agency recognizes kratom as an opioid and lists it as a “drug and chemical of concern.” Its fact sheet claims that kratom use “can lead to addiction” and has been linked to “several cases … where individuals addicted to kratom exhibited psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations, delusion, and confusion.”

The American Kratom Association is correct in saying that kratom is not an opiate, because it’s not derived from opium. However, the DEA is correct in stating that its active ingredients—mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine—are, in fact, opioids, substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. However, determining to what degree kratom causes undesirable side effects like dependence or dangerous respiratory depression would require additional scientific research. (Studies examined for this article presented conflicting results.) And this seems to be where much of the outcry from the scientific community has come.

Researchers need a license to study schedule I drugs. Obtaining one can be difficult and time consuming. So the Schedule I designation is a bit of a Catch-22. It means a drug has “no currently accepted medical use in the United States” but also makes researching potential medical uses immensely more difficult.

Chris McCurdy is a kratom researcher at the University of Mississippi. In an article published in September, he told Scientific American, “I don’t oppose it [kratom] being regulated, I just oppose Schedule 1.” For now, kratom remains available for purchase in Reno shops. And it’s not currently on the local DEA’s radar. In a phone interview, the DEA special agent in charge of the Reno office, Kasey Kanekoa, said agents are not aware of the amount of kratom currently available locally or when it began showing up in the city’s shops. He said The investigations into kratom would not take place until and unless government may the substance is scheduled. add an eleventh substance to its The Melting Pot World Emporium has carried kratom for two years. Owner Eric list of Schedule I Baron said he first started drugs. seeing kratom at tradeshows about 12 years ago but didn’t start stocking it until a friend told him about successfully using it to combat anxiety and depression. Today, Baron said, his customers report using kratom to treat a variety of ailments, from anxiety to multiple sclerosis symptoms and various addictions. He said some regular users do build tolerances to kratom, but he doesn’t think the substance poses risks that justify a Schedule I designation. In Baron’s opinion, the DEA’s initial scheduling attempt was an effort to “sweep [kratom] under the rug and make it go away without doing their due diligence.” Ω

Vigilant

NOVEMBER 19, 2016 – JANUARY 22, 2017

LEAD SPONSOR The Bretzlaff Foundation

MAJOR SPONSORS Clark/Sullivan Construction; Eldorado Resorts; Sandy Raffealli, Porsche of Reno

TALK Collector Barbara L. Gordon on A Shared Legacy

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 / 2 PM

$12/$8 MEMBER Tickets at NevadaArt.org

Locals gathered at the Northern Nevada Muslim Community Center, 1855 Oddie Blvd., Sparks, for the I am America vigil on Sunday, Nov. 20. The vigil was one of many that took place across the nation to rally support for local Muslim communities. Speakers included Northern Nevada Muslim Community president Sherif A. Elfass, ACTIONN executive director Mike Thornton, and Reno First United Methodist Church pastor Kris Marshall.

This exhibition is drawn from the Barbara L. Gordon Collection and is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia.