WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In
the wake of a recent news broadcast by WTVC TV in Chattanooga, TN., quoting a Georgia county
coroner who claimed there have been 17 kratom deaths "this year" in
Georgia, the American Kratom
Association (AKA) is demanding that the TV station immediate
retract the "totally unsupportable" and "bogus" story. In
reality, there is nothing in the public medical record in
Georgia ever attributing a single
death to the non-opioid, coffee-like herb kratom.
AKA is also asking the Catoosa
County Board of Commissioners and the Georgia Coroners
Association to reprimand and to disassociate themselves from the
"fake news" statement made by Catoosa
County Coroner Vanita
Hullander. The AKA letter to the WTVC TV is available
online at http://bit.ly/AKAWTVC. The letter to the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners is at
http://bit.ly/AKACatoosaCounty. The letter to the Georgia Coroners
Association is available online at http://bit.ly/AKAGCA.
The statement by Catoosa County
Coroner Vanita Hullander highlights
a major concern for the three-million-person kratom community in
the United States about the spread
of "fake news" coverage of deaths incorrectly attributed to kratom.
On October 12, 2017, the AKA released
a report by a leading molecular biologist and lawyer showing that
medical examiners and coroners in New
York and Florida issued
"mistaken, inaccurate, and now discredited reports" linking two
deaths to the non-opioid, botanical kratom. See:
http://bit.ly/KratomAnalysis.
In the October 12, 2017 WTVC TV
story at
http://newschannel9.com/news/local/opioid-mimicking-substance-becomes-popular-in-chattanooga-area,
the following is attributed by reporter Hannah Lawrence to Catoosa County Coroner Vanita Hullander: "Hullander says
Georgia has seen 17 kratom-related
deaths this year. The closest to Chattanooga was in Chattooga County."
In demanding a retraction, the AKA letter to WTVC TV reads in
part: "This story is 'fake news' of the worst kind in that it
features completely false information of a highly inflammatory
nature … There is absolutely no basis in fact for making any such
outlandish 'fake news' statement about kratom. To the best of
our knowledge, there is not one single death that has been formally
attributed to kratom in Georgia at
any point in time … We see no evidence that any real reporting was
done here. If there had been, the outlandish Hullander claim
would have been detected by Ms. Lawrence and not broadcast in the
uncritical and unprofessional manner that it was by WTVC …The story
is unbalanced, and it is 100% wrong."
In writing to the Catoosa
County Board of Commissioners, AKA Board Chairman
David Herman notes: "I call on
you and the other members of the Catoosa
County Board of Commissioners to issue a formal reprimand to
Catoosa County Coroner
Vanita Hullander … This statement is
untrue, completely unfair, and reflects a level of bias that calls
into question the fitness of Coroner Hullander to make any reliable
evaluation of the cause of death for any decedent where substance
abuse is implicated … While I understand that Ms. Hullander is an
elected official, it is my understanding that the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners has the
authority to publicly disapprove of, and disassociate itself from,
the statements or actions of any county official."
The same AKA letter also urges the following on Catoosa County: "The claim that there are
17 Georgia deaths caused by Kratom … would constitute a public
health emergency that requires Coroner Hullander to produce the
evidence on each of these alleged deaths showing the toxicological
reports and death certificates that state the cause of death is due
to kratom consumption. We ask that, upon receipt of these
documents, that they be submitted to a panel of forensic
toxicologists and medical experts to validate any claims by Coroner
Hullander. The AKA would also have our panel of experts
review these death records to provide the Commission with a
detailed report on each death."
In the letter to the Georgia Coroners Association, AKA Chairman
Herman writes: "I urge you to either expel from your ranks or,
at a minimum, reprimand Catoosa
County Coroner Vanita
Hullander … As I am sure that you well know, there is
absolutely no basis in fact for making any such outlandish 'fake
news' statement about kratom … 'Fake news' of the sort spread by
Ms. Hullander reflects poorly on all coroners in Georgia. It
undercuts your group's effort to foster higher, scientific-based
standards and to encourage public understanding of the important
role of coroners."
The AKA is concerned that the recent spate of "fake news" about
kratom may reflect a "shadow campaign" by the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) against the coffee-like herb. On
October 19, 2017, the American Kratom
Association filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for
all records of kratom-related communications between the DEA and
state lawmakers, local law enforcement officials, coroners and
medical examiners. The AKA's FOIA request is available online
here: http://bit.ly/deaFOIA.
The AKA has reason to believe that the incorrectly attributed
death reports are part of a larger behind-the-scenes push against
kratom by the DEA in the wake of its decision last year to suspend
an emergency scheduling push that would have effectively banned the
legal botanical product.
ABOUT AKA
The America Kratom Association, a consumer-based non-profit
organization, is here to set the record straight, giving voice to
those suffering and protecting our rights to possess and consume
kratom. AKA represents tens of thousands of Americans, each of whom
have a unique story to tell about the virtues of kratom and its
positive effects on their lives. www.americankratom.org
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fake-news-of-kratom-deaths-spurs-demands-for-tennessee-tv-station-retraction-reprimands-by-georgia-county-and-state-coroners-group-300543216.html
SOURCE American Kratom Association, Washington, D.C.